Barbara Krakehl
A Champion for Humanity
story by WENDY POLLITZER photos by PAUL NURNBERG
Honorary Chair of UpCycled Art Auction for Two Decades of Service to LowCountry Habitat for Humanity
Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. In essence, being a steward is being a manager. One must have trustworthiness, respect for the role, initiative, wisdom, generosity of spirit, gratitude, and respect and care for others.
Barbara Krakehl has all these traits and more. She was born to be an educator and steward of her community. Born and raised in Charlotte, NC, she graduated from UNC-Greensboro with a BS in Home Economics. After moving to New York, she met Steve Krakehl, her future husband, running partner, and best friend of fifty-three years.
Barbara started her career as a middle school home economics teacher before moving on to high school. She later became an elementary school principal, which was her dream job.
“When you’re a principal to elementary school-aged kids, they just love coming to school … and I loved going to work every day,” she smiled.
Barbara ended her professional career as a school superintendent in Suffolk County on Long Island. When Steve retired two years before her, they began discussion about possible places to retire. His parents had lived on Dataw Island since 1989, and they knew they would eventually be their caregivers. They very much loved the idea of living in warmer weather with access to golf (Steve’s hobby), tennis (Barbara’s pastime), and the Lowcountry lifestyle. They bought their home on Dataw Island in 2005.
That was the same year Barbara began her philanthropic journey with LowCountry Habitat for Humanity. She devoted countless hours to construction sites in the beginning. She remembered her very first house dedication on Warsaw Island and knew she had found her tribe, doing something to benefit the greater good. She, along with other Dataw residents, volunteered every Wednesday swinging hammers, painting walls, and hauling lumber to houses that would eventually become home to multiple deserving families North of the Broad.
When asked about her dedication to Habitat’s mission, she responded, “Knowing that people are living in horrible conditions is heartbreaking to me. Building houses with volunteer labor is not the most efficient method, but we can build a house together and see a tangible and durable result.”
In addition to the one-home-at-a-time model, Barbara has also worked on two Women Build projects, where she met a diverse group of young and older women building in fellowship. Additionally, she was on the committee to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of LowCountry Habitat for Humanity. But that’s certainly not all.
Barbara is a dedicated runner, finishing thirteen marathons in her forty-four-year running stretch. Because of her affinity for the sport, she served as the race director for the Resolution Run 5K and 10K on Dataw for nine years until January 2019. In fact, during her tenure, a South Carolina woman broke a world record by finishing a 10K race while pushing two babies in a double stroller. Rachel Bowling, 30, ran the LowCountry Habitat for Humanity Resolution Run 10K on Dataw Island and finished with a time of 42 minutes and 34 seconds, beating the previous record by 2 minutes and 11 seconds for completing a 10K while pushing a double stroller. “That was fun to witness,” she smiles. “It’s also fun and worthwhile to know I’ve had an impact when I see the various annual t-shirts around town.”
In addition to the Resolution Run, Barbara found another calling at Habitat in 2014, serving on a new fundraising committee to organize an event that correlated with Habitat’s mission to celebrate the ReStore. It was called the UpCycled Art Auction. The premise is for artists to take items from the ReStore and upcycle them into art. She was on the first committee and organized the artist database.
This event aligned with Barbara’s life philosophy, which was centered on what can be reused, rejuvenated, recycled, repurposed, and more. She grew up with a New England saying …
• Use it up
• Wear it out
• Make it do
• Or do without.
Barbara eventually became the chairwoman of the UpCycled Art Auction. The first item her husband ever bought at the event was a quilt she made utilizing former LowCountry Habitat for Humanity t-shirts. “It’s a very special piece of art to me,” she grins with pride. As it should be. The quilt represents almost twenty years of volunteer work for an organization she holds dear and nothing symbolizes HOME like a handmade quilt.
This year, Barbara is the Honorary Chair of the event, which will be held Friday, March 10, from 6-9 p.m. at the Technical College of the Lowcountry Student Center (Building 12).
“We are thrilled to feature the artwork of three local artists, Mick Csernica of Tidal Creek Haven, David Lunin of Evolve Furniture Studio, and American South artist Cassandra Gillens,” she says.
The event will also feature items from local and regional artists in a silent and live auction hosted by Beaufort icon Deanna Bowdish.
Barbara Krakehl is an inspiration. Not only does she serve the mission of Habitat, but she’s also a supporter of the Good Neighbor Clinic, the Lending Room, and Friends of Hunting Island, participating in Beach Sweep every year. On Dataw, she’s a community garden member, former board association member of the Tennis Club, and past president of the Visual Arts Club. An avid tennis player, she’s an active member of the Coastal Carolina Tennis Association, CCTA.
When she’s not keeping her body active with running and tennis, she keeps her brain active at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), where she teaches classes and participates as a student. She leads a discussion in art appreciation, arranges gallery and studio tours, and teaches Calligraphy and Zentangles, miniature abstract works of art created by patterns. “It’s yoga for the brain.”
When asked what she’s interested in learning, she got excited about some upcoming courses, beekeeping, and walking meditation. The retired educator never stops learning or giving.
“Good stewardship is very important to me.” And it shows. Barbara has been a part of twenty-two house builds for LowCountry Habitat for Humanity. And she’s inscribed numerous Bibles with her calligraphy for each family as part of each dedication ceremony.
Those Bibles tell Barbara’s story of being a good steward — of trustworthiness, respect for the role, initiative, wisdom, generosity of spirit, gratitude, and respect and care for others.
Thank you, Barbra Krakehl, for being a champion to the Arts, to our Health, to the Earth, and especially … to Humanity.
