By Thea Jarvis

A warm blanket of North Georgia sunshine covered well-wishers at groundbreaking ceremonies for Good Shepherd Place in Cumming Dec. 3.

The event anticipated construction of 48 one- and two-bedroom apartments for low to moderate income senior citizens on 12 acres of woodland off the Canton Highway. The project is sponsored by Catholic Housing Initiatives (CHI), a corporation within the archdiocesan Secretariat for Social Concerns.

Archdiocesan staff, civic officials, professionals involved in developing the complex and prospective residents were on hand for the groundbreaking. Monsignor Edward Dillon, vicar general, represented Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM.

"God wants this done. It's obviously a good thing to do," Sister Kathryn Cliatt, OP, told the crowd gathered at the foot of the hill where Good Shepherd is to be built.

The project had many setbacks and pitfalls, Sister Cliatt related, adding that she sometimes wondered if the groundbreaking would ever take place.

"I'm really elated that we've reached this point," she said later. "This represents six years of labor -- the labor of a lot of people."

During the ceremony, Sister Cliatt, immediate past director of Rural Social Services at The Place in Cumming, recognized the special efforts of George L. Aulbach, for whom Good Shepherd's community room is to be named.

Aulbach, retired president and chief executive officer of Laing Properties, now serves as vice-president of projects for CHI. In 1991, he made himself available as a volunteer to help develop affordable housing under the auspices of the archdiocese. He is currently directing the sale of tax credits to finance Good Shepherd Place.

Sister Cliatt called Aulbach's offer of assistance "a sign from God" that CHI was on the right track. "It was manna from heaven." Aulbach became the "motivating factor" who convinced them Good Shepherd could be built.

Monsignor Dillon said he is hopeful, as is Archbishop Lyke, that "Good Shepherd Place will be the first of many such projects" in the archdiocese, following Gospel mandates that "no one ever be left out in the cold, that no one ever suffer the chill of loneliness." The complex will signal the Church's commitment to the poor, the old, the dispossessed, he said.

Ruby Martin, 70, a frequent visitor to The Place, represented future Good Shepherd residents at the groundbreaking. Since moving to Forsyth County in 1934, Mrs. Martin has worked in a local clothing factory and a chicken processing plant. Now retired and living on fixed income, she has volunteered at The Place and used its network of social services since its opening in 1975.

"This place has been my life," Mrs. Martin said. "I couldn't have gotten by without it."

The possibility of living at Good Shepherd was good news to Mrs. Martin, who lives on her own in a large rented house that is costly to heat. The complex will be within walking distance of a grocery, drugstore and bank. A medical center is also nearby.

Mrs. Martin's friend, Susan Bracken, 66, is another volunteer at The Place hoping to find room at Good Shepherd. She moved to Cumming 12 years ago.

"I'm from a cotton farm in Alabama," Mrs. Bracken said, and has worked as a security guard in her home state and in Georgia. Now retired, she uses her pickup truck to help staff at The Place "whenever they call me."

Prior to the groundbreaking, Mrs. Bracken was part of the four-person crew that spruced up the site for company. After sweeping, raking and gathering up litter, "I hauled it all off in my truck, she explained.

Local residents give back to rural Social Services because it is a real presence in the community.

Belle Barrett, 54, said that she has used the food pantry and clothing store at The Place and has occasionally received financial assistance there as well.

"I always give back," explained Mrs. Barrett, who grew up in nearby Coal Mountain.

Because she is widowed and her six children are busy with their own families, she said, "I'm on my own."

If she is able to move to Good Shepherd, Mrs. Barrett said, "I'd feel a lot safer. It would be a lot better situation."

Sister Marie McFadden, SSND, an outreach-intake worker at The Place who will coordinate social services for Good Shepherd residents said the complex is welcome.

"It's a very needed project," said Sister McFadden, who began working at The Place this past summer. "People are continually calling about it."

Good Shepherd Place is due to be completed in late 1993. Thus far, $830,000 has been raised through the sale of tax credits, the project's primary funding source. Construction will begin when the final eight tax credits have been sold, George Aulbach said.