Returning the favor: Whitworth students help West Central man with a yard makeover

Nearly 20 Whitworth University student workers, covered in dirt and grass, wiped sweat from their foreheads Friday morning as they helped a man who spent most of his life helping others.

Larry Barringer, 70, owns the West Central home where the students descended on Friday, most of them outfitted with shovels, lawn mowers, wheelbarrows and string trimmers.

Barringer watched from the sidewalk as his lawn was mowed and lilac bushes were planted, repeating to himself over and over, “I’m just flabbergasted.”

“I have no words,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air.

The project to give Barringer’s lawn a makeover started when Whitworth’s grounds manager, Brandon Pyle, went to a West Central neighborhood event. He was attempting to see how he could get his groundskeeping students, who work on the campus in the summer, more involved in the community and out of the north side of the county for a while to build their skill sets.

He came across Barringer.

But Barringer said he’d rather have Whitworth do something for his neighbor, Ken Allen, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2020.

“And he said, ‘Well, we will help him, too,’ ” Barringer said.

So Pyle got to work. And as it turns out, more than enough people in the community were willing to help, he said. Local arborists, sod companies and nurseries all stepped in and donated what they could. The goal, he said, was to make Allen’s and Barringer’s lawns crisp and clean.

“Human beings are just cool,” Pyle said. “It’s pretty special.”

While the students worked to replace sod, plant flowers and trim bushes in the two yards, Barringer stood outside with water and soda, inviting them to come take a break from the hot sun. Handing out refreshments isn’t out of the ordinary for him, though – he spends most of his days giving meals to those in need.

Barringer grew up in Airway Heights. He struggled with food insecurity as a child and became a bit of a troublemaker in school, he said – so to sharpen himself up, he joined the Air Force as a cook.

After being stationed throughout the U.S., Barringer found his home on North Adams Street, where he’s stayed put for 28 years. It’s where he co-founded “Neighbors Feeding Neighbors,” a group that comes together each week to pack 400 lunches for the homeless, people who can’t afford food after paying rent or anyone who finds themselves in a hard financial situation. Barringer also started a Meals-on-Wheels train for pets and spends time working with the Kiwanis Aktion Club, a club for adults with disabilities.

For all the days Barringer spends taking care of his community, there is little time to do things for himself.

“When I get home, I sit down and my energy is gone,” he said. “So my yard got away from me.”

But he still finds a little bit more time to help others just outside his front door.

On the corner of his white and green home, Barringer keeps a food pantry equipped with canned food. It’s painted over with the words, “Take what you need, leave what you can.”

Sometimes, his neighbors will come by and take some food just before they get paid and can’t afford a couple days of meals, he said.

Attached to the pantry with a silver chain is a blue cooler with drinks, and it remains full of ice over the summer as Barringer continually restocks it. His garage is full of canned tuna, mac and cheese, cereal boxes, frozen Starbucks sandwiches, ice pops, shelf-stable milk and other goods.

Barringer pointed to the numerous cases of food.

“That’s my passion,” he said. “I love to see people eat.”

Throughout the morning, student workers like Grace Hansen were getting even dirtier as they shoveled wood chips around to plant flowers.

Hansen, who was raised in Seattle but relocated to Spokane to attend Whitworth, sought a summer job with hopes to put energy back into Spokane while learning about the city. It worked out perfectly, she said.

“I work to take care of the trees. … So (I) do everything from pruning to watering to general tree health,” Hansen said.

She enjoys connecting with local communities through her love of plants.

Student employee Lane Watkins, who was also working in the hot sun early Friday morning, said the yard makeover is a learning experience that cultivates a positive and safe work environment.

“It’s applicable to anything like hard work – Being able to get down, maybe do some of the more dirty work,” Watkins said. “… And it’s gonna have a butterfly effect.”