Her old room, down another hall, will be renovated just like the one she was moving into.

It was, with the help of many volunteers, done quickly.

“It was a big mess,” she said. “I think it’s going to be OK.”

The volunteers in her room were making sure that when they were done Wilson’s clothes, pictures and other possessions would be found in familiar places. To do that, they were taking care to put them somewhere as close to where they were before.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Marian Home resident Lynn Wilson looks over a battery operated light that volunteers Jillian Cosgrove, 17, of Fort Dodge, and Mackenzie Halverson, 8, also of Fort Dodge, helped her activate Tuesday during a residents move to new rooms that's part of the home's renovations. Eric Halverson, executive director, watches from the door.

“I think it’s going to be fine,” she said. “You just have to get used to it.”

Jillian Cosgrove, 17, of Fort Dodge, was among the helpers.

“We’re mostly taking clothing,” she said. “We’re hanging them up for her. We want to make them feel as at home as possible.”

As an added bonus, Wilson got to spend some time visiting with the volunteers.

“She showed us pictures of her dogs,” Cosgrove said. “It’s fun to hear the stories.”

Mackenzie Halverson, 8, of Fort Dodge was also busy helping with Wilson’s room.

She heard about Wilson’s family and friends, but didn’t get any “back in my day” stories, she said. Instead, she was enjoying the experience and hopes that, in the future, she can come visit her new friend.

Adison Schulte, 12, of Fort Dodge also volunteered.

“I like seeing all the smiles,” she said. “I learned about their history and helped them find some things.”

Wilson enjoyed their company.

“They helped me. We had a great time,” she said. “They worked and worked.”

Mary Lundberg, a social worker at the Marian Home, said the move went smoothly.

“A lot of them are excited to have something new and bright,” she said. “It went really well.”

Not only were the residents told about the move to the new rooms ahead of time, so were their families. She assured them that the new room would be as much like their old ones as possible.

“We try to keep it familiar,” she said.

Eric Halverson, executive director of Marian Home, said the 22 volunteers made quick work of it.

“They knocked it out in an hour,” he said. “By the end of today these rooms should all be back together again.”

In the near future, as more work is completed on the center-wide renovations, others will be moved to new rooms to allow workers to renovate the older rooms.

“We’ve got two moves left,” he said.

Several other projects should be completed by then, he said, including work on a 3,000-square-foot therapy center.

Tuesday’s move involved the staff of Crimmins Relocation and the work of Woodruff Construction and the many subcontractors. Volunteers came from a variety of organizations, including the Boy Scouts, parishioners, St. Edmond Catholic School students, and six staff members who assisted the volunteers.