The group went to the roofer’s house after Bertram obtained his address through a local connection. Despite exaggerated rumors that later claimed someone’s arm was broken, nothing violent happened. Instead, thirty motorcycles gathered outside the roofer’s home on a Tuesday evening, with thirty men sitting silently and waiting.

Bertram eventually knocked on the door. When the roofer answered, Bertram calmly explained that an eighty-six-year-old widower had been waiting six weeks for his roof to be completed while the materials remained scattered across his property.

He told the roofer that the men outside wanted to know how he planned to make the situation right. The roofer called his crew, and they arrived the next morning to finish the neglected roof. The work took two days and was later inspected by a licensed contractor.

The inspection confirmed that the completed roof passed. The roofer also returned $11,000 of the $17,400 he had received, representing everything he could immediately repay. He signed an agreement promising to pay the remaining balance, with the terms formally prepared by the family’s lawyer.

That evening, my father watched the motorcycles return down his street from the same window where he had spent six weeks waiting for the roofer. Still wearing his slippers, he greeted Bertram and shook his hand for a long time.

My father explained that he had served in the Marines and had never needed anyone to fight for him. Bertram reassured him that nobody had fought; they had simply parked outside. The response made my father laugh, the first genuine laughter I had heard from him since the roofing disaster began.

The roofer continued operating his business, so I formally reported him again, submitting the payment agreement as evidence. This time, the state contractor board opened an investigation, although its outcome remained uncertain.

Most importantly, my father finally had a safe, solid roof over his head before winter. He personally removed the moldy shingles, refusing assistance despite the exhausting work. His determination showed exactly who he was: proud, independent, and unwilling to ask others to do what he could still accomplish himself.