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Show AggieLife Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 Page 4 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com Eccentric homes in Cache Valley THE BOAT HOUSE, LEFT, The Round House, Top Right and The Valley View House, Bottom Right, are among the many recognized houses in the Cache Valley area. A number of USU students reside in these structures, many of which have been in the valley for half a decade. TODD JONES photo By MACKENZIE LOVE staff writer Most USU students or residents from Logan have heard of weird and quirky houses close to the university. Since Logan was founded in 1859, houses have come and gone but there are a few that have stuck around and continue to be recognized. Boat House The Boat House is located on the corner of 600 East and 700 North and stands out by its winding curves and white and blue exterior. Reasons for the name include the house’s location next to a canal, and the fact that it simply looks like a boat from the outside. Built in the 1930s by Logan resident, Clarence Stucki, the house was originally built for his family. Jody Robins, who currently owns the house, bought it from Clarence’s wife, Barbara Stucki, in 2005. The house was too much for Stucki to maintain and was put up in an auction-style sell where Robins was the highest bidder. Most people would say the outside is interesting but the inside is what’s intriguing. The inside has a continuous staircase that changes from wood to carpet as it ascends. The first part of the staircase from the first to second floor is wooden and showcases a painted mural the residents work on from time to time. The house has hidden doors and compartments along with multiple balconies that wrap around the porch that make for a great study area. Curvy lines with glass and wood paneled doors and an old rock fireplace resting on green shaggy carpet also make the house dif- ferent. Robin’s favorite part of the house is the small, vibrant-colored mosaic tiles found in most of the bathrooms. He also likes how the house consists of curvy lines instead of the usual square, perpendicular lines found in most homes. “Everything is circular and has a lot of windows,” Robins said. “For being built in the 1930s it’s extremely modern. Clarence was just really ahead of his time.” Retro House The Retro House, located at 789 E. 900 North, is known for its uniqueness. Built between 1945 and 1946, the house was originally owned by a woman who could not continue to make mortgage payments. The house was taken over and paid for until the woman passed away. Logan Preferred Properties currently owns the residence. The word “retro” derives from the Latin prefix “retro,” meaning “backwards” or “in past times”. Walking into the Retro House conveys the feeling of just that – walking into another time. From the doorbell chime sounding like a squealing train whistle, to the entire floor carpeted even into the all-pink bathroom, the Retro House is classic and outdated but seems to have been trendy at its time. An ironing board folds out from the kitchen wall and one occupant finds his room to be in the spot where a garage once stood. Décor from random bottles to gnomes or geographic rocks take up kitchen-wall and shelf space. Two vinyl sliders separate the kitchen from the living room and hallway, and pink flowered wallpaper occupies the ceiling in one bedroom with an overhead compartment that will hold just about anything. Retro House resident Sheridan Guymon, USU parks and recreation graduate, said several guys were involved in the naming of the house. “It just needed a name,” Guymon said. “It was a cool house and the casino carpeting and the old fixtures make it different.” The Retro House is also famous for the African tree in the backyard where the residents can rest in a hammock hung from the tree in their spare time. Round House The Round House is named for its unique and complete round shape. Located at 729 E. 900 North, the house has four different living areas. The apartment on the middle level is what makes the house interesting. The stairs of the apartment lead to the basement where one isolated shower is located, creating a creepy effect compared to other normal showers or bathrooms. Star Trek décor in the boy’s apartment and a hammock in the opening of the windows where it curves also make the Round House out of the ordinary. Origins of the Round House are not exact, but Lauryn Heaton, manager of the Round House, expects the house has been around since the early 1980s based on the earliest pictures she has of the house. Valley View House The general color scheme of the kitchen including an avocado green counter top makes this house exceptional. At 648 E. 900 North, the Valley View House is located in the middle of the parking lot of Valley View Apartments. Nothing seems to make sense according to resident Jennifer Lindstrom and the house has a “what will happen next” feel. From low ceilings to built in bookcases, the rooms are strange and only have one electrical plug and a confusing location for light switches, mostly behind the doors. Even the toilet in the restroom is built off the ground on a pedestal and requires a stool for a footrest. The basement of the house has a creepy feel with an unstable wooden staircase leading to a concrete cellar. The house exterior is colored light blue and black and makes its home next to a duck pond and an old wishing well. Garden Court House The Garden Court House wins the best place to play hide and go seek. Even though it is charming from its balcony underneath an apricot tree to its yellow coloring, the most exciting part of the house is the hidden doorway from one closet to a back room. From the back room, a trap door leads to the top of a closet in a separate room making for an easy fire escape, food delivery or opportunity to scare roommates. Located at 935 N. 800 East, the house has four different apartments inside. The main section is also famous for its pearlescent-blueand black-tiled bathrooms with two small showers. Each separate room is unique and diverse from low hanging ceilings above beds to fixed skylights. Alisha Christensen from South Jordan agrees her apartment in the house is exceptional. “It’s not a cookie cutter apartment,” Christensen said. –mackenzie.love@aggiemail.usu.edu Celebrate the freedom to read and pick up a book By CASSIE DOOM guest writer What do “Harry Potter,” the Bible and “The Grapes of Wrath” have in common? They are books that are frequently banned or challenged in this country. Contrary to popular belief, books are still banned and challenged in cities across the nation every year. To combat the infringement on the First Amendment, the American Library Association (ALA) sponsors Banned Books Week, which takes place annually during the last week in September. In an effort to celebrate the freedom to read, the ALA encourages libraries and other book distributors nationwide to recognize the need to stop banning books. The ALA explains that the foundation for Banned Books Week is “intellectual freedom – the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular.” Why ban books? Allen Nilsen and Kenneth Donelson explain in their textbook, “Literature for Young Adults,” that “any work is potentially censorable by someone, someplace, sometime, for some reason,” suggesting that any book may be offensive to any person. Vicki Read, a librarian at the Merrill-Cazier Library, said, with the aid of www.ala.org, the usual reasons books are banned is because of sex or sensuality, offensive language or unsuited to a particular age group. “Who has authority to declare what’s obscene?” she said. Read claims that it is her responsibility, as a librarian, to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to materials. That is why she sup- ports Banned Books Week. Read insists that it is important, particularly in an academic institution that everyone can choose what they view and read and that they have open and free access. In an effort to support the library patron’s right to read, she said the library does not keep a record of materials checked out by faculty, staff or students once they have been checked in. “Most people don’t know that, but we do it because we want them to feel safe,” Read said. Patricia Gantt of the English department feels that Banned Books Week is all about the freedom to read what we choose. “We have so many personal freedoms. I don’t know why people want to curtail the right to read,” she said. “So often, I see when people try to stop others from reading, they either haven’t read the book or given it a fair analysis.” Gantt said many parents have multiple televisions throughout their homes and something just does not add up. “Kids are watching hours of unsupervised television, but they don’t want them to read “The Grapes of Wrath”? That’s out of balance,” Gantt said. To restore that balance, Gantt said she encourages everyone to “allow their minds to wander” among the pages of the books often found on the list of banned books. This list, and other information about Banned Books Week including how you can get involved, can be found at www.ala. org/bbooks. -cas.l.doo@aggiemail.usu.edu |