Show Ingenuity Solves olves Housing Problem Cooperative Action Builds Homes HOlnes for fOl Yakima Y Vets S of By BAUKHAGE BAUKHAGES S News New Analyst and n Commentator S Service 1616 Eye Street N. N W. W Washington D. D C. C C Editors Editor's Note This Is the first of four articles describing how veterans veterans vet vet- erans In different parts of the countr country coun cowl try tr managed to put roofs over their heads beads The first deals with Yakima Yaki Yak ma ma Wash WASHINGTON There is one quality that is as thoroughly indigenous indig indigo enous to America as potatoes hot dogs baseball or apple pie That is ingenuity It often orten is alluded to as Yankee ingenuity but it blossoms blossoms blos bios fr m the Florida Keys to Puget Puget Puget Pu- Pu get Sound and from the purview of ofSan ofSan ofSan San Diego's farthest floating pell pelt can to the northernmost quirk of St. St Johns John's river Ingenuity is something that achieves the impossible There has come to my attention attention at at- a number of stories stones on how s certain communities v 5 5 S Sties ties have solved with their American ArnerI AmerI Amer Arner- I ican lean ingenuity that seemingly unsolvable housing housing housing hous hous- ing problem I think some of the stories are worth repeating to you and Im I'm beginning with Yakima Wash a town of Baukhage people which I haven't visited for 15 years but which I can visualize clearly resting resting resting rest rest- ing contentedly in the heart of Yakima Yakima Yakima Yaki Yaki- ma valley That vicinity furnishes many things from apples to polo ponies but like many other communities in America it didn't until didn't-until until this spring furnish enough homes for veter veter- ans Formal dedication of a white roofed green room five house was the end of the first story I want to tell a story with many a sequel Last fall there were houses houes standing unfinished in Yakima for lack of plaster Many of the houses I were unlivable but with winter weather coming on and the housing shortage getting worse every day some people tried to move into their uncompleted homes Yakima's mayor M. M K Buck S 0 knew w that cost low cost homes under were needed for veterans as well veli as 1000 priced higher-priced houses He consulted contractors plaster sub contractor sub the plasterers' plasterers union veterans' veterans organizations and andS S press and radio gave them the facts asked their help Sub-contractors Sub agreed to move crews from commercial construction construction construe construe- tion to the unfinished homes They also agreed to transfer stocks of plaster being held for commercialS commercial building to veterans' veterans housing The S plasterers' plasterers union agreed to work only on veterans' veterans housing when plaster was available Materials dealers agreed to sell rock lath and sheet rock for veterans' veterans homes only The plan went into high gear when a carload of plaster the plaster the first to reach Yakima in a year year came came in one October night consigned to a aS I S local lumber company When the theS S company manager arrived early in the morning he found a crowd of veterans waiting for him The local commander of the Disabled American Veterans checked the I needs eeds of each purchaser The en en- S. S tire was apportioned on the spot spot to to the place where it would do dothe dothe dothe the most good Within a short time 50 homes were completed completed but but 50 were not enough so the mayor maor organized an emergency housing committee commit commit- tee with a n retired Baptist minIster minister min mm- ister as chairman veterans' veterans organization organization organization or or- representatives a lawyer lawer a labor chief and three persons from local savings and loan associations The committee asked local builders build ers and architects to design a house which would meet standards and still be sold for less than A large order in these days of high prices but the committee turned up upa a practical plan Four local contractors contractors con con- tractors were interested and construction construction con con- got underway The local government housing expediter helped by organizing a swap shop where builders could find out who had some extra hardwood flooring plaster or plumbing fixtures The Yakima contractor who completed completed completed com com- the first of these new low-cost low houses says he couldn't have built the house for the price if it he hadn't had plenty of cooperation from everybody everybody everybody ev ev- ev- ev in the building industry He saved money by using straight walls instead of offsets and he sImplified simplified sim sIm- pitied the cabinet work But the most important thing was the cooperation cooperation cooperation co co- co- co operation he got from the unions who saw that he had the right men atthe at atthe atthe the right time to do the jobs when they needed to be done The contractor contractor contractor con con- tractor paid union wages to his workmen bought his materials from T 4 J I A s' s 4 5 I 4 r JI t Sergeant Ex-Sergeant Colgan Coig-an finds KP K.P. duty in his new house a pleasure WAC Ex-WAC wife Mildred says the kitchen is everything a kitchen should be ventilation cross and plenty of in built-in cupboards regular dealers made a fair profit for himself and himself and was still able to sell the house for The veteran who moved Into the first house was Walter Colgan a former army sergeant and his wile wife Mildred who served in the WAC WAG They're very proud of their new fi five five- e- e room two-bedroom two product of American merican i ingenuity and tion Next week Des Moines Iowa |