Show K II Basement Homes Solve Crisis This his is the second second in a series of 0 storie stories showing how bow American ingenuity ty helped solve Americas America's problem the the GI Gl s No 1 I h headache horsing h o using Children in Orphanage Because of Housing Shortage that Shortage that was the 1 headline on a story in the St. St Cloud Minn Times Times Times-a a story that went onto on onto onto to say Three applications were made this week by parents seeking admission for their children in the St. St Cloud Orphans Orphan's home The parents parents parents par par- were unable to rent or buy living quarters Rev Jerome Bielejeski Bielejeski Bielejeski Biele- Biele jeski in charge of the home hoine said This institution is no place for a achild achild achild child with a mother and father who can provide a home for him Our principal objective is to care for dependent dependent de de- dependent de- de pendent and neglected children and orphans These children have not been neglected except by soci soci- ety That was two years year ago It stirred the people of St. St C oud They set up an emergency housing Chousing committee whose first action was to print a blank form to be filled out by people who needed homes Within a few days families had registered registered- nearly 1000 people with no place to live To take care of the most urgent cases the town population obtained trailers trailers' and set up two camps Then it turned to the houses which were being built very built very slowly because of the lack of material particularly particularly particularly par par- lumber Also these houses cost more than most returning vets could pay There is a concrete block plant in St. St Cloud Why Mayor Murphy asked himself cant we male mae use of that Isn't there some kind of house we e can build using concrete Why not basement houses St St. Cloud had used basement houses before before in in the depression days of the early when people who couldn't afford to build complete complete complete com com- houses houses' built basements with the hope of completing the structure later The mayor mayor- agreed to underwrite the construction of the first five basement houses in October 1945 Today th there re are of them in St. St Cloud The basements are approximately 24 feet by 30 feet with concrete block or poured concrete walls rising rising rising ris ris- ris- ris ing approximately two feet above the ground Each basement is divided divided divided di di- vided into two bedrooms a living room and dinette with a kitchen in one corner and a bath Some roofs have a small rise others are flat with tarpaper laid over what will some day be the floor of houses The cost is 2600 and the buyers agree to build the rest of the house within three years if possible One of the first GIs to move into a basement home was vas Cliff Canfield Gan- Gan field Cliff was 20 months in the infantry in the South Pacific made two landings on Luzon and went into into into in- in in in- to Japan with MacArthurs MacArthur's troops When he first got a job in St. St Cloud with a department store his wife Sarah and daughter Karen lived with her folks in a town in the northern part of the state I Others in the community followed the lead of Mayor Murphy Among them were young Don Strack who returned from the army late in 1945 Before the war Don had worked with his father who is a contractor Don wanted to build houses for his pals back from the army and so he started constructing basements He says that construction time is about three to four weeks not counting delays for materials Strack has completed 12 basement houses and has several under construction now Other people in the community have built basement houses for sale or rent to veterans Among them is Ralph Borrowman city engineer And some vets have started to build their own homes George Schuler former sergeant who spent 23 months in the European theater is isone isone isone one who is building his own basement basement basement base base- ment home A local church also is being built like basement homes Redeemer Lutheran church has built a basement basement basement base base- ment which has two white crosses rising above the hatchways now used for entrances |