When our fathers got back from WWII, they were in the mood to get out of living in barracks and tents. They wanted new homes! So many of them purchased brand new tract homes, which were being built by the hundreds of thousands all over the US.
My father purchased our tract home in the early 50's. It was probably built right after the war was over. It sat on a nice-sized corner lot, had a one-car garage, three bedrooms, one bathroom, and was probably about 1100 square feet in size. It was heated by a floor furnace, and cooled with a swamp cooler.
A new home would not be built with those dimensions today. In my area, even the most modest new home has two bathrooms. And the days of the big lot are gone. Lots are postage-stamp-sized in lower-priced subdivisions.
But our fathers felt like they were in tall cotton, buying new homes for perhaps $10,000. After all, they grew up having to visit the "house behind the house" for bathroom duties. The sleek homes they were able to purchase had real INDOOR plumbing!
So, we families grew up in small houses with a single bath. we grew accustomed to waiting for our turn in the "little room," and nobody thought they were being deprived.
Additionally, our heating and cooling systems were far from reliable in many cases. Our floor furnace's pilot light was constantly blowing out, and morning temperatures of near-freezing were the result.
But the biggest downside of floor furnaces was the fact that natural gas is heavier than air. So a malfunctioning unit might possibly have a mass of extremely flammable gas built up inside it, and you lit a pilot light by sending flame to the bottom with a match!
Fortunately, we suffered no explosions in our home, although it was known to happen in our town.
The evaporative cooler had a mind of its own. It liked to shut its water pump down for no apparent reason on August days where the temperature was around 100 degrees. It didn't take long for an 1100 square foot house to turn into a kiln under such circumstances.
But, I remember that house with nothing but fondness. I revisited my home town about ten years ago, and was pleased to see my house still standing. It's has additions built on (another bathroom, I'm sure), but I was still able to recognize many familiar landmarks, at least on the outside.
My current home is also modest, a 1500 square foot 1972 tract home. But it's been extensively remodeled, and my lot is at least as big as the one I grew up on.
I think I feel the same pride in it that my dad must have felt about that 1940's tract home in Miami, Oklahoma.
Comments (3)
I can relate. Right now I am raising 2 boys in a mobile home. One bathroom, but they are fortunate enough to be able to have their own bedrooms. Some days it is really cold (we are in New England) and during the summer it can be really hot. But its our home and most days I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Posted by Amy | July 4, 2007 11:05 AM
Posted on July 4, 2007 11:05
We have fond memories of living in a 900 sq. ft. ranch with no air, not even wall units.
Cool hand luke had it much better than us in his sweatbox. Needless
to say, no one was overweight in our family, as even casual sex would burn off 1000
calories in the sauna-like heat. We made homemade "COOLDANA'S" out of wet towels, and
that got us by. The poor dog died in the doghouse, which had to be at least 125 F. I guess thats where they get the expression "Hot
Dog"........poor Samson!
Posted by Scott | July 12, 2007 7:42 AM
Posted on July 12, 2007 07:42
I have seen shows about tract houses after the war. My family was a little younger and first started in an apartment and then they bought thier first home in the new suburbs. It was a two story family dwelling and was built in the real early sixties. It still survives today. My grandparents home was a rambler and they too lived during WWII, but didn't get a tract house! Hmmmmmm! 1000 calories burned for casual sex....Hmmmmmm!
Posted by Riversend | June 24, 2009 8:36 PM
Posted on June 24, 2009 20:36