Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 35, Number 66, Decatur, Adams County, 18 March 1937 — Page 16

Flexibility Os Homestead Houses Shown To Governor

The flexibility of the Home steads addition enabling it to meet all present or future needs of its residents was explained to Gov. M. Clifford Townsend and his official part, when they toured the development on an inspection tour this afternoon. Because of the tremendous national publicity given the project, a government experiment in low cost housing. Gar. Townsend was interested in seeing how it worked, and the possibility of similar privately financed projects which I might solve the housing shortage in this state. After an inspection tour over the more than a mile of driveway, the party etopped at the A- C. Hileman residence, house num-’ ber 42, where the Governor was shown how a “£' type house can be enlarged by the addition of one room. This was explained by Joe Linn, foreman in charge of maintenance. Sees Proposed Addition It was stated that the addition!

could be made at an approximate cost of 1500, the exact amount depending upon the quality of mater-! ial put into it This equity will belong to the resident having it done.l In case he leaves the addition at a later date, he will have the opportunity of selling this equity in addition to the equity already obtained by payments on the prin-! ci pal. The proposed extra room was staked off, so it could be easily visualized. Next the Governor's party was shown the interior of the George Auer home which contains a mod-, el G. E. all-electric kitchen. Here he was met by Mrs. Auer, Mrs.! Earl Chase, president of the Home-, steads home economics club, and Mrs. Charles Keller, secretary of the Decatur Homesteads association. During their visit at the project,! the Governor's party, met Ferd Litterer, project manager, and oth-' er persons who have been active in the development of the addition. Miss Marion Neprud, community manager, was out of the city this week and was unable to meet the Governor and his party. During bis visit to the project,! it was explained that the plans for the 48 houses were modeled after th.ise developed for modern apartment buildings, where space is at a premium. Every advantage has

•i been taken of available space with iI the result that the residents have i! as much actual room as those in .' larger but less well planned housI es. Although all funds for the pur--1 chase of the land and construction of the houses were furnished by the government, the project is now 1 owned and managed by an Indiana corporation composed of a board dents, local sponsors, and the govof directors representing the renteminent. The only claim to the project now maintained by the government is a first mortgage against the reel estale, held to protect its loan. Thia action has been taken to encourage interest in the type ofl neighbors to be obtained as vacan cies arise and are filled. Part Os City It was also explained that the addition has recently been annexed to the city and enjoys all services extended by the civil city such as fire and police protection

Governor Sees How Houses May Be Enlarged o j/ > -affiaOLX - i ItfOkEi Hil SiOWiMG iiflic il | •• re o’. i2‘o’ || I DiillC k ip, H c «, I a tet I J iircm _ hmwii.L The drawing on the left is a sketch of one of the typical houses at the Decatur Homesteads ‘• ddl ' l ™' as seen by Gov. M Clifford Townsend on his tour of the development I same house with an extra room added, an improvement. w-hich may be made ith f - d(X)1 - wa y Below is the first floor plan of the improvement. The addition is marked in heavy lines w>«* ‘ bc . indicated by dotted lines This possible addition was staked off and explained to Gov. Townsend this attei noon. I

—Tis’ Small But Mighty—--0 0 0 EACH SUCCEEDING YEAR FINDS THOUSANDS OF NEW FARM FRIENDS BEING GUIDED BY THE STANDARDS SET BY OUR FAMOUS MARK OF QUALITY. The Mark Itself Is Small But Its Prestige Mighty. % The Schaler Company Manufacturers of Black Beauty Harness Since 1901.

and school privileges. Taxes are paid by the Decatur Homesteads association as a unit and it is re- - imbursed by monthly payments made by the 48 residents. These types of homes are being j purchased by citizens in the med- , lum wage or salary class, some of j whom would not be able to own their own homes otherwise. The residents now have 40 years to pay for their homes, wh'ch is being done in small monthly pay--1 ments. An interest rate of only ' three per cent is charged by the government. Os interest to the Governor's par--1 ty were the gardens and fruit trees, which in some cases have proved ' valuable sources of food. It was ' explained that the comparatively ’ large lots were called for in the • original plans in order that in case 1 of future slacks in industrial employment. it would be possible for > residents to raise a considerable ’ portion of the food at home. How- ! ever, at the present because of the unusual demands for labor, a number of the residents do not i have sufficient time to properly . care for vegetable gardens and so . are transforming parts of them to - lawns. ! 1 It was pointed out to the Gover-

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAI THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 1937.

e nor that this project ft* the only s one of its kind in Indiana, that it • was the fourth homesteads pros ject approved in the United States and the second one completed. ? Credit was given by the home- ,- steads representatives for the cos operation offered by the city, couni ty, industries and others. ’ —«- — > Aborigines Smoke Opium ■ Darwin, Australia —(UP)—Three i ' aborigines caught smoking opium s used a strange outfit, police herel revealed. It consisted of a jar which 1 ’ had contained a yeast extract, used ' as the fat-lamp; a broken beer bot--1 tie, as the lamp-glass; a salad-oil ‘ bottle, as the pipe, and bicycle spokes, as the opium needlee. ’ o — Toledo Ships Aboard Toledo. O.—< UP)—More than 25- . 000,000 worth of Toledo-made pro- ’ ducts went into foreign markets in 1935, according to Clara B. TeffL foreign secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. General betterment of foreign trade is expected to fee reflected here this year. —o — Trade In a Good Town—Decatur.

The Work of the World a A —is done with the help of products in our plant. This community grows a type of white ash, which makes the finest ■ shovel and farm tool handles in the world. Seventy-five per cent of our product is exported, a fact which brings thousands of dollars into this state each year. Approximately 50 persons are employed annually in the cutting, hauling and processing of our product. We are glad of the opportunity we have had to assist in the building of Decatur in the 27 years of our operations. LaFontaine Handle Company

Built With Decatur! 0/ * I IMULTANEOUSLY with the rise of industrial Decatur has come the development of the telephone, which was in its infancy when our company was founded. Year by year we have added improvements to our plant to keep pace with the rapid advance of our industry. Today, as always, we have the most modern equipment available. As one of the few remaining locally owned telephone companies in the state, we are proud to say our motto “A phone in every home” is near accomplishment. Our policy of extending the best service at the lowest rates is being rewarded with an increasing family of patrons. We are especially proud of the large number of rural patrons. A total of 645 of our 2,526 phones are located in country homes. Citizens Telephone Company Operating Exchanges At DECATUR BERNE MONROE

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