My husband and I used to live in Lafayette, Indiana, the Home of National Homes, and their largest manufacturing plant. The trucks were a common sight on the main highways through town, many heading for Interstate 65, which is the main North-South artery though the state, heading north towards Chicago, and south not only towards Indianapolis, but to Interstate 70, the main East-West artery through Indiana to all points almost to the Atlantic Ocean, and west to the far Western States. We have driven I70 to its terminus out west, and I think that was in Utah. Anyway, the I-65 route south certainly did not stop at Indianapolis, but goes out of state for a considerable distance. My reason for the "guided tour" so to speak, was to show how putting their headquarters factory in Lafayette was a vitally important factor that extended their reach for sales and development through the country in any direction. There trucks could be seen pulling out of their main Depot gates onto the main highways through town at anytime of the day or night, since their goal was to reach any qualified building site before work started at early morning. The farther away, the longer the drive, meant an overnight drive for many. Others left the plant at early morning, creating traffic issues for workday traffic, particularly at the nearby enormous "big name" aluminum factory. The installation of traffic lights right at their main gate made it some smoother, but didn't cure the problem completely, especially during spring, summer and fall building weather. Winters weren't completely out of line, as points south in better weather kept right on going. We moved there in 1978, for school for me, and different, better paying jobs for my husband. We didn't live in a National, although there were plenty to be had in town! The rents were usually more than we could afford, and the ones we could potentially afford rent-wise, required we also pay utilities, which again put them out of our reach. We qualified for subsidized housing, which we gladly took, when we discovered that our first child was on the way, especially! And our apartment rent paid our utilities, except phone, which we didn't have for a few years. And the apartment was quite a bit more spacious than the little rental Nationals, and also came with air conditioning, likewise the homes did not! Didn't take but about 2 seconds to figure out which one was a better deal! There are numerous neighborhoods that we're developed specifically of National Homes of all sizes and levels of amenities. Some were quite spacious, built in nice areas on large lots, with garages, or at least carports. Other areas were early Post-War developments, very small, very basic, and designed to provide basic shelter and little else. But with the housing shortage of the times, ANY home was better than continuing to live with the in-laws, or in furnished rooms that provided no privacy whatsoever. Every young couple was seeking homes back then, and couldn't afford to pay for a lot of house, at least not right away. Once these were turned over five or six times, many became investment property, and turned to rentals. Many of those were not exceptionally well maintained by the landlords, either, and it was easy to see which ones those were. Mostly small four room and bath, two bedrooms, eat-in kitchen and small living room. Heat, but no A/C, and in the sweltering heat of Midwest farm country, A/C was almost a basic requirement. So, we stayed in our affordable, air conditioned cool apartment. Who wouldn't?
My husband and I used to live in Lafayette, Indiana, the Home of National Homes, and their largest manufacturing plant. The trucks were a common sight on the main highways through town, many heading for Interstate 65, which is the main North-South artery though the state, heading north towards Chicago, and south not only towards Indianapolis, but to Interstate 70, the main East-West artery through Indiana to all points almost to the Atlantic Ocean, and west to the far Western States. We have driven I70 to its terminus out west, and I think that was in Utah. Anyway, the I-65 route south certainly did not stop at Indianapolis, but goes out of state for a considerable distance. My reason for the "guided tour" so to speak, was to show how putting their headquarters factory in Lafayette was a vitally important factor that extended their reach for sales and development through the country in any direction. There trucks could be seen pulling out of their main Depot gates onto the main highways through town at anytime of the day or night, since their goal was to reach any qualified building site before work started at early morning. The farther away, the longer the drive, meant an overnight drive for many. Others left the plant at early morning, creating traffic issues for workday traffic, particularly at the nearby enormous "big name" aluminum factory. The installation of traffic lights right at their main gate made it some smoother, but didn't cure the problem completely, especially during spring, summer and fall building weather. Winters weren't completely out of line, as points south in better weather kept right on going.
ReplyDeleteWe moved there in 1978, for school for me, and different, better paying jobs for my husband. We didn't live in a National, although there were plenty to be had in town! The rents were usually more than we could afford, and the ones we could potentially afford rent-wise, required we also pay utilities, which again put them out of our reach. We qualified for subsidized housing, which we gladly took, when we discovered that our first child was on the way, especially! And our apartment rent paid our utilities, except phone, which we didn't have for a few years. And the apartment was quite a bit more spacious than the little rental Nationals, and also came with air conditioning, likewise the homes did not! Didn't take but about 2 seconds to figure out which one was a better deal!
There are numerous neighborhoods that we're developed specifically of National Homes of all sizes and levels of amenities. Some were quite spacious, built in nice areas on large lots, with garages, or at least carports. Other areas were early Post-War developments, very small, very basic, and designed to provide basic shelter and little else. But with the housing shortage of the times, ANY home was better than continuing to live with the in-laws, or in furnished rooms that provided no privacy whatsoever. Every young couple was seeking homes back then, and couldn't afford to pay for a lot of house, at least not right away. Once these were turned over five or six times, many became investment property, and turned to rentals. Many of those were not exceptionally well maintained by the landlords, either, and it was easy to see which ones those were. Mostly small four room and bath, two bedrooms, eat-in kitchen and small living room. Heat, but no A/C, and in the sweltering heat of Midwest farm country, A/C was almost a basic requirement. So, we stayed in our affordable, air conditioned cool apartment. Who wouldn't?