THE CAROLINA TIMES—Saturday, July 25, 1964—6
Housing Help For
Older People —
Nearly one third of the 18 mU-
lion people over 65 in the United
States live in rural areas. Four
million of these older rural
people live in small towns and
atxiut a million and a half live
on farms.
Housing problems for the el
derly range from the need for
smaller, more convenient units
to modernizing, and maintaining
present housing, much of which
is below standard.
These facts are brought out in
a demonstration on better hous
ing for older citizens at the U.
S. Department of Agriculture's
Food and Home Fair in Wash
ington April 14-30.
Retirement housing is differ
ent in rural areas and cities.
Most rural people live in single
family houses. When a farmer
retires, he generally has to move.
This mean; he must buy, build
or rent. If he builds, few credi
tors other than USDA would
make a long term loan, because
of hsi age. Several loan pro
grams are offered tp help these
people.
One is direct loans at low in
terest rates, for people over 62
who can take care erf their own
tiomes. These kinds of borrow
ers may use a co-signer, such
as a son or daughter, if the
parent does not have enough in
come to repay the loan. Rural
people over 62 may also borrow
to buy a used bonne, if it is in
good repair and fits their needs.
For those elderly rural people
who own a home but don’t have
enough income to repay a loan,
a small grant can be made to
make the home safe and remove
health hazards. Grants are
made to fix broken windows,
patch chimneys, repair roofs,
and make other repairs to pro
vide the family with minimum
housing.
Other loans may be ^ade for
rental housing. Direct loans are
rpade at low interest rates to
nonprofit organizations to finance
housing for the elderly in the
low and moderate income
groups. One recent loan of $182,-
000 was used by a nonprofit corp
oration to build 31 apartments.
A similar loan is available on
an insured basis to individuals
or commercial corporations. A
builder in New Jersey built 20
one-and two-t)edroom apartments
last year. He borrow^ from a
nearby bank and USDA insured
the loan. The apartments were
designed for older people and
include such features as grab
bars and nonslip floors in the
bathroom, and easy access to
cabinets and equipment.
The elderly are the fastest
growing group in our national
population. TTieir needs will l)e
givi^ more attention in the fu-
turr. The Agriculture Depart-
mCTt has made a modest begin
ning in helping to finance hous
ing for the elderly in rural areas.
More information may be obtain
ed from the local county repre
sentative of the USDA's Farm
ers Home Administration. He
is usually located at the county
seat.
Wood By-Products
Are Almost Endless
This country is a big wood
producer. With only nine per
cent of the world’s woodland,
the U. S. produces 40 percent of
the world’s lumber, 42 percent
of the world's paper, and 58 per
cent of the v.’orld’s plywood. Our
National Forests (managed by
the U. S. Department of Agricul
ture) produced 10 billion Iward
feet of timber last year. More
and better wood products for
home and Industry are research
goals of the Department.
The world's first laboratory
for tlie e.’cclusive study of wood
uses was USDA’s Forest Pro-
i ducts Lalxiratory in Mariison^
I Wisconsin, founds more than 50
[ years ago. Today, scientists at
this laboratory are busy testing
and analyzing wood to further
increase the value and useful
ness of this 20-billion-dollar in
dustry.
In the making of sulphite pulp
—from which tjond paper and
high grade paper t)oard are
made—cellulose fibers are chem
ically separated from the wood.
Half the wood is waste in »this
process. Half of this waste is
Wood is a wonder product.
From it come boards and Ijoxes,
plastics and paper, drugs and
dies. By adding diemicals to it,
wood can t>e produced that won't
bum, that won’t shrink, swell
or warp, and that defies termites
and decay. CSiemicals from
wood help create a variety of
products—^yeasts, alcohol, adhe
sives, plastics and flavorings,
lignin, the cement that holds
wood fibers together, and a
quarter of the waste is sugar.
Ciemists have known that lig
nin is a vast storehouse of chem
ical products for a long time,
but only recently have found
practical w,iys to remove its
chemical components. Vanillin,
which supplies half the vanilla
like flavoring market, was the
first such chemiial produit to
be successfully derived from
lignin.
Scientists at the laboratory re
cently found that anothes lignin
dehivative—dimethyl sulfoxide—
is readily absorbed into the body
when ni>bed on the skin. It also
produces a numbing effect.
“DMSO,” as it is called, shows
promise of becoming an agent by
which other drugs may be ad
ministered — and will possibly
make the hypodermic needle ob
solete. Its use as a pain killer
is also promising. And the by
product of u by-product—vanillic >
acid — produces ingredients for
perfumes and cosmetics, a syn
thetic f#>er, a food preservative,
and a drug to combat skin fun
gus infections. A fertilizer-soil
conditioner is now made from
sawdust and bark. From wood
itself comes acid ctiemical rocket
fuel—nitrated cellulose—that con
tains its own oxygen.
Other less miraculous uses of
wood are seen every day: Treat
ed wood that defies rot is used
for fence posts, utility poles.
railroad ties aiid building con
struction. Wool) that won’t warp
—a discovery of the Forest Pro
ducts Laboratoi-y—is the result
of impregnating phenolic resin,
a pJastic, into vjood veneers, and
then bonding the veneers togeth
er. Then came a similar dis
covery that produced a com
pressed wood harder than it was
in its original f0rm. Wood treat
ed in this waylis used in knife
handles and otJier special pro
ducts which will withstar/ re
peated di.shwashings without
swelling or cracking.
“Stress-skin” panels (two pan
els of wood bonded to a core
material) were|born in the FPL
in 1937. Hie pamcls actually add
strength .ind close up the spaces
between wood framing members
in a building. From this prin
ciple came tht basis for pre
fabricated home construction.
Another widely]used material is
the sandwich \rall. This has a
core of paper honeycomb, to
which outer wajls of plywood or
other material jare glued. The
result is a structural panel that
is amazingly strong and li^t.
Other research and testing
have resulted |n strong arches
for churches bams, better
packaging for farm aod indus
trial products, rnore duraUe woed
fiidins with more weather resis
tance, and better charcoal foe
your outdoor barbecue. Ea^
day. more andi better products
reach the market that are born
of wood throu^ research.
Now! You Can
AFFORD THE BIGGEST
BUDGET HOME IN TOWN
OPEN HOUSE
2-8 P.M.
$76.76
PER MONTH
Excluding: Tax^s
and Insurance !
NO MONEY DOWN VA
Forest View Heights
Durham^s Most Exclusive & Finest
RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY
I
Go oat Fayetteville Road to Cornwallis, turn left at Beechwood
and follow to Model Home
Own this spacious 3-bedfoom home—r^dy to
move into, for less than the rent you are now
paying! Lots of closets and storage Seje it to
day! Buy it today! |
WELLONS REALTY
109 Wellons VillaEe
Phone 681-8934
Nights 682-7355—682-2428