Some time around 1947 or sor dad decided to dig a basement under our house. Our house was small with two bed rooms, bath, living room and kitchen. We ate in the kitchen. With two bedrooms my brother and I slept in one and mom and dad in the other. With one bathroom centered between the two. For some reason it was decided to build the basement rather than add on to the house, that is an other story. Oh I know the reason, a utility basement was more important than a place to sleep.
After consulting with a builder that lived around Doreen Ln area. Dad started the project. As he did everything he would do the work himself with guidance from a local expert. In this case the builder helped build a conveyor belt. I remember going to the builder's shop off and on while my dad consulted with him. One of the first dad had constructed was a couple wooden roller that moved the belt. The belt was made of heavy rubber that was cut to length and two ends fastened together. The belt was about a foot or more wide with wooden slats attach to carry the material up and not slide back. A long wooden trough was made with the rollers attached to each end and an electric attached to the top roll to pull the belt along. [Later this operation was used to put baled hay in the barn, but that's another story.]
First the entry to the basement was decided on. It was placed beside the back porch. It would be an outside entry. The main reason it was cheaper and it was a utility basement so they didn't want things tracked into the house.
Next is was necessary to cut a section of the foundation away. This was cut the width of the entry door. That required the purchase was a star drill. He seemed to be proud of the thing. It was a man's work. Heck it was just a hardened steel rod with a cross hatch or star at it's tip. It's purpose is to drill holes in rocks or concrete. A sledge hammer was used to drive it into the foundation. Once numerous holes were drill through the foundation in several places in he broke the pieces out. It was a laborious task. No power tools for dad if you could do it in a cheaper more manly. In truth the job was not nearly big enough to own a power too and rental stored was not available. Power tools were really not in the hands of the average home owner.
Once the foundation was cut away the digging began. The dirt was put into the trailer and hauled away. Much was hauled along Lower River Road. Mainly along the north side of the road between our house and Rogue Lane. Along the irrigation ditch. It is still still there today. No one ever said anything. But then we were in the country in those days. Rogue Lane was not. The field on the north side of road was a hop field.
Each evening he worked on the project. My brother and I did the choirs and helped dig. When he came to a footings under the house the old one was removed a concrete block was put down and a longer 4x4 replaced it. The side walls were cut about a foot from the foundation. To keep the house from sagging he would put a level on the joists and jack the house up until level then put shims in to keep it lever. Things went well. Well until. Construction without a problem is not construction. Anyway. There is a summer high water table.
The project was started in early summer so the ground would dry out and the water table would be lower. That was fine, but not one thought about summer irrigation. Much of the Lower River Road was irrigated by flooding the fields and lawn with water from the ditch that paralleled the road. There were also additional ditched that covered the properties away from the road. We had a pipe that went under the road and provided water for our lawn, garden and pasture land. No thought was given to the water table coming up with out the winter rains. About mid August during the hight of irrigation season up came the water table. It flooded our new unfinished basement with two foot of water. What does that make. Why it makes a very good indoor swimming pool
A swimming pool it was. That is until mom heard us playing in the water our mother heard us. She just came unglued. She let us know in no uncertain terms that we were not to be down there. The concern was the wet walls could sump allowing the foundation to come down as well dropping the house into the basement or in one heck of twist. So during the next couple weeks they were on pins and needles waiting for the water table to go back down. It did once irrigations stopped and harvest began the water subsided and work began in earnest and with a since of purpose that fall.
In a short time forms were put into place and concrete poured. No mixing ourselves. Trucks came in along with professionals to make sure the walls and floors were poured properly. Things went well from then on. Except the walls did leak some, but the floor by design was tilted toward one corner and some minor groves cut in to allow the water to drain to one corner were a sump pump was place to pump the water out.
A wood furnace was installed to provide welcome winter heat. The kitchen wood stove was moved to the basement and we got one of those electric stoves. Not new of course, but a good used one.
The basement was our place out of the weather. It was a shop, furnace room,clothes wash and drying room, butcher shop where we cut and packaged our own meat of all kinds. We also canned fruit and vegetables. We even had an home made incubator to hatch chickens. It worked, but purchasing baby chick was easier. Of course the furnace required wood so that is how Wayne and I spend most Saturdays mornings stacking a weeks worth of wood.
It was also a place to go do something when it rained. The hay loft and the basement were our out of the places.
But those are stories in themselves.
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