A blast from the past

A very strange thing happened to me today. While waiting in two different doctors offices, and reading two different magazines, I ran across the same subject in each magazine. Do you know what a Quonset hut is?

Both articles talked about elaborate remodeling of Quonset huts to make into beautiful homes. I know what a Quonset hut is and, in fact, I have slept in one.

Quonset huts were built during World War II of corrugated galvanized iron, in a semi-circular cross section. They were used for military storage during the war. After the war, these huts were sold for $1000.

When The Trout was attending Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, we were friends with a married couple who lived in a Quonset. Since The Trout and I were engaged, I would drive up weekends to see him and would stay with our friends Francis and Rita in this Quonset hut. It was actually very cute. A kitchen-living room (great room kind of), bathroom and two bedrooms. All this was pretty tight quarters, but there was a street very near the university that was all Quonset huts for married student housing.

After The Trout and I were married and he had 6 months left before graduation, we looked for a Quonset hut to live in, but they were all taken. Married students really liked this housing. It was cute, cheap and it worked out just fine. So instead, we found a rather nice upstairs apartment near the university for the 6 months we were there. Happy memories.