"PARISH HAS HUGE JOB AHEAD ON HOME REPAIR"

The January 4, 1946 issue of The Plain Dealing Progress noted that many home repairs were needed for 1946.

“More than $905,000 is expected to be spent during the next five years by Bossier Parish home owners on remodeling and repair work.”

“The year 1946 promises to inaugurate one of the greatest eras in American history for home repairs and modernization, according to estimates released by the Tile Council of America.  ‘Few developments will contribute more to employment and general prosperity in any community,’ according to R.E. Jordan, chairman of the Council’s Residential Construction Committee.”

“Because of lack of materials and manpower during the war, the majority of the parish’s 8456 dwelling units are in need of some kind of repair or remodeling work.  Kitchen improvements and modernization of bathrooms, installation of tiled showers and in some homes addition of a second bath top the nation’s list of most wanted major improvements, Jordan said.”

“Outside paint jobs are needed on more than 50 percent of the homes, and addition of rooms and construction of porches also rank high in remodeling plans, according to the report.  New roofing and heating plants are required by many dwellings—and in some instances the work is under way, it has been learned here.”

The National Bank of Bossier City Advertisement
Citizens National Bank Collection: 2015.034.173

“Home owners in Louisiana will spend an estimated $66,770,000 and those of the nation more than $5,500,000,000 for major repairs in the next five years, according to Jordan.  Ample funds, at low interest charges, are available for such work through commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions and loan associations, credit unions and mutual savings banks, he pointed out.”

To find out more about housing after WWII in Bossier Parish, visit the Bossier Parish Libraries History Center.

By: Ann Middleton