10 Years Ago 1997

They gave up their weekends for almost a year to pound nails, install drywall and hang wood trim. As second jobs, it didnt pay with a weekly paycheck; instead these families get a house for their years work. Its been 10 months of no weekends off and not much family time, but for 14 families it has been worth it. This week they prepare to move into their brand new homes. Housing Hope, a non-profit Snohomish County housing organization, works with low-income families in its sweat-equity program. Qualifying families work on their house at least 30 hours per week in lieu of a down payment. A low-interest loan through the Federal Department of Agriculture Rural Development program ensures payments will remain at 30 percent of a families income for 30 to 38 years. In Smokey Point, between 184th and 188th streets, a Housing Hope development is nearly finished. Fourteen homes are ready for move-in this weekend and another 11 families are beginning work on their homes. For three years, Heidi and Charlie Johnston worked hard to pay off their bills, hoping for a good credit report to qualify for the program. Finally, with the help of a roommate who lent them the last $200, they were cleared and could begin working on owning a home. To be given an opportunity like this is just incredible, Heidi said. I cant describe the feeling. They live in Everett with their 8-year-old daughter in a two-bedroom apartment in a not-so-good neighborhood, Heidi said. Although Charlie works at a credit union, they couldnt afford to buy a house. I was really beginning to doubt [we could buy], he said. Prices have gone up faster than my income has gone up. Housing Hope works with groups of six to eight families at a time. Each group works together on all the houses at the same time under the watchful eye of an experienced construction supervisor, Ranley Underwood. He was there to explain everything, said Frain Maynard, who hopes to move into his house this week with his wife, Cheryl, and their three young children. If you didnt understand he would show you. The Maynards live in a two-bedroom mobile home near Granite Falls. While it was big enough when they moved in five years ago, their family quickly outgrew it, Cheryl said. For people who didnt know anything about building houses, the program worked great, Cheryl said. The family coordinator Brenda Ballard came to their home in Granite Falls to help with paperwork. The best part about building their own home was seeing it come together from wood to a house, Cheryl said. The hardest part was working all the time and canceling all weekend vacation plans, she added. We didnt find [the time], we just did it, she said. Every weekend you dont do anything, you just come out and work on the house. Heidi worked during the days while her daughter was in school and her husband worked on the weekends. We used to spend one day a week as a family, she said. Once we started building this house, that stopped. I just thought of it as another job, Charlie said. It was a fairly good paying second job the way it works with no down payment. Its been a long process, both families agree, and it seemed like it would never be done. Its not easy to give up a year of your life, Heidi said. Its worth it, I mean, heck, you get a house. Several in the group are single-parent families who find helpers to complete the hour requirement. Although the head of the household must work 15 of the 30 hours per week, families can use helpers for the other 15 hours, including extended family members or friends. Working as a group on each house, they build community in more ways than one. Every neighbor knows the others well and theyve all sweated together, working on each others homes. Now that weve been building this community out here we feel safe, Heidi said. Although all the homes come from two house plans, each family can choose between several different options and variations. The modest homes are between two and four bedrooms with one-car garages. Families could pick the color, trim, carpets, cabinets, light fixtures and tiles to personalize their homes. Heidi and Charlie have already relieved a lot of teasing about their color choice. The outside is lavender with dark purple trim, a color picked out by Charlie and their daughter. Charlie described it as a mood color that changes depending on how sunny the day is. As Heidi started planning her house she began to cry and all she could say was, My house is purple. However, their daughter loves it. She thinks its the greatest thing since Disneyland, Heidi said. Although its been a long process and hard work, Charlie said he would do it again. This time, however, Heidi would pick out the color, she said.

25 Years Ago 1982

Three parents of kindergarteners served as spokesmen Monday night for a group of others who are concerned with the possible all-day kindergarten in the Marysville School. Although the all-day kindergarten is still just one measure being considered by school directors to help offset a $310,000 proposed deficit for next year, parents wanted to voice their concerns before it was too late. The proposal would have children attend all day on two days a week and on alternating Fridays instead of attending one-half days, every day, like they currently do. But parents Steve Costello, Mary Styles and Dennis Graves said the length of the day would be to long for the students and the alternating Fridays would leave too long of a gap for students. The concerned parents also said the district now has an excellent program and shouldnt interfere with it. The board is considering all-day kindergarten to help alleviate $59,000 in transportation costs. The parents asked the board to establish a parent-staff transportation committee to study ways to shorten the days and to recommend ways to meet transportation needs. The board approved the request asking the committee to make their recommendations prior to the June 7 board meeting. Superintendent Dick Huselton told board members the district is in the best possible situation it can be at the present time as far as funding is involved. However, he expressed concern over further state cuts through mandates by Gov. Spellman and/or through a special session being called of the State Legislature. He said if some financial revisions are not made the district will face a $310,000 deficit for next year. He explained the cutbacks in state funding this year, coupled with the ones predicted for next year, has forced the administration to make some cutbacks in program personnel. But the financial problems Marysville is facing are the same problems other districts are facing statewide. Huselton said the problems will probably become greater with the governor predicting a $1.5 million deficit.

50 Years Ago 1957

The first Strawberry Cup boat race will be held on Marysvilles Ebey Slough starting at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon, May 26, 1957. What started out to be a two-man race now has skyrocketed into much bigger proportions, with about 30 other local boat owners announcing their intentions to enter into the days racing. Two Marysville Globe employees started the contest, Ray Treichel, who pens The Ghost Wrider, challenging Red Lundstedt, author of Are They Bitin, to a boat race on Ebey Slough. The latter had been making rash statements in his column about The Ghost, which this fellow didnt like one iota. The Ghost followed through with a bit of tranquilizing verse that nearly evened the score. However, he wanted to go one better, challenging Sal to a race, stakes in which are that the loser must terminate any remarks de-characterizing the winner for one year. The race is now scheduled, and what with the rising popularity of boat racing, a number of stock boats and motors have been entered for the days events. Races will be scheduled according to size of boats and horsepower, registration to be made at The Marysville Globe as soon as possible by those wishing to partake in the first Strawberry Cup races. Plenty of viewing space will be accorded along the slough, what with the bridges of and banks of the river making excellent vantage points.