Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-14
owners CONTEST
is WON BY COUPLE
National Realty Group Gives
$3.50 in Prizes for Tales
of Home Buying.

White-haired Henry and Annie Patee,
who shuddered at the thought of a de-
pendent old age and began to save for
home of their own with a single dol
lar bill, have won the $3.50 first prize
in the National Association of Real ES-
tate Boards home experience contest.
The home the Patees bought on tiny
wages earned when they were over so
years of age stands at 4592 st. Ferdi-
nand avenue, st. Louis, Mo.
The real estate association, hoping to
encourage others to undertake home
owning by bringing out true stories OF
how people got their domiciles, in No
verber offered $3.50 in cash prizes for
the six best letters submitted in what
grew to be national contest
Mother of Six Gets SIS.
Mrs. Manuel Angus, 1419 Bellows
street, Akron, Ohio, mother of SIX chill
drer, who followed her eldest boys from
the mountains of West Virginia and,
against every encouragement, bought
and paid for $1,000 house, and finally
brought her scattered family together,
has been awarded the associations Sec
ond prize of SIS.
Mrs. Alfred G. Taylor, 1883 Dolphin
avenue, Detroit. Mich, who kept house
in a tent pitched on vacant lot so
she could save their rent money to buy
the Dolphin avenue home, will receive
the $50 third prize.
lockwood T. Roberts, 81 Vinton
street, Worcester, Mass, a young man
who was locomotive fireman when he
started to buy home for his relatives,
and says the undertaking changed his
life," wins fourth prize of S25
A. piano teacher, 81 years old, who
bought her home by doing housework
when she saw radio diminish the in
tereSt in music lessons, has been
awarded fifth prize of SIS. She is Mrs.
Erna Konrad, Rockaway Beach, N. Y.
Letter Takes Prize.
A sixth prize, also SIS, goes to Steve
Adams, an aged colored laborer of New
Orleans, who can neither read nor write,
but whose letter came to the contest
judges transcribed by real estate man
whom Steve trusted because he had
known 1.-The real estate mans parents
before him" Steves letter describes
the purchase of his little home, at 1911
Press street. The letter is duly wit
messed and contains Steve's legal
'mark."
I'VE conducted this contest to try to
encourage home ownership in this coun-
try said Harry KiSsell, Springfield,
Ohio, president of the National Asso-
citation of Real Estate Boards. I'VE did
this in line with the efforts Of various
White House committees and other
groups who have declared that re-
sumption of reSidenA construction
would do more than anything else to
bring back business prosperity. A pc
rusal of thcse letters will also show that
the average American family needs
very little encouragement to begin the
homecoming venture. 90
MANY of these contestants have be-
gun when far more prosperous people
would hesitate to undertake such re-
sponsibilitieS with such uncertain
chances Of meeting them. Most Of the
contestants had no other motive in life
over long periods of years but the earn
chase of homes.
Down Payment Hard.
''fhe down payment was the greatest
stumbling block in every case. When
that sum was assembled the rest, in
comparison, was easy. This is some
thing that I think realtors should
means of helping people to save the
initial fund. But I don't know what
the contestants overlooked. :
'sThese people. suffered. actual hard
ships in all sorts of unattractive, I'M
comfortable, cold, inadequate places,
worked at night when their irlenos
were playing, Stunned the greatly i'm
portant but inexpensive pleasures OF
the poor, met terrifying defeat when
Jobs were lost in the middle of the
venture or illness permanently disabled
the breadwinner-but like some chill
dren's fairy tales, in every case, they
emerged in the end with the home.
1.-The first award was given to Mr.
and Mrs. Henry j. Patee because, at
ages well over so, they opened a home
savings account with a dollar bill, be-
cause two years after they started Mr.
Patee lost his job as a mechanic, and
then being 20 and 65 years old, respec-
lively, this white-haired couple carried
on and did odd jobs to complete their
payments Courage at that age is worth
relatively more than If found in a
younger couple with greater opportun!-
ties before them"