Evening star., 1934-07-29

Although from so to 70 per cent Of
4 the residences in some American
cities lack bathtubs or other modern
plumbing convenlences and even
higher percentages Of rural residences
depend on the most primitive means.
the town Of Norris. Tenn. one Of the
villages springtng into being through
| Authority Is TO be veritable exposl-
! ton Of all that is modern and con-
venient for bathroom and kitchen.
This little city. now under conStruc-
ton. Is to house some 500 families.
the heads Of which are at work on
the great Norris Dam. part of the
Muscles Shoals development. It Is to
be a town planners dream. an archi-
tect's delight and plumbers vision.
| Inasmuch as the labor policies of the
T. " A. call for the employment OF
persons hailing from the locality, the
| wives of hillbillies WHO have for gen.
! erations hunted over the hills Of the
| Tennessee Valley region in coonsktn
caps and leather breeches and occa-
sionslly eoaxed meagre crops from
the stubborn acres will be the benefi-
ciaries. Instead OF one-room shacks,
clinging precariously to the noun
| tainsides, three. four and five room
cottages will stand. The architects
who have planned these houses have
entered into the spirit Of the region.
however, and have adopted and
adapted the native style of architec-
| ture. That is, the houses will. in a
measure, still cling to the mountain
sides.
The region Is hilly and 1t is desir-
| able to keep such level spaces as are
available for the. tilling OF crops. So
! the houses have been designed to fit
themselves snugly against the slopes.
| But they are far from the one-room
frame shacks so familiar in the valley
! for "A couple of centuries. The new
hillside structures are of brick for the
most part, but 1t is not the sort Of
brick known as common. 1t Is tapes
.try brick, deep-toned and varigated
J In the laying so as TO give a pleasing
effect OF light and shade. The wood
work Is cleaning white and roofs are
Of hand-riven shingles.
One side of a house Is down-hill; /;
the opposite uphill. In many Of
the houses there will be two or three
rooms on the down-hin side and a
couple upstairs but there will be moth
ing over the down-hill rooms but roof
and nothing under the uphill rooms
but ground because the whole struc-
ture will be conforming to the slope.
The old frame shacks had chimneys
with back fireplaces in them. There
the cooking was done on spit and
hob. The new houses have fireplaces.
| too, but they are trim affairs, not in
the kitchens for cooking but in living
rooms.
BOOns to the Housewives.
The kitchens are creations by them
selves. The sink and drainboard. the
plumbing. stove fittings, and the like
gleam with chromium, a metal which
an official report on the work naively
explains 'is new to the highland
wife," There is not doubt of It'll
Not only is chromium new to the
highland wife but the idea of any
kind of a sink or any kind of plumb
ing is new to the highland wife. To
be sure, many cities of the States
which partly lie in the domain of the
Tennessee Valley Authority have resi-
dences with kitchens as splendidly
appointed rs any kitchen elsewhere
and many plantations in these States
are well equipped. But it should be
understood the r. v. A. is invading
back-country, hill country. actually
the Businesses of wilderness, and
building where nothing stood before.
The bath rooms of the little noun
tain city Of Norris will seem almost
as strange In this country as flying
fish would be In the surrounding
forest. but every cottage win have one
with shiny plated plumbing and all