How I Got My First House

Back in the early 60s after buying a small lot from my uncle - on Shady Beach Road - I purchased an ancient trailer in fair condition from a friend at work for a nominal fee and had it hauled to the lot.  It took a week or so to get the electric hooked up but we had already moved in with no electric, nor water, nor sewerage as we had no where else to go.  It was rough and awkward but it was ours and a native spring across the road on the old Glen Mor property, once owned by my grandfather and then another uncle, kept us well supplied with sweet drinking water.  I had knocked together a temporary outhouse that saw use for several months while I worked seemingly endless hours around sleep and my day job digging the drainage ditch from the trailer to the location for the septic tank, then digging the large hole for the tank, and the smaller drainage ditches for the tank.  My abortive attempt at selling life insurance had left us in major debt and my job barely covered day to day living expenses but several small (by corporation standards) local businesses went out of their way to give me a helping hand.  A concrete forms company near the town of Elkton supplied the septic tank.  I had gone there to inquire on price and told them that I was dead broke and could not pay cash (no Visa in those days) but that I did have a job - to which the owner replied that he could deliver it on the following day and that I could pay him over time.  He did deliver the next day and I did pay in full at the end of that month. I had also gone to Benjamin Lumber in North East, when the business was owned by Bob Benjamin himself and explained my financial difficulties, and was wondering if I could buy on time.  Without hesitation he had said just let me know what you need.  So when the tank was delivered I already had cast iron sewer pipe and other needs like lead wool to caulk the joints on hand so that in a couple of days the system was basically complete and attached to the trailer.  Still no water other than the spring but I would haul in large containers of water from the spring and then fill the flush toilet of the trailer with water from the containers.  Voila! We were in the flushing business.
p.s. Bob was paid second in the following month and we were friends until he died.  Thank you Bob, you were a gentleman indeed!

 So that's me above, about half way through shoveling out the hole for the septic tank.