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38. The New Home

Alphy would return to the lumber camps for one more sea— son before he managed to save enough money to build. He would go in the fall of the year and return before the spring. And so it was that their fifth child was conceived in springtime. Alphy and Margurita were expecting the little one in February, 1942.

Alphy knew it was time to build; he couldn’t delay any longer Their new home was built in the summer of 1941, and Alphy pu‘i; the foundation under it the following year. He constructed the entire- house, with some help from Margurita. First he built the frame, then the floor and walls. He constructed the windows and doors. He ever: made the flue and the wooden shingles. Margurita helped Alphy as much as she could. She would help him nail the boards and get the shingles ready. Alphy had planed the shingles during the spring; months, so that they would be dry. Margurita had stacked and tied.

them into bundles.

When the couple had worked all day on their new home, they would usually take a break in late evening, after the children had gone to bed. Margurita would make tea and a snack. Then she and Alphy would take their snack to the new home, and sit down to eat. They would gaze at what they had constructed earlier in the day, and make plans for what they would do the next day. They would also plan around the layout of the rooms. There would be an entry way, a pantry and a room for Margurita’s washtub (all the clothes were washed manually on the washboard). This was a happy time for the couple - their new home was like a dream come true. They could see it advancing each day; they could smell the fresh wood, and feel the solid wood floor beneath them, while they chatted and made plans. Alphy and Margurita agreed they would complete the downstairs first, and perhaps one bedroom before moving in. It

wouldn’t be much longer now.

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