Scott "hit" by 2x4s

FORT MADISON – For the past 15 years, Bill Scott has lived without a kitchen.
He’s cooked on a hot plate, or in a toaster oven, or a microwave in the back of his barbershop on 14th Street across from the Cabaret.
This month, Scott will move into a home specifically built for veterans by the Iowa 2x4s for Hope program. The “tiny home” is currently under construction on the south side of the south turn on Storms Court and is expected to be done and turned over by Aug. 17th.
About 22 volunteers from southeast Iowa crawled all over and inside the structure on a relatively cooler Fort Madison weekend.
Scott, 73, was drafted into the U.S. Navy and served from 1971 to 1973. Prior to his tour he was not sure what he wanted to do with his life, but came out of the service more disciplined and focused.
“It actually straightened by butt out. I was kind of a wild child growing up,” he said. He moved back in with his folks for a year and then went to work for Fruehauf before ending up with Sante Fe Railroad as a conductor where he eventually retired.
He now lives off his pension and what money he can make as a barber. A prolonged battle with esophageal cancer put that business on hold periodically as he battled the disease.
After a divorce, Scott swore he would never own property again and has rented most of his life.
“That’s where I’m at right now, and these folks call me after an interview and say, “You’ve got a kitchen,” Scott said.
“I said, 'Say again' and they said you got the house.”
Scott said he hadn’t cried in decades, but shed a few tears when he was told he had been given the home.
“I’m not used to having it done for me. It’s not hard to swallow, but it throws me off kilter,” he said.
“After they told me I had the house, I cried. And I haven’t cried since 1993."
The homes come fully furnished and is essentially a turnkey project where the veteran takes the key and steps into a home ready to go.
Lester Kistner, a director of the 2x4s group, said they talk with veterans before construction begins to coordinate the home around the veteran’s needs and wishes.
“We meet with these folks prior to designing the building. For example, Bill didn’t want a grill, so we didn’t list that as a need."
Engineering Building Design of Washington, Iowa created the design of the building, which is different than the other two “tiny homes” 2x4s has built in Fort Madison. Typically the buildings have a linear design, but this time the design was built to fit the neighborhood. Kistner said the Washington firm helped make that a reality, and then came down to actually help build the home.

“They believe in what we’re doing so much that they came down here to help with this build,” Kistner said.
Stephanie Warner, another director of the Iowa 2x4s for Hope program, said the new construction will fit nicely in the neighborhood.
“This is a different footprint. We came up with our own design and the aesthetics fit this neighborhood,” Warner said.
Kistner, who was on site all weekend helping rough out electrical, said they were excited to see the finished project.
Scott said he’s a little emotional about all the hard work on his behalf, because that’s what he’s tried to do during his life.
“I have a lot of disappointments in my life and have never shed a tear about anything until the other night. It’s still hard to keep them back.”
Scott said he was looking for an apartment and inquired about the 2x4s properties in Fort Madison that were recently deeded over by the county. They now use those operations for a source of revenue for the Tiny Homes program.
While talking to the organization about the apartment, a representative asked Scott if he was a veteran and then encouraged him to apply for the Tiny Homes program.
“I’d seen the write up from the papers and stuff and I’d never really thought about doing that and she said, ‘Well, let me send you an application'. She said that if I was chosen that they would give me a house that would be mine until either I move out or expire. The only restriction is that you can’t sell it.
“On the application, there was spot where you had to describe why you think you deserve the home,” he said. “I wrote I wasn’t sure if I deserved it or not, but I just kind of explained I was living without a kitchen.”
He said he explained in an interview that he had lived without a kitchen because he’s a pretty primitive man and it’s not easy to do that with the way people live today.
Kistner said another project is under consideration in Keokuk but there is still some work to be done on the property as far as infrastructure before 2x4s can consider the project.
“We’re waiting until after the build here and then we can focus on communities that want us,” he said.
“We’re working on a book that we can give to communities that outlines what it takes to bring us in. People are starting to come to us. Families that have lost loved ones are setting memorials to us.”
He said Lowes donates appliances, and Keystone in West Burlington does the cabinetry. He said Jim Baier has donated more than $25,000 over the past three years doing fundraisers.
"They have been a huge proponent. Jamie (Baier) was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely'. We didn’t have to go to them, they said this is what they were doing," Kistner said.
The group is also partnering with Building Materials this year for construction materials.
“We’re trying to streamline the process so we can still get it all done even if volunteer support fades a little," he said.