"Built 50 years ago...The Lustron Home is Y2K compliant!"

To read a "PRESS RELEASE" from STEVE McLOUGHLIN, of the WHITEHALL HISTORICAL SOCIETY and their efforts to "SAVE A LUSTRON..."
CLICK HERE!

The Second issue of
ATOMIC RANCH
Magazine

contained a great article on Lustron homes (ours included) that runs on pages 51-57. (They even mention this web site in the "resources" section!)

CLICK HERE
to go to their website and subscribe!

The FALL 2004 Issue of
RENOVATION STYLE
Magazine
contains a one-page article on Lustron Homes. It also mentions the Lustron Home Documentary...and THIS WEB SITE!!

My name is Michael O'Neal. My wife Stephanie, and I live in a dove grey, two-bedroom Westchester model Lustron Home, in Des Moines, Iowa. It has an unattached two-car Lustron garage. Our home's chasis number is 02516. We were told by a gentleman named Thomas Fetters, who has written a book on Lustrons, that our home was one of the last erected, since the 2500 series was the last series to come off of the production line. We have lived here approximately thirteen and have loved it from day one. Our cats, Stella, Strandlund, Mabel and Violet feel right at home here, too.

I was bitten by the Lustron bug the moment I set foot inside our home. We are always looking for ways to promote this wonderful home.

My wife and I had a letter printed on the Des Moines Register's Editorial page on April 4, 1998. It went something like this:

LIFE IN A HOUSE MADE OF STEEL

We reside in a Lustron Home, not far from the one featured on the front of your March 27 Metro Home section ("STEEL LUSTRONS NEVER CAUGHT ON.") We are just two of many who find these homes to be quite unusual but also incredibly ahead of their time.

Yes, they need little maintnance, as the article pointed out, but not mentioned was the fact the roof would never need to be reshingled. You see, it too was made out of steel.

Lustron Home owner, Steve Reed, of Des Moines pointed out that his Lustron was not efficient. This may be the case with some, but our home, and many of the Lustron homes we have been priviledged to visit are quite efficient.

The Lustron Corporation was not run out of business due to a poor product; It was prematurely shut down due to unions and Washington bureaucracy.

We love our Lustron so much, in fact, we had a featured segment on "LIVING IN IOWA" on Iowa Public Television several years ago on the history of the Lustron Home.

Long live the Lustron - And you can bet they will.

- Michael and Stephanie O'Neal

Paul Lukas, a writer for MONEY Magazine and the terrific web site, INCONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION, spent the day with my wife and I, in November of 1998, touring the city of Des Moines, looking for some of the fifteen Lustrons still standing in our fair city. He was doing some research for an article he was writing for his column, "LOST IN AMERICA." The article, ABSOLUTELY PREFABULOUS" is a great one. Paul understands the significance of the Lustron Home and its place in the annals of architectural history.

We drove around and looked at several Lustrons. There's one just a block away from us, which was the fourth Lustron ever erected in the history of the company! It was one of their so-called, "MODEL HOMES."

There is another Lustron in town that is actually two Lustrons combined in its construction, with an indoor swimming pool, no less. This Lustron was built by Evert "Hud" Deyet Weeks, who sold Lustron homes in Des Moines, Iowa. He was the son of Carl & Edith Weeks. He lived in this "modified" Lustron until 1988. It's located on a hill across from his Father's famous "American Castle," Salisbury House in Des Moines.

Some friends of ours lived in a Lustron that was placed on the lot with the back of the house facing the street. This way, the original owner could look at his plantings in the back yard through the picture window in the living room. This couple, Dennis and Margaret Allen, got my wife and I hooked on these homes after we moved in! We saw an article in the Des Moines Register about them and the love of their life...Their LUSTRON!
(This article came out only a couple of months after we had moved into our home.)
We had a nice get together with them when Paul Lukas was in town.

And, there is a three-bedroom Lustron in Ames, Iowa, which is one of the only Lustrons known to have a BASEMENT!! Irene Swanson is the owner, and she is another bonafide Lustron Expert! Irene and her husband bought the Lustron unasembled after the company was shut down. Her husband and a couple of other fellows put the home together themselves!

We had a great time with Paul, he is so much fun and he's a hilarious writer. He has written for EPICURIOUS, SPIN, FORTUNE, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, SMART MONEY, STIM, THE NEW YORK TIMES, I.D., NEW YORK PRESS, CORE, THE BAFFLER, WORTH, SUCK, and ESQUIRE. He also publishes his own zine, BEER FRAME. He is also the author of INCONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION: An Obsessive Look at the Suff We Take for Granted, is available by searching campusi.com and searching under the author, Paul Lukas.

A few years ago, I got a local morning radio team, Van Hardin and Bonnie Lucas, interested in Lustron Homes. They are the host of "THE VAN & BONNIE SHOW," 5:00am - 9:00am on WHO Radio, 1040 on your AM dial. Click Here to see a photo of Van & Bonnie that Van Hardin signed to my wife and I as the "Lustron Kids."

Mike Newell, the sports reporter on this show at that time, had a deep fondness for the Lustron, and he's the one that got us a filmed segment on the local PBS station, IPTV, on a series titled, "LIVING IN IOWA." Our segment was about us, our home, and a short history on the Lustron Home.

I had a nice visit from Sheila Reiter of Lincoln, Nebraska,in the Summer of 1998. We had a nice time talking about Lustrons and comparing our Lustron files. I'm sorry to say that Sheila has passed away. She never achieved her dream of owning a Lustron, but her determination with promoting these homes has been a huge inspiration to me. She will be missed...

I've also had several writers get in touch with me because to this web site.
Billie J. Shelton, a free-lance writer from Stanhope, Iowa, Mike Kilen, a feature writer at the TENNESSEAN, a newspaper in Nashville, and Beth Orenstein, a free-lance writer in Allentown, PA. Beth phoned me to get information on Lustrons for a Lustron article she has written for the MORNING CALL.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting's television show, DAKOTA LIFE, in January, featured a segment on the history of the Lustron home. The air date for this show was 1-7-00. If you'd like to see this segment, CLICK HERE. (You will need to download REAL PLAYER to view it.
My thanks go out to the producer of the segment, Bob Bosse. He had contacted me for some information, and was kind enough to include me in the credits.The spot was a very informative one and a positive one for the Lustron Home.

The COLUMBUS DISPATCH on March 19, 2000, ran an article by Kathy Gray, titled, POST WAR HOUSE OF STEEL ATTRACTS SOME FOLKS LIKE A MAGNET It was a great article that played up the significance of the Lustron Home...and mentioned this web site! (Thanks!)

I was also contacted by David Schulz, a writer for the Boston Globe. He had worked on an article about two Lustrons that are being torn down in New England.

On March 27, 2000, WOI-TV, Channel 5, in Des Moines, ran a short news segment on us and our "collectible" home. Jay Villwock was the reporter and he was very surprised by the Lustron's interior. He said it was very warm and inviting (for an all-steel home.)

A nice article on a Lustron Home in the Seymour, Indiana Tribune ran on the front page on April 23, 2003. It was written by Clint Morgan who asked me a few questions about Lustrons.

On June 13, 2003, USA TODAY ran a 2-page article on Lustrons...The article was written by Kevin Johnson and it is titled, "FOR LUSTRON OWNERS, IT'S HOME STEEL HOME. THE LUSTER IS STILL ON THESE COMFY CURIOSITIES FROM THE POSTWAR ERA.
In it he mentions this web site, (Thanks!) and also mentions my wife, Stephanie and our four cats by name (they loved it!)

On September 4, 2003, Patricia Long Allbee had a great article titled, DALLAS' HOUSE OF STEEL OUTLAST '40s FAD TO CHARM A NEW GENERATION, published in the DALLAS MORNING NEWS

It's about two Lustrons that are located in TEXAS!!
(You will have to register with dallasnews.com in order to view this article.)

On Sunday, May 19th, The CHICAGO TRIBUNE ran an article by MARY BETH KLATT on the Lustron Home. The article mentioned Tom Fetters and his book, my wife and I, our web site, and to our surprise... our cat, STRANDLUND! You can access the article by clicking HERE. (You may need to register with them to gain acess to the article. It is free and easy to complete!)

~SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT~
Bill Kubota, Ed More and Bill Ferehawk have finished their documentary on Lustron Homes.
(I have a copy and let me tell you... "this film is great! Two Thumbs Up!! WAY UP!!")
You can order a copy on VHS or DVD from their website by clicking
HERE.
You'll be glad you did..."

The Y2K 50th ANNIVERSARY LUSTRON HOME CELEBATION, held on June 25, 2000, at Monaco's Palace in Columbus, Ohio, was a great success! There were many in attendance. Around 150!! There was a presentation by Mr.Richard Reedy. He was a Lustron Corp. top executive, general traffic manager and designer of the custom-built Lustron trailer. Another presentation was by Gene Languell, who has been renovating his Lustron in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There were talks also by Tom Fetters, Alex James, Linda Carrington and others. Also on hand was the singer, Leonardo, whose cd, "LUSTRON", has made him part of the Lustron family. He performed a song he wrote especially for this event. Bill Kubota and Ed Moore, currently working on a documentary on the Lustron story, were there also. They said the documentary is in the editing stage. However, they would like to have some films of Lustrons being assembled. Home movies, stock footage or anything on film concerning the Lustron, from the time the plant was in production. If anyone out there has something along these lines, please contact them.

A tip of the porcelain-enameled hat to Alex James, Linda Carrington and Greg Krupp, for putting together a very fun and informative event.

I was also been contacted by Joseph Tucker. He was the Director of Quality Control with the Lustron Corporation from 1947 until it closed in 1950, and also served as one of the corporations vice presidents. He is at work on a book about the Lustron as well as a biography of Carl Strandlund to be included in the book.

You know, there is so little out there about this great house, and even less about the great, Carl Strandlund, and given the fact that this is being written by a gentleman that was there as it took place, makes this book all the more appealing. I know I will be the first in line when this book hits the stores.

Bill Griffith's ZIPPY THE PINHEAD, comic strip, on February 28, 2001, paid homage to the Lustron Home!!

You can view it by CLICKING HERE.

(by the way...I recently bought the original cartoon from Mr. Griffith!!)

~Thanks Bill!!~

Lustron owner, Ron Allen has put together a web site where you can

REGISTER YOUR LUSTRON at

"THE LUSTRON CONNECTION"

Click Here

to visit his site.

You can order Tom Fetters' book on the Lustron Home!!

CLICK HERE to go to amazon.com

The book is $45.00, hardback and titled, "LUSTRON HOUSES: The History of a Postwar Prefabricated Housing Experiment"

GET YOURS NOW!!! You know I have!!

Alex James has completed work on a new book on the Lustron Corporation. It's titled,
"AN EMPLOYEE'S PERSPECTIVE OF THE LUSTRON HOME; The Real Reason Why Lustron Failed!"
It is from the perspective of someone who was right there...as it happened. I have a copy of this book and it's a "must have" for anyone who is interested in these facinating homes and the "behind-the-scenes" mess that eventually shut them down.

For more information or how to order a copy directly from the author...

Send Alex an eMail
And visit Alex's Web Site by clicking
HERE

Alex James sent me a brochure entitled:
THE LUSTRON HOME PLANNING GUIDE
This fascinating guide was used by Lustron distributers to show them how to present the "Lustron Demonstration Home" to members of their community.

He also sent me a "Questions & Answers" brochure from 1948, on the Lustron Home. This particular brochure really explains the "radiant heating system" and the porcelain enameling process in detail.

A brand new LUSTRON DISCUSSION GROUP called "LustronHomes," is now at Yahoo Groups.
Join Today!

HERE

Would you like to find the "stuff" you really cannot live without?

Just follow the link below to my current AUCTIONS on eBay!!