In 1943 the U.S. Office of War Information sent several photographers on jaunts across the United States to document the changes in the country during wartime. One of these photographers, Arthur S. Siegel, arrived in my current hometown, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in May, 1943 and he took a series of photos of one of the two newly-built subdivisions built to house incoming employees of the local explosives factories. He focused specifically on the home of the Fergusen family. Bob Fergusen, was at that time the principal of the local junior high school and his wife Nancy was a homemaker. This home is the mirror image to the one where my girlfriend Nancy and I currently reside.

    I uncovered these photos online as part of the Library of Congress' American Memories Project and was amazed by the fact that, though 62 years have passed, many of the homes remain almost exactly the same and that even our little abode still contains many of it's original features, most notably the fireplace. Incidentally, the garage of the home we reside in was converted to a room somewhere along the line and this is where my office is located.