MISSION: Find a home.
MOMENT OF TRUTH: Soon after marrying in 1948, Barbara Simek and her husband, Bill, looked all over for an apartment. But the postwar housing shortage was so severe, they were lucky to find a room to rent in Berwyn. They live in a Rogers Park apartment now, but have never stopped dreaming of owning a home.
BACKSTORY: Both World War II veterans, the Simeks have been working and scrimping for the last seven years, he as an accountant, she as a nurse. When they can afford a movie, they see it in shifts to avoid paying a sitter for their three children. They recently heard that builder Kimball Hill plans to put up thousands of houses, especially for vets, on farmland northwest of Chicago. The Simeks found the perfect quarter-acre lot, and gleefully photographed each other holding up clumps of their future lawn.
OUTCOME: Earlier this month, the Simeks closed on a yet-to-be-built house, on yet-to-be-built Owl Lane, in the soon-to-be city of Rolling Meadows. “We were scared to death,” Mrs. Simek said of their $13,440 purchase. But they’re thrilled to be pioneers. Their “ranch” will have a washer and dryer (“Heavenly!”) right in the sunshine-yellow kitchen, and Mrs. Simek will be able to see the kids playing outside from every room.
SIDE EFFECTS: As they watch the house go up, the Simeks are meeting their future neighbors, all doing the same thing. They envision block parties, coffee klatches and playmates for years to come.
PAYOFF: “We got what we dreamed about. I don’t want to move, ever.”
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Forward to 2005: Mrs. Simek, 81, still lives in the same house.
