Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 4, 2013 Page: 3 of 18
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Hefugto (llmmttr fflvess
Thursday, April 4,2013
Page 3A
House once was futuristic marvel in 1959 but now a novelty
(Continued from 1A)
has not been able to find
the write-up.
“Oil men, lawyers
and ranchers came over
for parties on Saturday
night,” he said.
Wiginton said the house
is “U” shaped and has 13
outside walls.
“The house was
designed that way to
catch the wind,” he said.
And anywhere you
stand in the house, a soft
breeze cools the rooms as
long as the windows are
open.
“It has floor to ceiling
windows. You really don’t
need air conditioning,”
Wiginton said.
The house has an inter-
com system through-
out and outside and 44
recessed fluorescent
lights.
In its kitchen, an appli-
ance control center can
accommodate a coffee
maker (even has a timer
on the center console), a
wok, slow cooker or other
kitchen tools.
There are 13 Lazy
Susans in the cabinets
and closets.
“They put in three-
phase currents for extra
electricity. And they
installed a commercial
central air unit when
home units were in their
infancy,” Wiginton said.
“It’s still out there, but
it is not efficient. In its
time, it was amazing,” he
said.
Telephone jacks are
in every room, including
those next to the com-
modes in all the bath-
rooms.
The house has tele-
phone nooks for those
dial-type phones.
Wiginton said Brown
also installed coaxial
cable connections in all
the rooms.
“They had cable TV in
those days, but it is not
the same kind as today’s,”
he noted.
“They thought about
electricity outside and
almost everywhere, but
not in the bathrooms,” he
added.
Two Montgomery Ward
ceiling fans still work and
the house also has a built-
in entertainment center,
built-in china hutches,
built-in barbecue pit that
uses wood or gas and a
built-in gun cabinet.
And the courtyard had
gas lights.
“The cupola on the
roof is supposed to be 100
years old. I’m researching
and trying to verify that,”
Wigniton said.
On top of the cupola is
a weather vane with a
cowboy riding a bucking
horse.
The house has an
enclosed patio and once
had a wooden privacy
fence.
“That fence used to
aggravate people of
Woodsboro because they
couldn’t see what was
going on,” Wiginton said.
The fence has since
been taken down.
The house has 3,700
square feet of living area
and another 1,000 square
feet of play area.
“Just to cover the roof
was 50 squares (5,000
square feet),” he said.
“I still have to do the
roof over the three-car
garage.”
Wiginton said the old
roof was a “forever” roof.
But he had to replace it
to meet wind storm and
insurance requirements.
“The old roof was like
cement. The guys are cry-
ing taking it off.”
When Wiginton first
took over the house, he
said it was overgrown
with vines. The vines
had come through the
windows and had grown
across the ceilings.
“The most challenging
thing about this is find-
ing workers in Refugio
County - plumbers and
carpenters. I’ve done all
the electrical work myself,
and it is built to code,” he
said.
But Wiginton was
determined to restore the
house. He was not going
to let it fall into further
disrepair and suffer the
same consequences as
Disney’s House of the
Future.
He said the numer-
ous closets in the house
had an automatic light
come on when they were
opened.
“I disconnected those
because they were con-
sidered a fire hazard,” he
said.
Wigninton’s friend,
Judy Vincent, has helped
him restore the house.
She also is working on
a restoration of a 1861
house in Ohio.
She said 40 gallons of
paint was used on the
outside of the house while
another 40 gallons was
used on the inside.
Even though the
Woodsboro house is no
longer the house of the
future, its features from
1959-60 were ahead of
the times when it was
built.
Now the house fits right
in the 21st century.
“It’s a beautiful home.
And it’s never had a fami-
ly in it,” Wiginton lament-
ed. “And it’s right across
from the school.”
Woodsboro council
adjusts game room
amendment proposals
(Continued from 1A)
Debra Bolcik and Minerva
Cisneros, voted to raise
the permit fee from $500
to $1,000.
Mayor Pro Tern Larry
Jochetz and Councilman
Jimmy Blaschke voted to
keep the initial proposal
to increase the permit fee
to $5,000.
The lower increase
passed on the 3-2 vote.
And the council backed
off having the establish-
ments close on Sunday.
Instead, a proposal to
set the game room hours
at 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven
days a week was approved
in a unanimous vote.
The penalty for break-
ing the ordinance will be
a Class C misdemeanor
and fine of $500.
Hernandez said the
amendments to the ordi-
nance will take three
readings for final approv-
al.
The council also
approved moving
$16,642.75 from the
amusement machine rev-
enue to make up the dif-
ference for the city’s new
mixer at the sewer plant.
Also, the council
approved recommenda-
tions to bring structures
up to standard by Code
Inspector Mike Henry.
The properties are the
following: 906 Pugh St.,
514 Danforth St., 301
Davis St., 711 Celia St.
and 400 N. Arno St.
Tim Delaney photo
The house in Woodsboro being restored by Kenneth Wiginton
has a barbecue pit inside the enclosed patio. The barbecue pit
can use wood or gas.
Tim Delaney photo
What is it? It is an appliance center. You can plug in a coffee pot
and set the timer, or you can plug in some other kitchen tool
in the 1959-60 Woodsboro house being restored by Kenneth
Wiginton.
Tim Delaney photo
A Nutone intercom and entertainment panel controls the system
through the entire 1959-60 Woodsboro house.
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Delaney, Tim. Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 53, No. 35, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 4, 2013, newspaper, April 4, 2013; Refugio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741169/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.