The Lusk Herald, September 30, 1948

Smith Apartment Nears Completion to Help Relieve House Shortage

The Wm. (Bill) Smith apartments at the corner of Main and Sixth street were rapidly nearing completion this week to relieve the housing shortage for nine families. 

Several apartments have been completed for several weeks and families have moved in, and the remaining ones will be finished this week.

Built as a personal family project, Mr. and Mrs. Smith have supervised the entire job of construction themselves,  Mrs. Smith said Monday, as she showed The Herald reporter through the new apartments. "We have tried to furnish it just as we would our own home."

The entire structure is 24x100 feet of stuccoed frame construction, and insulated throughout, even between the floors, to prevent transmission of sounds from upper apartments to those below. The lower floor is set only four feet in the ground, thus allowing full-size windows in all of the lower floor. 

4 APARTMENTS UPSTAIRS

There are four apartments on the upper floor, the entrances of which are to the street. The entrance rails, which are being made by the Western Repair Shop., will be novel in themselves, carrying the Smith cattle brand of the "Open A 4 Bar" and their son's brand "Quarter Circle S Quarter Circle."

No two of the apartments are alike, and on the upper floors are two four-room apartments and two three-room. All have kitchen and dinette combinations and nice living rooms, as well as bedroom and bath. Floor covering is inlaid linoleum with throw rugs. All apartments have large built-in cupboards in the kitchen which would be a joy to any housewife.

Each apartment is completely Skelgas equipped with refrigerator, range and thermostatically controlled gas heaters. Each apartment has separate utilities meters. A 600-gallon hot water tank furnishes the entire apartment building.

The Smiths themselves will have the south upstairs apartment, and are carrying out their brands theme in the linoleum of the kitchen there.

Work is now being started on the grounds. A retaining wall has been constructed on the west and south and the parking area will eventually be laid with concrete so that cars of the apartment residents may be parked off the street and highway right-of-way. Smiths hope to get some of the lawn seeding done yet this fall.

Bill Smith quit the ranch because his health required it, but he is wondering now if building an apartment is not harder work. At any rate, at the end of this week he and Mrs. Smith are planning a fishing trip to relax for a week or so. 

The Lusk Herald, May 20, 1954

Heated Driveway Among Smith Court New Improvements

Something new for Lusk has been installed at the Smith Tourist Court in the form of radiant heat under a new driveway and parking space just completed at this court.

 Mr. and Mrs. William Smith, owners and operators of the court have been busy all winter remodeling and improving their 16 modern units. A driveway and parking space just completed on the north of the building to accommodate the downstairs units is where the radiant heat has been installed as well as under the sidewalk on the west side of the court. This heat under the cement is supposed to keep the driveway free of snow and owner Bill smith says "it better work."

Another improvement that the Smiths have made since converting the building from apartments to the motor court is the installing of a complete hot water heating system.

Mrs. Smith states that the summer tourist season is already getting under way.