Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

<Gmtim*d tram page 13) v*F ~: ' ■ -■* , , * Pamela and John Yaeger enjoy the first-Aoor convenience erf their 1949 ranch home. Americans from New York to California are embracing the architectural style, turning the Yaegets when they were house-hunting, but as they've remodeled their house, they've teamed mote about the his tory and legacy. Although the first homes built in Levittown were Cape Cods, by 1949, the ranch craze was sweeping the nation, so Levitt and Sons introduced The Rancher. Houses sold for less than SIO,OOO, and included all appliances and a double fireplace that faced the living room on one side and the kitchen on the other. "We got rid of* the fireplace, which allowed us to open 141 the area to a 19-by-20-(foot) great room instead of the typical Levitt 12-by-12-<fooc) living room," Pamela says. After re-sheetrockmg the wails and installing new tile, carpet and flooring, the house "doesn't fed like a Levitt on the inside." she says. Yaeger notes that of" the 40 houses on her street, it's near!)’ impossible to tell that any' of them are the standard Levitt ranch, because many residents have expanded or remodeled. "When we first bought the place, 1 didn't think much of it," she says, "but after sewn years of remodeling, its grown on me.” nes&nemes ana ppaomeauny Jim Brown, publisher of Attmtk Rank, a quarterly maga zine devoted to ranch houses, says that ranches offer a his torical context and identity that people can appreciate and be proud of. it's a bdief, however, that he didn't always hold. Brown, 56, and his wife, Michelle. 55, each grew up in ranch houses, but as adults couldn't imagine living in one. After all, the ranch was the style their parents embraced. Then five yean ago, Jim, a photographer, began noticing ranch-style homes more and more. “I wondered what could be interesting about a ranch and decided to check them out,” he says. He discovered the advantages to ranch living, and set out to share that perspec tive through a new magazine, which launched in 2004. The next logical step felt the Browns was to find their own ranch. They sold their 1920 s Craftsman bungalow in California and pur chased a 1952 ranch in Portland, Ore. jgjjj Mr » lames Brown Atomic Ranch Publisher Jim Brown with wife Michelle. "As a photographer, I have a lot of equipment; it wasn't easy lugging it up and dow-n three stories in the bungalow. It's so much easier in this house,” he says. Brown also loves the spacious windows. "It’s better for our psychological outlook; seeing all the trees bloom here in spring and summer has been a revelation." According to Brown, moving "back to the ranch" is both an aesthetic and practical decision for baby boomers. “For many, the kids have grown up; they can downsize to a ranch. Also, chey want to be able to take it easy and enjoy the yard," he says. “But more than that, we want to be as vital as we can for as long as we can, and one way to do that is to eliminate risks for stupid mistakes, like falling down the stairs.” Builder William Levitt introduced The Rancher iiiflHßrf bHU i» Getty, linages I ■p m I »H|! lv : alPj HB ■ ■lt w ; Warren Watum I x i Q T- James or u* n Yvonne and Al Southwick’s new home in Harrisburg, N.C. me wpees nouse" Real estate agent Leigh Brown, of Charlotte, N.C., says she can put a ranch house on the market on a Friday and have an offer by Monday. The houses are particularly popu lar with a demographic she calls “half backs”—retirees page 14 • www.americanprofile.com James BrSwn Randy Plland