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the ( HKONK EE, ( linton, S. July 11, 1%K—11 Mobile Home Boom Predicted By Babson WELLESLEY HILLS, MASS. - Mnlijle hurries have reached an impressive position in the na tion’s economy (taring recent years. And there is every rea son to expect great new gains ahead. Almost every possible combination of factors will serve to make mobile homes, of all types, more popular than ever in the immediate as well as the long er-term future. LOW-INCOME HOUSING Housing costs all up and down the scale have l>een skyrocket ing, so that renting, building, or buying a home is more expensive than ever. Mortgage rates -- while they have had their tran sitional ups and downs -- have long lieen on the rise, and no early reversal of this tendency is in sight. Prices of materials and labor have levered construc tion outlays to all-time heights. So, many families -- especially the young just starting out -- are reluctant to strap themselves with a long-term mortgage at these greatly inflated levels. In short, there are growing (and rapidly) numbers of people who are loath to pour their money down the drain by either rent ing an adequate apartment at an exaggerated cost or tying them selves down with a mortgage for 20, 25,or even 30 years. It is this set of circumstances that has helped to boom the market for mobile homes, as well as for parks where such residences may lie hitched up for whatever length of time business change or per sonal whim may dictate. CAPPING PREDICTIONS In recent months, production of mobile homes has lieen sur passing earlier predictions made by insiders in the field -- and by a rather surprising margin. In fact, for the first four 19G8 months 90,940 mobile homes were shipped out by manufact urers, compared with only G4,4 20 for the same span in 19G7. This was an advance of 41 r ,', wdiere- as the Mobile Homes Manufact urers Association had t>een ex pecting what they considered an optimistic increase of 20 r i for the year. The fact that some half of the mobile home sales go to the younger generation is a reflect ion of the flexibility and gener al mobility of today’s youth. Great numbers of young couples are not inclined to attach themselves socially and culturally to one home spot, as did so many of their parents. Now is a time of industrial expansion into outlying areas, into new parts of the country, and the young workers-- and even many of those within the middle-age brackets -- are often willing andeager to let their ambitions lead them into fresh localities. Then, too, the im mense upswing in totals of re tirees means still another addi tion to those interested in the freedom of motion so prevalent today. PARKS SPREADING EAST Recent surveys show that the number of parks for mobile homes is rising rapidly. It is in teresting to note, too, that in general they are becoming steadily larger and more lux urious. Even so, a house on wheels still offers one of the most dependable forms of low- cost living now available, and more and more people are lie- coming aware of this. At pre sent, the median cost of rental for a mobile homesite appears to range tietween $30 and $40 monthly. In many instances this includes electricity, water, and other essential sanitary facili ties. There are steadily more sites ranging above the $60-a-month mark, and a numlier (mostly in California) are charging upwards of $100. Park owners settingup new locations are averaging 77 sites, indicating a continuing growth in the size of such es tablishments. Many of the prime locations (again mostly in Cali fornia, but with quickening ex pansion in Elorida too) are meet ing the competition in the upper- brackets field by providing more sumptuous facilities such as swimming pools, club houses, restaurants, sports areas, and health spas. Vacancies are, on the whole, relatively sparse, and the following states, in the order named, are the most rapid current builders of new mobile- home areas to meet rising de mand: California, Elorida, Tex., Michigan, Arizona, Indiana, New' York, Ohio and Oregon. LAURENS COUNTY-PRODUCED MOBILE HOME . . . There Are Nine Builders In County Laurens County Leads State In Mobile Homes Laurens County is the largest producer of mobile homes in South Carolina and the man who started it all agrees, n We haven’t even scratched the surface "of the potential market. Shelton Rimer, who owns Azalea, Empress and Aaron mobile home manufacturing plants in Laurens County, says, “It’s no longer possible to build low-cost homes so buyers are turning more and more to mobile homes. Many people believe we have reached a peak but I be lieve we’re just getting started. We are no where near our mar ket potential.” Rimer, a highly successful mo bile home retailer in Greenville, came to Laurens County about 10 years ago and set Azalea into production after buying a bank rupt North Carolina firm. Today, there are nine mobile home producers in Laurens County and they employ between 700 and 800 people, according to Rimer’s “conservative esti mate.” He says that a total of approxi mately 150 units are produced in Laurens County each week. Laurens County is the center of mobile home production in South Carolina. There is a pro ducer at Sumter, one in Camp- obello, another in Starr and a new one in Spartanburg. Otherwise, the producers are centered in Laurens County. Rimer doesn’t foresee any large-scale mergers of the in dependent producers to establish large assembly lines. He says one of the major problems in the industry is find ing labor. “We have filled a void in the county’s employment picture in that we have taken many unskilled workers and have trained them. But we still need more people to train and we are constantly searching for them.” REVIVAL LEESVILLE SOUTHERN Methodist Church (Methodist E. Church South Prior to 1939) JULY 14-21 — PREACHING BY — Rev. Glenn S. Comfort President SOUTHERN METHODIST CHURCH SERVICES EACH EVENING AT 8:00 CHARLES E. BAKER, Pastor Foundations Should Be Strong If your homt I* built only on vou and your aamlng power. It h retting on thelry foundation*. When you colbpte your home collapaet too. Why not build your home on ttronger foundatlona—on the foun dation* afforded by adequate life Insurance protec tion? Your family and your home deierve the strength of life insurance. 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