I told the story of 3035 Rose Street in my book, Ordinary, Average Guy – Uncensored Memoirs of a Trailer Park Refugee. The chapter is titled, “Nightmare on Rose Street.”
It’s one of those life adventures that wasn’t so funny back then, but now I chuckle each time I think about it. I’ve repeated this story countless times with some listeners undoubtedly believing I exaggerated things. Not so. You can’t make this stuff up. Somewhere in a box are pictures to prove such.
The day I came home from work and my wife handed me a certified letter from the Municipality of Anchorage, stating that she was operating a junkyard will never be forgotten. The expression on her face is priceless.
A follow up letter from the city with pictures claimed there were 37 vehicles in all states of disrepair on the property. Driving over to investigate, I counted 49.
This residence still exists as the attached photo shows. We were half owners for fifteen years until selling to our partner, Tom Oswald. Tom still owns and rents the trailer out, having done so for 48 continuous years now.
I recently calculated that this 1960s Schult mobile home generated approximately $691,200.00 income over those 48 years. The original purchase price for trailer and R-3 lot in 1974 was $25,000.00.
Tommy went on to acquire an additional 48 rental properties, mostly condos and single family homes. The seed money needed to get the ball rolling came from 3035 Rose Street. Who says trailers aren’t good investments. This one has undoubtedly set a record!
I like to write junk... 