Samuel Arza LIDDICK ²

  General Notes:

WWI DRAFT REGISTRATION CARDS, 1917-1918:
Name: "Samoul" Arza Liddick
Residence: Red Oak, Montgomery Co, IA
Birthplace: Red Oak, IA
Birth Date: 13 Jul 1892
Race: Caucasian (White)
Age: (age was cut off)
Occupation: Electric Engineer
Employer: Red Oak Elect. Co.
Marital Status: Single
Height/Build: Short/Medium
Color of Eyes/Hair: Brown/Black
Signature: "Samoul" Arza Liddick

1920 IA CENSUS, Montgomery Co, Red Oak city:
Sam Liddeck(?), head, 25, b. IA, parents b. PA, laborer;
Blanche, wife, 30, b. IA, father b. IA, mother b. IL;
Clyde Wolford, step-son, 10, attended school, b. IA, parents b. IA;
Howard Wolford, step-son, 8, b. IA, parents b. IA.

1930 IA CENSUS, Pottawattamie Co, Council Bluffs city:
Samuel A. Liddick, head, 35, 1st marriage age 24, b. IA, parents b. PA, trucker, own business;
Blanche S., wife, 39, 1st marriage age 20(?), b. IA, parents b. IA;
Howard D. Wolford, step-son, 18, single, b. IA, parents b. IA, trucker.

COUNCIL BLUFFS (IOWA) NONPAREIL ~ AUGUST 15, 1948
Build House of Salvaged Boxes - Couple Evades High Cost of Building
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Liddick, 1319 ½ West Broadway, live inside a unique box.
It has four attractive rooms and to quote Mrs. Liddick, who battled inflationary construction with hammer and saw; "It's one of the most comfortable homes we have ever lived in."
The Liddick home isn't just one box, but a series of some 300 war surplus boxes. They were used to pack rifle cleaning rods and are 3 feet four inches long, one foot wide and one foot deep. The box house is the story of human kindness.
Mr. and Mrs. Liddick have three other houses at Thirteenth street and Broadway. Rooms and Apartments are rented out. The Liddick's originally kept one large apartment for themselves, but friends appealed for a place to stay.
Crowed Into One Room
"We got crowed back into one room," said Mrs. Liddick, "I couldn't live in that space." One day Mr. Liddick, who operates the city dump, was rummaging about an Omaha junk yard. He noticed the cleaning boxes and took one home for his wife to inspect. "We stayed up nearly all night trying to figure out how we could use them," Mr. Liddick said. When their "wits were at end," Mrs. Liddick asked: Why can't we lay the boxes like cement blocks?"
On July 7, 1947, the Liddicks began pouring the foundation of their house. Mrs. Liddick, with help of her husband after regular working hours, went to work with the boxes. For two months, the Liddicks worked night and day. Their own living conditions were poor. They slept in their one room, but improvised a kitchen under a big tree in the yard. Their cooking utensils were kept outside in a zinc lined box.
In September, they moved into their yet unfinished house. With a good roof over their heads, they kept plugging away and are just now putting the finishing touches to their home.
Well Constructed
Although it's made of boxes, the house is unusually sturdy and comfortably constructed. It has archways, built-in cupboards and closets. Nearly all the construction was done by Mrs. Liddick, who professes no previous building experience.
"Construction costs were so high," she said, "we decided to build the house ourselves." The total cost was about $1000. The boxes cost 10 cents each. Wall board, roofing and wall paper required the rest of the money. "It isn't any great big place" said Mrs. Liddick, "but it's our home." Mrs. Liddick, who once operated a second hand store here, concluded: "It's been a job for us to build and a lot of headaches, but a man couldn't buy this house from me."
(Note: Submitted by Melissa Hillstrom)

COUNCIL BLUFFS (IOWA) NONPAREIL ~MARCH 1, 1954
Notice:
FUNERAL~Samuel A. Liddick, aged 59, retired, 1317 W. Broadway passed away Feb. 27, 1954 at an Omaha hospital. Services are at 2:00 pm Tuesday at the Cutler Chapel. Burial in Walnut Hill Cemetery. Cutler Funeral Home in charge.
Obituary
Services for Samuel A. Liddick, 59,1319 W. Broadway, are set for 2 pm Tuesday at Cutler's Funeral Home Chapel. Liddic, who thought "No one should ever go away from Council Bluffs hungry or lack for a place to sleep," died Saturday at an Omaha Hospital.
Liddick died before he was able to develop his idea. He had planned to sell a pre-1890 music box he owned and use the money to help support a mission here. His wife said he hadn't sold it, although he had turned down several offers of sale or trade.
The World War One veteran had been treated at hospitals in this area since the first world war. He had been bedfast for the past four years. A Red Oak Native, Liddick lived in Council Bluffs since 1922. He was a retired scrap dealer and a member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Christian Church.
Burial will be at Walnut Hill Cemetery.
Survivors include: Widow, Blanche; two stepsons, Clyde & Howard Wolford of Council Bluffs; brother Walter of La Platte, Nebraska; and sister Mrs. Myrtle Jahnke of Denver, Colorado.
(Submitted by Melissa Hillstrom)

COUNCIL BLUFFS (IOWA) NONPAREIL ~MAY 23, 1954
ESTATE TO WIDOW~Samuel A. Liddick, 59, who died last Feb 27, left his estate to his widow, Blanche Sue Liddick, 1319 W. Broadway, according to his will filed Saturday in District Court for probate. Mrs. Liddick is named executrix of the will, dated Nov. 28 1951.
(Submitted by Melissa Hillstrom)

Samuel married Blanche Sue ROOF about 1916 in Red Oak, Montgomery Co, IA.¹ (Blanche Sue ROOF was born on 5 Nov 1889 in Red Oak, Montgomery Co, IA ^{2 4}.)