Roger Fette standing outside of his Quonset hut home in Faribault.
The interior of Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home featuring some of the curved roof line of the structure.
Two of the original doors that were installed in the Quonset hut when it was built during World War II.
The exterior rear entrance to Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home was added after it was moved to Faribault after World War II.
Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home was place atop a basement foundation when it was relocated to its current location in Faribault.
The roof line of Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home sustained some damage when a large tree fell on it during the recent winter storms last week.
One of the original corrugated steel awnings that highlight the exterior of Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home in Faribault.
Roger Fette’s Quonset house was likely built in the 40s during World War II and moved from Northfield to Faribault in the 1950s. It was a hit by a falling tree from the Dec. 15 storm in the area, but the unique construction of the building helped it to survive the blow. (Photo courtesy of Roger Fette)
The recent storms and high winds that swept through the Faribault area last week put the spotlight on a residence in the community after a large tree fell on its roof.
Homeowner Roger Fette was in the basement of his home on Bagley Avenue when the tree toppled over due to the high winds that night. The tree probably would have severely damaged most homes of typical wood frame construction, but Fette’s home received minimal damage due to the unique and somewhat historical nature of its construction.
Roger Fette’s Quonset house was likely built in the 40s during World War II and moved from Northfield to Faribault in the 1950s. It was a hit by a falling tree from the Dec. 15 storm in the area, but the unique construction of the building helped it to survive the blow. (Photo courtesy of Roger Fette)
Fette’s home stands out among his neighbors. since he resides in a converted World War II vintage Quonset hut. The structure still features its original corrugated metal siding, and the steel rib structure withstood the tree falling on it with just a few dents on the roof and cracks to the interior sheetrock.
“I was downstairs working on my computer,” Fette said. “I never lost power, and it didn’t break anything in the house. When I called the person to work on removing the tree, he figured the house was probably smashed to the ground. When he came here, he said it wasn’t too bad. I think if it had been normal construction, it would have cut the house right in half. The strength of the structure saved it. The two big dents are up there, but believe it or not, you can see where it bent the steel, but those ribs around it stayed in place.”
Roger Fette standing outside of his Quonset hut home in Faribault.
Tucked into a hillside on a 2-acre lot, Fette’s home was placed there in the early 1950s by Emil Vermeesch and later purchased by Fette in 1979. According to an article by Jon Vara in “The Journal of Light Construction,” the United States military mass-produced more than 150,000 of the metal structures between 1941 and 1945. They were patterned after the Nissen huts produced by the British military in World War I and were renamed the Quonset hut after the manufacturing plant near the Naval Air Station in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, where the first huts were produced.
“For its day, the Quonset hut was an engineering marvel. When dismantled, it was lighter and less bulky than the canvas tents with wooden frames that it replaced. It could be shipped anywhere and — thanks to its ingenious nailable steel ribs — assembled by a 10-man crew in one day, using only hand tools,” Vara said in his article.
Two of the original doors that were installed in the Quonset hut when it was built during World War II.
Quonset huts proved to be valuable throughout World War II, as quick and easily constructed housing and storage facilities for all branches of the military — both overseas and here in the United States. Fette is not certain where his Quonset hut was originally used, but he believes it most likely came from a military facility somewhere in Minnesota or the upper Midwest.
Along with military training camps, Minnesota was also home to several German prisoner of war camps, including one in Faribault that used the prisoners to help pick crops and work farms in the area, due to labor shortages caused by the war.
At the end of World War II, the Quonsets that were no longer needed were put into surplus and offered for sale to the public. Returning veterans were given the first opportunity to purchase the surplus Quonset huts, and many were repurposed into homes due to the acute housing shortage in the years following the war.
“As far as I can figure out from the abstract and people that I talked to back then, it got moved here from somewhere,” Fette said. “I was told it was from somewhere south of Northfield, but I don’t know for sure where it came from … but I do know that Emil Vermeesch (the original owner) must have moved it here when he got out of the service.”
Fette noted that his Quonset hut was one of several that were relocated to the Faribault area, including one that was directly across the street from his Quonset hut until it was replaced about 20 years ago with new houses.
“Whoever owned this whole plot of land must have brought them in here and set them up,” Fette said. “They normally did not have basements, since these things were assembled and set on concrete blocks as temporary structures, but this one and the one across the street had basements in them.”
Unlike many of the Quonset huts built for World War II that had an open floor plan for use as barracks or storage facilities, the Quonset hut owned by Fette had an original floor plan that features two separate apartments — most likely to be used by officers and their families for base housing.
The interior of Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home featuring some of the curved roof line of the structure.
“These Quonset huts were built split with an apartment out of each end that included a kitchen, living room, hallway, bathroom and two bedrooms,” Fette said. “The one that was across the street from me still had the original floor plan with an apartment out of each. The one that I am in had the same floor plan, but when the guy put it here, he took one wall out and opened it into one bigger house.”
When Fette purchased the house with his brother in 1979, the Quonset hut still had the original galvanized metal shower stall in the bathroom. Both of the Fette brothers were fresh out of high school and were looking for a place to reside near town and not have to pay rent.
His brother lived with him for two years, and since that time, Fette has lived in the house by himself. Prior to the purchase by Fette, the hut had been used as a rental housing. Over the years, Fette has updated the Quonset hut with improved insulation, replaced windows, extended the front wall of the house to give him added space in the living room and has done some slight interior modifications to the original floor plan.
The house now features two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, living room and a large hallway. An interior staircase to the basement was also added after the Quonset hut was moved to Faribault.
The exterior rear entrance to Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home was added after it was moved to Faribault after World War II.
Quonset huts came in a variety of sizes and Fette’s is a 20x40 model, which puts the current square footage at just under 1,000 square feet on the first floor due to the additions put on each end of the house. The majority of renovations to the house have been completed by Fette over the years.
“I don’t think they did much when they moved it here, because when I bought it, the Quonset hut still had all the original masonite interior and green paint … it was all original,” Fette said. “Whoever moved it here, I think the only thing they did was put in the old school 3/4-inch oak floors. The ceiling was rounded with that painted masonite and there was no insulation.”
He continued, “The first year I was in here, there was an oil furnace, and I went through the fuel oil like I was pouring water into it … so that was when I started modernizing it and insulating it.”
Fette noted that his current heating bill is much better.
“The heating bill is not too bad here,” he said. “Once I insulated it and modernized it … the building is round and not a very big square footage, so the bill is not too bad.”
The exterior of Fette’s Quonset is all original with corrugated steel roofing and matching window awnings. He has coated the roof a few times over the years with roofing silver, but for the most part, the exterior maintenance has been minimal.
The roof line of Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home sustained some damage when a large tree fell on it during the recent winter storms last week.
One of the original corrugated steel awnings that highlight the exterior of Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home in Faribault.
One current concern faced by Fette is the fact that many of the rubber washers around the nails used to fasten the roof to the structures steel ribs are starting to fail after 75 years. The rubber washers were used in place of the original lead washers on the Quonset huts when lead became scarce during World War II.
“Some of those rubber washers are starting to fail and I have to come up with a way to replace them,” Fette said.
The Quonset hut sits on a 2-acre lot, which has provided Fette with space to construct storage buildings and parking areas for trailers. He’s part of Fette Electronics, which has been in business in downtown Faribault since 1962, and he also owns Fette Productions, which provides audio-visual support for many events throughout the area.
Roger Fette’s Quonset hut home was place atop a basement foundation when it was relocated to its current location in Faribault.
“I’ve always enjoyed living here, because it is close to town, but I have 2 acres of land and it just turned into being a unique house to live in,” Fette said. “I think one of the things I enjoy about this house is just talking about the fact that I live in a tin shed.
Fette added with a smile on his face, “Most houses would have been crushed to the ground, but my old tin shack survived. You guys can keep making fun of me and my house, but let’s see if your rambler will take an 8,000-pound tree coming down on it in a 60 mile per hour wind.”
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