Lorenzo Jensen has spent his life building bridges.
A home he started in 2003 is now a “bridge” for him and wife Jackie, from years of living in mobile and manufactured homes to a landmark dwelling in full view of U.S. 169 three miles north of Iola.
“I tell people that years from now, when my great-great-great-grandchildren are driving on the highway, they’ll say ‘there’s the house great-great-great-granddad built,’” Lorenzo said.
While his observation is tinged with pride, it isn’t an exaggeration.
The house is constructed of walls and floors a foot thick with concrete insets 6¼ inches thick, laced with heavy duty rebar, “more than I put in bridges,” Lorenzo said. On either side of the concrete is Styrofoam insulation and drywall that “makes the house so quiet you couldn’t hear a semi drive up.”
Living space on two levels contains about 3,000 square feet and garages on both levels add another 2,000.
“We’ve been told the house is on the highest point in Allen County,” Jackie said.
“On a clear day you can see the steeple of the Catholic church in Piqua and at night you can see the lights of Monarch and Ash Grove (Humboldt and Chanute’s cement plants), as well as Le Roy and Colony,” Lorenzo said. “On the Fourth of July we watch fireworks displays all over the area.”
Those sights are shared with friends and their family of four children and five grandchildren. It’s only right that family and friends often are included in gatherings. Many of them helped with the house’s construction, and still come periodically to lend a hand.
“We have work days,” Lorenzo said. “One day we work here. Others, we go to the kids’ homes to help with what they need done.”
STEP INTO the basement — a walk-in from the south — and a spacious garage, partly given to storage, greets. It has a small bathroom and a shaft that could accommodate a household elevator if ever needed.
The Jensens have offices in the basement that they intend to use whenever retirement beckons, along with two bedrooms that provide amply for grandchildren and house guests.
“I’ll be 63 next week,” Lorenzo said. “We went on a week’s vacation last year, the first I’ve ever taken, and we’re going to take more time off,” which brings the in-house offices more to focus.
“When we turn over the business (J&J Contractors) to family, we’ll have our offices to stay active, maybe micro-manage a bit,” she said with a grin.
Lorenzo’s office has a mural on one wall, capturing his interests — airplanes banking in a bright blue sky, a vehicle he keeps in western Kansas for hunting and a backhoe. Tile on the floor is laid out to replicate a landing strip.
Jackie’s has a 1950s theme, including Elvis collectibles.
