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76 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, September 16, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 18, 2004 Joyce Wilson and her son, Harley, 4, live in a house on Jackson Street where a large stand fan in the doorway is the main source of cooling. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Dog-day dodgers Without air conditioning, people will do anything to keep their cool during the Rogue Valley’s summer heat By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Summer days are dark days for Leona Young’s family. Curtains are drawn tight over the picture windows of her west Medford home. The house, which lacks central air conditioning, becomes insufferably hot if the windows are exposed, said Young’s niece, 47-year-old Judy Osborne. Springing from the living room’s lone window-mounted air conditioner, a narrow band of cool air nudges through a relay of fans strategically positioned throughout the house. The family nibbles chef’s salads and cold chicken sandwiches in the indoor twilight. They wouldn’t dare use the stove during mid-day. But at sunset it’s time to throw open doors and windows. Young, 93, her niece and grand-niece venture onto the front porch to catch the last fading rays of light, enough for Osborne to piece quilt squares in flowered fabric. Advertisement "Usually in the daytime, you can’t find anybody outside," Osborne said. Living without central air conditioning in their homes, many Rogue Valley residents fight a losing battle to keep cool as summer winds down. After months of exposure to near-constant sun, soils, buildings and other surfaces retain more and more heat, making temperatures warmer at night, said meteorologist Sven Nelaimischkies of the National Weather Service Medford Forecast Office. Throw in a few record-breaking highs and weeks of 100-degree temperatures, and it just takes longer to cool off, he added. "It’s just been hot for such a long period of time," he said, adding that over the past week, heat has hovered in upper 70s and 80s at midnight. High temperatures are expected to remain in the mid- to upper 90s throughout the week, forecasters said. Relief is nowhere in sight for Joyce Wilson’s family, who live in a gray concrete house without air-conditioning near Jackson Elementary School. "Once it heats up, it’s like an oven for hours," she said. The boxy little home’s doors and windows are open round-the-clock while a 4-foot stand fan never budges from the front steps. Living on disability income, the family has no money to buy an air conditioner, Wilson said. They pay $600 in rent for the two-bedroom home out of their monthly Social Security income. "The only thing we have is the air — the wind that moves through the valley," she said. This year’s summer has felt unusually hot, said Peggy Agnew, who has spent six seasons in her Second Street home. But that may be because Agnew got a slow start on installing an air conditioner, putting it off until July when temperatures rose into the 90s, she added. It’s about 70 degrees inside, but Agnew’s grandchildren still prefer to jump, dunk, splish and splash in a sagging wading pool shaded by sparse trees. Agnew happily accepts the kids’ water-logged hugs, wetting the front of her white T-shirt. "When it gets dark, and the grandkids go home, (the pool) is all mine," she said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities