The American Dream is as much about claiming our space in the world as it is about acquiring things. I remember how happy Dad and Mom (Harry and Burnha Young) were when they became landowners. They were going to build their house from the ground up and graduate from renters to homeowners.

There wasn’t anything wrong with renting a home. It’s just they often thought of a modification here or there that might make the space more their own. Landlords might not want their space modified, according to Dad.

When I was six, they bought their first plot in a developing addition in the country. For months, my two brothers and I spent nearly every spare minute alongside Mom and Dad at the building site on the east side of Angle Road. We were between the Fulk and Dillenback families.

Dad’s longtime friend “Old Mac McCarty” (that’s the only name I ever knew him by) came out regularly from Ingalls to help.

Every town has its colorful characters, and that’s just what Mac was — a colorful guy who I don’t remember looking anything but old.

It seemed to my young mind the house went up slowly, but I guess it was pretty quick when compared to most building timetables. When it was finished it was a work of pride. The living room was long, nearly covering the length of the house. There were two bedrooms and a sewing/ironing room. And there was a bathroom — that was important to me, because I knew there were some homes that didn’t have indoor plumbing yet. My great-granddad’s was one of them.

As years went by, the family upgraded. Mom and Dad bought a house in town with three lots on Laurel Street, and that is where they really made their mark.

Dad and Uncle Lawrence (Galloway) laid the foundation and poured a large cement porch on the front. They added a roof, and Mom eventually added a front porch swing. Later, the garage that originally was on the east side of the house became a utility/pool room, and then there was no other description but to call it a “multi-purpose” room.

It seemed like anytime there was a building project, Mom’s brothers and brothers-in-law were ready to lend a hand.

That’s the way it was when they added a two-car garage extending beyond the multi-purpose room.

Then they hired a professional team to build an in-ground pool and cement deck and hired a handyman to pour a patio.

Dad built his own barn for storage and workshop west of the pool. The Youngs definitely claimed their space on that Pendleton land and lived there happily for decades.

Angie Wendrick’s mother, Debby Kelly-Sisson, often talks of Angie’s space in Markleville. Angie and husband Alex decided to build a tiny house. I am a collector (most friends refer to me as a hoarder, but I believe there is method to my madness). I think that is why the concept of a tiny house is so intriguing to me, though.

Not long ago, I had a chance to talk to Angie. The couple intended to use much less space by building a tiny house. The plans called for the house to be less than 700 square feet, Angie said.

When they went for permits, Angie said they were surprised to learn their house was too small for Madison County codes.

“We had to add an attached two-car garage,” Angie said. “I thought if you could build a house as big as you want to, you could build as small as you want, too.”

The living space ended up just less than 750 square feet and still falls into the trendy category of tiny houses, according to multiple websites on the topic.

The garage added enough to meet the minimum requirement of 1,400 square feet for Madison County, according to the Madison County building code.