Veteran without air conditioning gets fan at High Point fan giveaway

by: Cassie Fambro

Posted: Jul 25, 2023 / 10:27 PM EDT

Updated: Jul 26, 2023 / 10:46 AM EDT

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — The heat is climbing into the high 90s, and for those without air conditioning, the effects can be dangerous.

On Tuesday, the United Way of Greater High Point and Senior Resources of Guilford County handed out box fans for two hours to dozens of people who needed relief from the heat.

It was at that giveaway that we met one veteran who has a broken air-conditioner and is doing his best to get through the sweltering temps.

“With my air conditioner out and everything, living in a trailer. It’s like an oven in here sometimes,” said Richard Kurtz, an Archdale resident.

Outside, our thermometer showed it felt like 100 degrees. Inside Kurtz’s mobile home, the red hand ticked above 100 degrees.

“If I open my bay door and my front door then some cool breeze goes by,” he said.

On Tuesday, he picked up a 20-inch box fan from the fan drive in High Point and set it up in his living room. He hopes his fish are more comfortable in their tank.

“I’ll put ice cubes in it,” he said.

Kurtz served in the Navy for six years, and he said he worked as a trucker until a few years ago.

“I am on disability. I have had a lot of health issues the last seven years or so,” Kurtz said.

He says for people unable to work, air-conditioning can simply be too expensive.

“Real close friends of mine that are also on disability, they have central heating and air, but they don’t like to use it because of the bill,” he said.

He can stop by his neighbor’s homes to get cool air but doesn’t want to impose.

He expects to get his window unit fixed or replaced soon but says the box fan will be a big help even then.

“The fan is still going to help circulate the air because the way the trailer is set up, the air conditioner works fine in here, but it doesn’t do nothing for the kitchen or the hallway that’s back there,” he said.

For assistance, visit the Senior Resources of Guilford website and The Salvation Army of High Point website.

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