I have a tendency for the enjoyment of writing. I hope what I've written below hasn't gotten out of hand, but I do list the items first.
No large-appliance collection.
Just a small number of some counter-top pieces, most remaining packed since we moved in 2007.
What I recall are as follows:
-1966 KLH Model-21 FM Radio
These were somewhat of a big deal back in their day. They were pricey, and had a nice sound for such a small, packaged unit. In their day, the sound was unexpected akin to what Bose would surprise people with years later. But also, somewhat of a big deal as at the time most areas in the USA didn't have FM coverage. FM was mostly sent out from bigger cities. And unlike AM signals that are able to stretch out for hundreds of miles, the FM signal only travels about 50 miles. As well, the FM signal is stopped dead if it hits a building or a mountain. So, the pricey little KLH FM (only) radio didn't work in most of the country. I enjoy having it for its uniqueness.
-Dominion Counter-Top Oven/Broiler
If you don't know what this is, it's a small counter-top oven or broiler that's about half the height of a toaster oven but about the same width. They have a sliding glass and metal drawer that is removable too. The fun part about them is they have legs on the top as well as on the bottom, and for a reason. And on the inside, there's one element. If you want it to be an oven you park it on your counter with the element on the bottom, and if you want it to be a broiler you park it on your counter with the element on the top. That's why they have legs on the top and the bottom. The temperature dial does double-duty too, as it shows settings for whichever way you're using it--over temperatures or for the broiler, high, medium, and low.
When I was growing up it seemed that every friend's house I'd gone into or even any given home, had one of these Dominion Oven/Broiler's. I didn't even know what it did other than something to do with cooking.
And of course, our house didn't have one, because we were so poor we didn't have things in our home like other homes I'd been in. And yes, I have used it even though I'm not the cook here at home.
I found this at a tag sale, and I bought it as a memento of my youth. But surprisingly after I paid the lady for it and walking to my car, my sense of being felt more complete.
-Farberware Rotisserie
This was another tag sale find. And another item that I'd seen in other homes, but not as frequently.
I paid $25 for it. It truly makes the perfect Roast Pork. So much so, that a few years later I found another one at a tag sale and paid $20 for it. Having a second one was perfect for gatherings and to serve guests the perfect roast pork. And though I might be speaking 1950s here, I have to say that your guests will have a favorably impressive sight when their eyes catch two beautiful pork roasts sizzling on rotisseries. Oui!
One little amusing story for whom ever reads this. Some years back, two friends had been intrigued by my mention of pork roast being done on a rotisserie. We made a dinner plan that they would have me over and the only thing I needed to bring was my Farberware rotisserie. The night arrived and we had a wonderful dinner.
Now, one of the guys was a ticket agent for American Airlines. His work was in a huge room with a hundred or so other ticket agents. And about a month or so after the three of us had the roast pork dinner, I had dropped in for coffee, and the guy with American Airlines was excited to see me. He told me he had a story about what happened to him in work that day. He said it started when his station lit up indicating a call was coming in. He answered it, and a guy on the other wanted airline tickets and my friend set up the date's etcetera, and when it got to his credit card payment the guy said that his name was so-and-so Farber. It turns out my friend had been taking a booking from the then middle-aged son of the Farber family of the Farberware Corporation.
As he's telling us this, I said, did you tell him that we love pork roast on his rotisserie? Both my friends were laughing so hard that they turned beet red, and then I did too. It turns out that he did tell Mr. Farber about my having one of his rotisseries and he (Mr. Farber) thought that was great and he added "Oh yea, they are great for pork roast." And after having that brought up, Mr. Farber said that he was going to make a pork roast on his Farberware rotisserie.
-3 Electric Coffee Percolators,
circa 1935-1948
One of the percolators is a set that included matching Cream and Sugar containers.
I refer to this as the Wedding set or the Anniversary set. The reason being the design of the pieces look like they belong to a celebration of marriage.
What are your dream machines yet to be found?
Machine #1
-Wringer type Washer but with a Spinner instead of a wringer.
-An American made brand.
-These are a two-tub one-piece machine shaped somewhat like an oval.
-I believe these were made in the 1950s-to-mid-1960s.
Machine #2
-1959 Westinghouse Front Load Washer
-Rectangular Door Frame with Rectangular Door Window.
-I don't have a model number yet.
Machine #6
-Whirlpool Top-Load Washer
-Largest Capacity Tub
-Lint Filter in the Right-Front-Corner, with hairbrush type filter, Not the window screen filter.
Machine #7
-Frigidaire Electric Range
-Top-of-the-Line model
-Circa 1963
Machine #8
-Tappen(?)
-Counter-Top
Cooktop 4 Burner Glass-Door Overhead-Oven
-These may have been offered by other American brands.
What are your earliest and favorite appliance memories?
At the time I was about four years old, so happened frightened me. But as an adult looking back on it, it was like a Hollywood movie scene.
I was having breakfast at our kitchen table and my mom had gone to another room for a moment. Our clothes washer, a huge Westinghouse front-loader, had been running and it just began the spin cycle. The load was horribly out-of-balance and as the momentum of the spin increased that huge machine started walking out from the wall and coming right at me! The banging sound of it was really loud, adding to the frightening scene.
I screamed for mom, and she came running. She stopped the timer, and the machine stopped walking. My dad must have had long hoses on the washer because it had walked itself about half-way across our kitchen.
What is the history of appliances you have owned?
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Nick
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What is your Favorite Major Appliance:
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Westinghouse
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Whirlpool
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2
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0
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2
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1
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0
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1
How Many Other Major Appliances do you have?
1
Your Current Appliance Collection:
I have a tendency for the enjoyment of writing. I hope what I've written below hasn't gotten out of hand, but I do list the items first.
No large-appliance collection.
Just a small number of some counter-top pieces, most remaining packed since we moved in 2007.
What I recall are as follows:
-1966 KLH Model-21 FM Radio
These were somewhat of a big deal back in their day. They were pricey, and had a nice sound for such a small, packaged unit. In their day, the sound was unexpected akin to what Bose would surprise people with years later. But also, somewhat of a big deal as at the time most areas in the USA did not have FM coverage. FM was mostly sent out from bigger cities. And unlike AM signals that can stretch out for hundreds of miles, the FM signal only travels about 50 miles. As well, the FM signal is stopped dead if it hits a building or a mountain. So, the pricey little KLH FM (only) radio did not work in most of the country. I enjoy having it for its uniqueness.
-Dominion Counter-Top Oven/Broiler
If you do not know what this is, it is a small counter-top oven or broiler that is about half the height of a toaster oven but about the same width. They have a sliding glass and metal drawer that is removable too. The fun part about them is they have legs on the top as well as on the bottom, and for a reason. And on the inside, there is one element. If you want it to be an oven you park it on your counter with the element on the bottom, and if you want it to be a broiler you park it on your counter with the element on the top. That is why they have legs on the top and the bottom. The temperature dial does double-duty too, as it shows settings for whichever way you are using it--over temperatures or for the broiler, high, medium, and low.
When I was growing up it seemed that every friend's house I had gone into or even any given home, had one of these Dominion Oven/Broiler's. I did not even know what it did other than something to do with cooking.
And of course, our house did not have one, because we were so poor we did not have things in our home like other homes I'd been in. And yes, I have used it even though I am not the cook here at home.
I found this at a tag sale, and I bought it as a memento of my youth. But surprisingly after I paid the lady for it and walking to my car, my sense of being felt more complete.
-Farberware Rotisserie
This was another tag sale find. And another item that I'd seen in other homes, but not as frequently.
I paid $25 for it. It truly makes the perfect Roast Pork. So much so, that a few years later I found another one at a tag sale and paid $20 for it. Having a second one was perfect for gatherings and to serve guests the perfect roast pork. And though I might be speaking 1950s here, I have to say that your guests will have a favorably impressive sight when their eyes catch two beautiful pork roasts sizzling on rotisseries. Oui!
One little amusing story for whom ever reads this. Some years back, two friends had been intrigued by my mention of pork roast being done on a rotisserie. We made a dinner plan that they would have me over and the only thing I needed to bring was my Farberware rotisserie. The night arrived and we had a wonderful dinner.
Now, one of the guys was a ticket agent for American Airlines. His work was in a huge room with a hundred or so other ticket agents. And about a month or so after the three of us had the roast pork dinner, I had dropped in for coffee, and the guy with American Airlines was excited to see me. He told me he had a story about what happened to him in work that day. He said it started when his station lit up indicating a call was coming in. He answered it, and a guy on the other wanted airline tickets and my friend set up the date's etcetera, and when it got to his credit card payment the guy said that his name was so-and-so Farber. It turns out my friend had been taking a booking from the then middle-aged son of the Farber family of the Farberware Corporation.
As he's telling us this, I said, did you tell him that we love pork roast on his rotisserie? Both my friends were laughing so hard that they turned beet red, and then I did too. It turns out that he did tell Mr. Farber about my having one of his rotisseries and he (Mr. Farber) thought that was great and he added "Oh yea, they are great for pork roast." And after having that brought up, Mr. Farber said that he was going to make a pork roast on his Farberware rotisserie.
-3 Electric Coffee Percolators,
circa 1935-1948
One of the percolators is a set that included matching Cream and Sugar containers.
I refer to this as the Wedding set or the Anniversary set. The reason being the design of the pieces look like they belong to a celebration of marriage.
What are your dream machines yet to be found?
Machine #1
-Wringer type Washer but with a Spinner instead of a wringer.
-An American made brand.
-These are a two-tub one-piece machine shaped somewhat like an oval.
-I believe these were made in the 1950s-to-mid-1960s.
Machine #2
-1959 Westinghouse Front Load Washer
-Rectangular Door Frame with Rectangular Door Window.
-I don't have a model number yet.
Machine #6
-Whirlpool Top-Load Washer
-Largest Capacity Tub
-Lint Filter in the Right-Front-Corner, with hairbrush type filter, Not the window screen filter.
Machine #7
-Frigidaire Electric Range
-Top-of-the-Line model
-Circa 1963
Machine #8
-Tappen(?)
-Counter-Top
Cooktop 4 Burner Glass-Door Overhead-Oven
-These may have been offered by other American brands.
What are your earliest and favorite appliance memories?
At the time I was about four years old, so happened frightened me. But as an adult looking back on it, it was like a Hollywood movie scene.
I was having breakfast at our kitchen table and my mom had gone to another room for a moment. Our clothes washer, a huge Westinghouse front-loader, had been running and it just began the spin cycle. The load was horribly out-of-balance and as the momentum of the spin increased that huge machine started walking out from the wall and coming right at me! The banging sound of it was very loud, adding to the frightening scene.
I screamed for mom, and she came running. She stopped the timer, and the machine stopped walking. My dad must have had long hoses on the washer because it had walked itself about half-way across our kitchen.
What is the history of appliances you have owned?
I'd like to talk about one particular clothes washer.
I remember it was May 1982, and my family's clothes washer had broken and was irreparable. There was not any money for a new washer and worse there was no money in sight. My family had always been poor.
The washer had been broken for a while and any of us that could drive were making trips to the laundromat. The only upshot was that our clothes dryer was still working, so we would bring the washed wet laundry home to dry.
Mother's Day was less than a week away, I had literally just gotten my first serious paying job. The pay was going to be handsome for me, but I did not have enough money to afford a brand-new washer, and I didn't have any credit so early on.
The next day or maybe it was the day after I was driving home from work, and I passed an appliance store situated in the next town over from where we lived.
They had a banner about a Mother's Day sale and something about store credit, or seeking new accounts, something like that. I knew the store must have been reputable because they were at that location sine I was a little kid.
I collected my thoughts overnight and checked the newspaper if they had advertised anything.
I stopped in at that store the next day after work. I seem to recall it being a Wednesday or Thursday. I met a very nice middle-aged salesman. He ran me through the sales etcetera on clothes washers. But not having any credit history there was not anything brand-new available to me.
I could tell that the salesman felt badly about my situation and what I was trying to do for my mom, or he just took a liking to me as a young guy who was trying.
I cannot recall if what happened next was something I'd asked about or if the salesman had mentioned. But there was one used machine in the back of the building where the storage was kept. The salesman was walking me to the back where the machine was. And I was asking him if he knew if it was any good or not, and that my mom did seven loads of laundry a day and this and that.
We reached the back area; I saw cardboard boxes stacked high that contained brand-new appliances. He pointed which way to walk, and then I saw it, one lone clothes washer parked near the middle of a long white wall.
We looked it over. He did not know how old it was but thought probably four or five years old. It said Whirlpool on the control panel, and the panel was in good condition other than a small dent in the stainless trim at the bottom. I did not know anything about Whirlpool, but I thought it was a rich person's brand. We always had junk. That would be Sears and Roebuck junk. When Sears has a sale that where poor people go and buy. They think they are getting something good, until it breaks, and the part it needs cost a lot of money.
I asked the salesman if Whirlpool was a good machine, and he said that they were excellent. And he added that this machine was good, or it would not be out here. He said that since it was parked there it meant that their guys had already looked it over and found it to be good. Otherwise, it would have gone into the scrap pile. I had a good feeling about that washer. I wanted a machine for Mother's Day and this is what turned up.
I asked him how much it was and if I could make weekly payments on it. He said he would check with his boss or the owner. While he was away, I got a closer look at the machine. It seemed fancy to me, as it had a number of settings on the dial, and a special button just for a extra rinse. And a lint filter. I thought mom would like that.
And I notice that the panel said, "Silver Anniversary Edition". I think. Or it may have said "Whirlpool Silver Anniversary". To me it was a special statement as though Whirlpool was proud to have been around a while.
The salesman returned. He was smiling and said that I could make payments on it. That I could pay $20 a week, or I could pay once a month, $80. And do not worry about a down payment. I was so happy. But how much was it? With tax it came to $136. And they deliver it, on Saturday!!!
I was thrilled. Mom would have a clothes washer for Mother's Day. I was so happy.
Saturday arrived, and so did the delivery men. Mom and dad had gone out, so it was perfect. I was doing the install when my folks arrived home. Mom asked what I was doing, and I told her.
She was bothered by the machine being used, and real unhappy about it. I thought, jeez, this is awful. I really did not expect this type of rejection. I remember saying that Whirlpool is supposed to be a very good machine. It has an odor. I explained that is had been sitting around and I was planning to run a cycle with it empty to get rid of the odor. It is not a real bad odor. She said that she did not want a used machine. I said, mom we've all been running to the laundromat, it has gone on for weeks now and its pain in the neck. She said that I did not understand, and that now she will not be able to get a new machine. I did not understand that at all. There was no money for any machine. And I am thinking, I'm the only one that made an effort to help and this happens. I said to mom, cannot you use this machine until you buy your new one. She said she did not want to, but she supposed that she would have too.
I thought there is only one thing to do. Push a little.
So, I had dirty laundry myself. I had three brothers at home, a sister-in-law, and a baby. I asked each one, do you have dirty laundry? Yes, yes, yes, kept coming back to me. So, I told each of them bring me your dirty laundry. One of my brothers asked if I was doing sheets too. Yes, bring me everything.
It was about one in the afternoon, and I worked on laundry into the night. The new used Whirlpool worked flawlessly. And our old multi-repaired fourteen-year-old clothes dryer ran without breaking. Thank God.
I got all the dirty laundry in the house done. Now, my mother would have to touch the new used Whirlpool. About a week or later my mom thanked me for the new washer. She apologized about her unhappiness toward me and that she wanted to have just one new thing. A clothes washer. She said that the new washer did do a good job and that she was happy with it.
I knew what she meant sort of. But I would learn it at other times in my life that were yet to come. It is about unchanging poverty and the mindset that can gnaw at poor people.
And I went to the appliance store every week and paid the $20. I even paid it off early.
Skip ahead, to seven years later, 1989. Things had improved for my parents, and they had more money. They had put our house up for sale and it had sold. They were moving to a newer house in Florida. The last night that they were in our old house, they were managing last minute things. There was some nervousness in the house that night that everything would be ready and working for the new owners. Last minute touch up cleaning, writing notes. Getting things into the cars that were going to Florida. Two of my brothers were moving with them, as well as my sister-in-law and my niece.
I was chatting with mom in the laundry area and suddenly were heard a loud sound when the clothes washer was spinning up to its full speed. I looked at mom and I yelled; it sounds like it is going to blow up! She yelled back; it has been doing that for a while now. Dad said it needs some kind of shock absorber pads that steady the drum. It was the used Whirlpool washer I'd given her for Mother's Day so many years before. That machine had somehow lasted all those years of heavy-duty service. I yelled; mom did this machine ever break. She yelled back; no, I do not recall us ever doing anything to it. And if it had, I would have been the guy to go and get the part. I was never asked, so no it never had broken. It was on duty in the background of our lives. That machine was a story and one that ultimately worked out to be happy. So that Whirlpool did not break on my family's last night in our house. I cannot say anything about what happened after the new owners had moved in. But I think it would be fun, that if one day I happened to be driving past the house I grew up in, saw a sign for a tag sale and somehow made it inside the house to see that Whirlpool Silver Anniversary machine still parked there.
Have you ever worked on, repaired and/or restored any major appliances?
