Numerous other small electrics including an electric freezer compartment defroster, a 1962 pink Westinghouse hand held mixer, another Toastmaster 2 slice toaster (1948), A GE 1962 2 slice toaster, 2 ice-cream freezers - used often - Dominion deep fat fryer, a bread machine, a Quinsinart, a KitchenAide Stand mixer, very old (about 1948 maybe?) electric space heater, coffee pots that fall out of the closet like on the old radio program, "Fibber Magee and Molly" when you open the doors - its a consumers heaven in that basement!
What are your dream machines yet to be found?
A Fridgidaire Unimatic - any of them.
A GE double door fridge from the 40s as in the picture here.
A 1939 Double Doored GE Monitor Style Refrigerator. They only made about 500 of that model that year.
What are your earliest and favorite appliance memories?
1949 Westinghouse Refirgerator - I was warned constantly about not getting inside and suffocating myself. I still dont know why they were so worried. I knew better!
1951 Westinghouse Landromat Washer - if you leaned into it while it was spinning you could vibrate your whole body - sort of like the "Magic Fingers" in old motel rooms beds.
A wringer washer but I dont know what kind or what year it was - I was only 2 when my parents got rid of it - I do know that the emergency release didnt work and my older brother (in his obsession for helping do laundry - yes there were TWO of us in one family!) got his hand caught in the wringer when he was about 4. Fool!
My grandparents in upstate NY had a duplex and one of their renters had a Fridgidaire Pulsmatic with which I was just truly fascinated. Still am. I have never worked on one though, but I would like to.
A neighbor up the street had an old Easy Spin Washer in her garage - I was told it worked - it had a mechanical timer on it w/ a bell that dinged. It was fun to play with the control handles - sort of like driving a race car, ya know?
The day our RCA Whirlpool Gas dryer was installed. It was January of 1955, my sister had just been born and my mom Jean had just laid down the law - it was either a dryer or Larry, my father, would have to pay for diaper service for two years. The modern woman in her refused to have to wash tons of cloth diapers (remember the pre-Pampers era of our nation?) AND have to hang all of them out to dry for that same period of time.
The dryer had an ultrviolet light bulb inside that you could watch if you held open the door and pushed the safety switch in with the door opened and the tumbler empty. The bulb burned out in a year or less and was never replaced.
My grandmothers Maytag wringer washer in her kitchen. I do not know the model number, but it had red agitator, a red agitate control knob, it was squared in shape and its tub was white porcelain. My Italian grandmother was a very old fashioned person who never spoke any English and couldnt read, write or do any math - BUT she could cook a meal that would make your eyes tear. She was also very proud of her laundry as it hung outside of the back of her house on a pullied pair of lines that stretched from the outside of the back porch to the garage.
What is the history of appliances you have owned?
The old toasters I have are from this area of the country - I acquired them from a few garage sales and an antique store in Stillwater, MN. Ive just had them re-done by a guy in NYC (ToasterCentral.com) and he did a great job. Im giving one to each of my 3 siblings for this coming Christmas.
The 1941 Universal gas stove that came from an estate sale in a house in south MPLS - it was already 40 years old when a friend of mine bought it - he used it for about six years in his first house and who, when he subsequently moved, gave it to me as his new home had a newer gas stove in it already - which he liked better. I had it stored in my garage for 6 more years and then when I moved to Hudson WI area, I installed it in my kitchen. It was too big for the kitchen in the duplex we owned previously in south Minneapolis. It has "It Clicks On" brand valves and center small flames on all four burners for simmering or for making stews and broths. Nice feature and 3 of the burners are 3.25" in diameter and one of the burners is 3.75" in diameter. I could burn down the house with all that heat!
Id like a double doored one like it (the GE mentioned above) someday or maybe a comparable Frigidaire brand.
In the past, Ive owned two different GE portable top loading dishwashers - one from the mid 50s, another from the early 60s - the older one had a formica top and the one from the 60s was copper colored with a solid redwood butcherblock top. This top even had a well routed all around it for fat and juices collection if you used it for carving meat - although I never used it as such.
I cant count the number of other appliances that have wormed their way through my life. In college I had an apartment w/ (I think from its serial number - yes even back then I was fascinated) a 1930 GE Monitor top fridge - with a foot pedal no less! - it worked quite well but was pretty small for two people. The freezer was about maybe 6" wide, by 9" tall including the ice cube tray area and however deep they were, I dont remember off hand. It was still there when I graduated and left that very cool and right across the street from Old Main entrance at PSU, apartment. Barely enough space for a few small cans of frozen juice and a package or two of frozen veggies.
Matching Maytags from 1978 - I think the washer was an A606? I forget - sorry - old age. Liked both machines very much
KitchenAide DW - 1979 also, almond colored portable w/ light blonde colored butcherblock top - very thick maybe 2.5 inches or so - a really great machine that was later installed under the counter in another home I owned later on. It was a Superba model - not sure of the model number. Worked great and was built to last. I had not one repair on it in the 9 or so years it was in use (and when I lived in that house). Alas, when I got divorced, it stayed in that home.
1965 Amana Microwave Oven - weighted a ton - I still have the very sturdy/reinforced cabinet I built to hold it in the kitchen. We heard its death rattle one day and that was it. The magnetron tube had burned out. By then microwaves were getting more plentiful and you could buy a nice one for about a hundred bucks.
Two 18" wide Kenmore DWs from the early 1980s - both were almond in color. Gave both away to others after Id repaired what needed to be fixed. One was bought in a garage sale and the other was a trash item. Both just needed some TLC and a good scrubbing.
2002 Kenmore (I think Gibson actually made it) 18" portable DW. Also donated now to a friend who has a cabin in northern MN - she just cant put her hands in dishwater.
Have you ever worked on, repaired and/or restored any major appliances?
Yes, I used to work with a washer repair guy (Floyd Barry) at 46th St and Xerxes Avenue in south Minneapolis. I worked on most brands - from changing water valves, replacing worn parts in the transmission (mostly Kenmores), rebuilt a transmission or two too, to rebuilding and trading out water pumps. Only did this work for about 5 or 6 months but I did learn a lot about how washers work. Also worked on wringers a bit, some dryers - electric ones mostly and a number of dishwashers.
