A Little Maytag Fun ...

[geoffdelp]

Hi all ... Thought it would fun to share a photo from one of my Maytag News issues from the 1950's. This comes from the May 1950 issue.

Look at how elated a couple of these women were to receive new wringer washers ... FREE ... no less! Look at the wooden machines they had been washing in for 30 or more years!!

The elderly couple on the left were in the 80's and were from Paynesville, Minnesota; which is not far from here. She must have thought she had "died and gone to heaven" when she won.

Maytag dealers sponsored "Oldest Maytag" contests as "sales devices". The people who didn't win, probably received an actual call from the dealer; they went to homes and sold these machines like crazy. Maytag was also big on "in home" demonstrations; machines were placed in homes to be used for a week's laundry and then if the homemaker wanted it, a convenient payment plan (if cash wasn't paid) was worked out.

Times ... they have changed, haven't they?

Enjoy ... Bless our mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers!

Geoff

 

[geoffdelp]

Here's another fun piece!!

I LOVE the cello-wrap!! They were only $1.75 a piece.

Somewhere I've got one of these ads that has the AMP in cellophane; how would you have liked to have that under your tree on Christmas?

This ad came from the November 1950 issue of Maytag News.

Geoff

 

[gansky1]

These are very fun Geoff!

I would have loved an AMP under my tree! I'd love to find some cellophane large enough for a washer and decorate the laundry room for the holidays.

 

[geoffdelp]

One More and I'll stop for now ...

Here's one more from July 1950 and then I'll stop for now.

Can you imagine what multiple births would have been like in that era? It was probably pretty scary for a farm family to experience something like that. Wow ... 10 children. I'm sure they needed the help on the farm; a lot of families were like that. My Dad was from a family of 8 and they all "grew" into their work on the farm.

A demonstration of goodness in the world!!

Geoff

 

[geoffdelp]

Greg ... I would have taken an AMP in cello, too!!

That's a cool idea; a laundry room decorated for Christmas! In 1950's/1960's vintage stuff, of course.

Geoff

 

[bobbyderegis]

Geoff,
These old clippings and adverts are such a blast. Keep 'em coming.
Bobby in Boston

 

[swestoyz]

Gotta get the 'News!

Hey Geoff - these clippings are fantastic! Did you happen to pick up an earlier copy of Maytag News? One thing I really liked was Maytag promoting carload sales. They would have big banners and signs on the trains as the carloads came into town - a big deal at the time for dealers and their customers!

Look at all of those AMP's new in the box - and some conventional washers in the back of that truck - in crates! This clip is from late of '52.

Ben

 

[polkanut]

My great-aunt and uncle won the "Oldest Maytag in Marathon County, WI" contest in 1949. Aunt Adele hated that new Maytag and traded it in a year later for a Speed Queen. The old Maytag was bought in 1917 by her in-laws. It had the agitator attached to the cover and looked like a cow's udder. It had the handle on the side you moved back and forth to agitate the clothes.

 

[geoffdelp]

Bobby ... glad you like them!! Have you had any luck on your pump yet?

I was out of the loop for a while; our founder where I work passed away over the 4th of July weekend and we miss him greatly. He was like another Dad to me; he really helped me out a lot (as he did with a lot of other people). But ... he would want us to go on! So ... we shall!!

Ben ... I've got the entire year of 1950. I think these magazines were great; they showed what sort of corporation Maytag was in their heydey. It looked like a great place to work or to be a part of. The covers on these mags are really great, too. I'll have to post one of those.

Tim ... too bad about Aunt Adele!! Goodness ... she didn't like her new Maytag? The wooden tub models in the pictures above, had the "udder-like" agitator under the cover, too. The woman in the family at the bottom of the picture above (I think Vincent is their last name)had named her old wooden washer "Bridges". I found an article in an earlier edition where it talked about the name of her machine and how the Maytag dealer "had to prove" that her new Maytag would wash her clothes as clean as "Bridges" did!! I think they lived in West Virginia.

At any rate ... here's another photo and article. I scanned this not so much for the article (interesting, however) but for the photo of the woman who got an automatic from her son in the Air Force. What a great picture of the Mom, Dad and her new and old machines!! How proud she looks. And, note ... she still had not disposed of her old Maytag!!

I'll get a cover posted, too.

Geoff

 

[Unimatic1140]

There are so fun Geoff! We want more

 

[geoffdelp]

More? I've got it!

Here's one. This is from the May 1950 issue; a year after Maytag started making the AMP. Check out the "thoughts" the design team had ... glass in the lid ... control knobs on a panel. They were forward thinking ...

This looks like one our "glamour shots", doesn't it?

 

[geoffdelp]

How about a cover?

Here's one of my favorite covers from the Maytag News. This is from November 1950.

That little boy is working hard with his Dad, I bet! Snow is already on the ground and the corn shocks have got to get stacked so the cows can have feed for the winter.

The inside cover says ... "Yes, the pumpkins and the turkeys - the pilgrims and their winters - all steal hesitantly into the imaginative mind of youth. November, 1950 - once again the month of Thanksgiving. Let it not pass unnoticed."

 

[tomturbomatic]

The term for the lid-mounted agitator in the wooden machines is a dolly. The 2nd meaning in the dictionary for this word is "a wooden pronged instrument for beating and stirring clothes in the process of washing them in a tub." The 4 prongs on the dolly became the 4 vanes on the Maytag Gyrator and the term "beating" enabled Frigidaire to say that their washers bathed deep dirt out without beating. The action of the dolly dragged the clothes back and forth in the tub without encouraging turn over.

A family in Hibbing, MN whose daughters were in school with my mother had a younger son. When he returned home from the military and started working, he bought his mother a Maytag automatic and once she had that, she took over the care and laundering of the altar cloths and vestments (hope those are close to the correct terms) of her church. She might have ironed too much because eventually her arm joints froze.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Geoff that May 1950 story was fabulous. Glass lid, yeah right, then the world would see what was going on inside a Maytag automatic, never! Where would the float have gone anway? Do you have the April 1950 issue?

 

[geoffdelp]

Good Heavens, Tom!! That poor woman from Hibbing! I can't imagine my arm joints "freezing" up. That must have been horrible for her.

Years of unchecked arthritis and continued work, no doubt, were the cause of this.

But how great that her son thought enough of her to get her an automatic washer!

I've got the 1953 issue of Maytag News where the automatic dryer was introduced. That's a fun issue, too.

Maytag went from 1949 to 1953 before a matching automatic dryer was made to partner with the washer. I think they even added on to their building to design and implement the dryer.

 

[geoffdelp]

Here you go ... April 1950

Robert ... I hear 'ya on Maytag's safety lids!! The only lids you could open and see the action were the conventional (wringer) machines. The glass lid would have been cool. They would have had to use a timed-fill to get the glass lid to work; the float system in the agitator would not have been successful.

They were very safety-conscience; to the point of over-kill! I can understand the spin cycle stopping but I never figured out the fill or agitation period being "hidden".

 

[brettsomers]

Gee thanks....

now im wanting to read the entire series of AMP articles!!

 

[geoffdelp]

David ... I wish I had all of those articles!! There weren't any more in 1950 and I'm looking for 1951. I have 1952, 1953 and into 1954 so I'm getting a good amount. But there are TONS more out there to be found!!

Here's another ad for a Maytag Automatic sign!! Can you imagine ... only $15 in 1950? Wonder what one of these babies would snag from eBay now? A couple of hundred dollars?

 

[geoffdelp]

A Wringer Demonstration Board

I've actually seen one of these; it was pretty beat up and I should have bought it!! Drats!!

Maytag's wringer heads were (and still are!) very durable and solid as a rock.

The demonstrator held the board as it went through and would "lift up" on it to show the strength of the machine. The purpose of the board was to show how the upper roll formed itself over the grooves; hence, as you were running buttons, snaps, thick articles of clothing, the top roll would "form" around anything you were wringing. One of Maytag's "claim to fame" for their wringer washers.

 

[Unimatic1140]

Geoff, do you have the rest of the series "Inside the Maytag's Automatic? These are wonderful and should be posted permenantly on the website.

 

[geoffdelp]

Robert ... Only April and May of 1950 have these articles. The balance of the year, does not. I wonder if the "Inside Maytag's Automatic" series was rolled into other articles throughout the year. There are a lot of articles about producing the "new" automatic. There is even one that has a "tour" of Plant 2 where automatics were produced.

I am missing all of Maytag News for 1951; have part of 1952, have all of 1953 and part of 1954. I am trying hard to fill in the gaps.

It would be great to also find these magazines for 1949; in particular, April's edition which would have introduced the AMP. Like I said earlier, I have the 1953 edition that introduces the automatic dryer and is very interesting.

Maybe I should create a special folder on my system just for the automatic articles and photos and then be able to give them to you for the library.

Geoff

 

[brettsomers]

these *automatic* articles give a good sense of all that Maytag, and other manufacturers, had pinned on the Automatics. i also get the sense that Maytag central was making an effort to *sell* the dealers on the automatics as well as educate. great bit of history here. anything that you, Geoff, or our Webmaster could do to bring us more of these would be a real treat!

 

[geoffdelp]

David ... The Maytag News magazines are rich with information about Maytag and their products.

The dealers had a hard time convincing homemakers of switching to automatics since Maytag's conventionals were so well received. There are some great demonstration photos, articles and marketing material in these magazines that would have been a big help to dealers.

Maytag offered dealers free information, help with mailings, and advice on door-to-door campaigns to garner support for their new automatic washers.

1958 was the first year that Maytag made more automatic washers than their conventional machines. It took almost 10 years for Maytag to achieve that goal (the 1st AMP was in April 1949). The 1970's saw the heaviest decline in conventional washer sales and by 1983, Maytag was down to making a few dozen wringer washers a day. Not considered profitable enough for them. BUT I bet that if Maytag had still been family-owned, they would have continued making conventional machines for a while; that was their "bread and butter" for years!!

There clearly was a "genuineness" about Maytag when reading these magazines; I mean, they cared about their employees, dealers, customers ... it showed.

Here's a scan of Fred Maytag, II from the December 1953 issue and his Christmas message. Sorry about the quality!

 

[eddy1210]

That's a neat demonstration board for the wringer Geoff! I always wondered why Maytag made a black upper roll and it seems like it was made of a more flexible rubber material. You can imagine the housewives thinking yay, no more broken zippers or buttons popping off.

 

[westytoploader]

Thanks Geoff for posting...yet another reason I love the AMP machines!!! How cool would that be to find an NIB model from 1949!

 

[geoffdelp]

Eddy ... those flexible upper rolls are the best!! You still had to be careful when putting items through, but that upper roll "protected" buttons, snaps, zippers, etc. really well. I love the demonstration board, too. The salesmen really used it and put a great deal of pressure on it to show the power of the tension springs underneath. Remember how we talked about not removing those? The Maytag wringer was (and still is) a very powerful piece of equipment; extremely durable.

Austin ... wouldn't that be a "hoot" to find a NIB AMP? Was it Steve in Atlanta that has the NIB Highlander? That's "to die for", also!! BUT ... our restored machines are "to die for", too. Almost like new!!

Geoff

 

[frigilux]

What a historical treasure trove! Thanks so much for posting the pics/articles, Geoff. I'm with Robert---these should become a permanent part of the site. They're great.

 

[geoffdelp]

Eugene ... I have been enjoying these magazines for quite a while now; it's time everyone else gets a chance, too!

Here's how to do a proper in-home Maytag Automatic demonstration ... circa December 1952.

It's on two pages ... page one ...

 

[geoffdelp]

... the other half ...

 

[geoffdelp]

Here are two more for the weekend.

The first is Maytag's introduction of SaveaSuds; their first suds saver. Note that it is a "separate" unit; not a part of the washing machine.

Sorry about the quality of the printing; in order for you to see it not split, I had to scan it as a whole page; made the print fuzzy.

The gist is that this was a float system that you place in a set of dual-tubs. To save the suds, the drain hose was connected to this device and the wash water would then drain into the first tub (that you plugged). There was a float device that rose and when it reached the stop on the suds saver, it would trip a bypass for the balance of the water (including the rinse water) to flow out the other side into another hose and down the 2nd tub's drain. To get the water back, there was a hose you set inside of the washing machine and you plugged the pump into the wall and ... viola ... suds returned!!

Rather unique ...