Help. . .questions about westinghouse promotion in 1953

[Scrapbooker]

Hi, I am trying to find out about a promotion Westinghouse did with their twin set in 1953. I don't know much about it except I have a photo from a newspaper in Preston, Idaho with my grandpa with the 'Westinghouse Automatic Washer and Dryer twins' and some twin girls from the community. (see uploaded file) The article says to see the advertisement in the same paper for more details and I don't have the advertisement. It says that a set was given to parents of twin girls who were born Sept, 23, 1953. In other research, I found another set was given to parents of twins born in Minnesota Sept. 23, 1952. Can anyone help me with more information? I'm trying to put a book together about my grandpa who died last week. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[syndets2000]

Twins

The washer is an LB-6, & the dryer is a D-6, that plays How Dry I AM- The D6-M does not have that, & the LB6-M does not have the vent hose that went from the top of the outer tub, & extended out the left side of the toeplate-Other then that, I cannot tell much else- Robert

 

[golittlesport]

notice that the little girls are holing boxes of the Laundromat/dryer salt & pepper shakers

 

[golittlesport]

holding

 

[alr2903]

Good eye Golittlesport

I sure didn't notice the little westies till you pointed it out. Thanks.

 

[golittlesport]

I wonder what September 23 had to do with the promotion???

 

[gansky1]

I flipped through the Westinghouse "Service Beacon" newsletters for 52 & 53 searching for clues to this interesting puzzle. Common with service literature, there was little info about anything on the retail sales side of the business, just service and support. Many appliance manufacturers intro'd their new models in the fall each year, like new cars, perhaps 9/23 is the magical date that the Laundromat Twins were first unveiled?

 

[kenmore1978]

research

So how did you get the picture? From the newspaper itself? Or from the local library? Usually the local library will have microcfiche of the local newspapers, even if the paper itself is no longer in business or their "morgue" was destroyed or lost somehow.

 

[shawn]

Westinhouse Twins

Being a twin I noticed there were NO Boys in this picture.

 

[peterh770]

And what is in the water in Preston, ID to have that many twins in a small city?

 

[Scrapbooker]

Thanks for your responses. .. I got the picture out a book my grandpa had put together in his later years when his thoughts weren't all coherent and so the info I had was choppy and inconclusive. The photo was the actual photo taken by the newspaper and he had included part of the newspaper clipping listing the names of the girls with a little other info. I did find out, however, that the washer/dryer set was given to parents of any twins, boys or girls born September 23, 1952. I think grandpa just had the wrong date. And whoever asked how could Preston have so many twin girls. . .good question, but to make it even more fascinating, Preston had a set of twins born September 23, 1952 so they got a Twin set! Amazing. Population now is 4,000ish, so 50 some years ago, it would be considerably less. For me, it's a charming story (the scrapbooker coming out I guess . There were no boy twins invited because grandpa had contests for twin girls and their mothers all that day. I guess he figured boys wouldn't be interested spending the day doing that! And thank you so much, golittlesport, for pointing out what they were holding. I had no idea! Thanks again for all of your responses.

 

[gansky1]

Thanks for the update, I would have been crushed not to be invited to an appliance extravaganza complete with models as gifts when I was a little boy (as would a few other boys around here ;-) but it's fun to hear a little of the background. Is the store still there?

Good luck with your scrapbook!

 

[tlee618]

Thanks for the update, this has really been an interesting thread. I'm with Greg, I would have be so hurt not to have been invited to the "big party" and missing out on that neat little salt&pepper set. Terry

 

[Unimatic1140]

As a little boy I too would have been devastated by not being allow to attend. All of us appliance boys would had to have marched out side the store with signs and chants that day. "Two-four-six-eight boys doing laundry are really great!"

 

[Scrapbooker]

So sorry having boys left out of the washer/dryer celebration would have caused so much devestation! I have to admit that I have found this site quite fascinating and would have had no clue such a thing existed!

As a side note and another small update, my dad emailed me this morning saying that my grandma still had one pepper shaker left (the dryer, I think) that she gave to my dad. My dad also said that he still has the music box part of the dryer that at one time he had hooked up as the doorbell! (before I was born) Both of which I'll have to check out next trip to Preston.

And to change the subject even more, anyone ever seen Napoleon Dynamite? It was filmed there in Preston.

 

[lburney]

My cousins Rita & Ronnie Hester were the Westinghouse Twins for Los Angelas California. A boy and a girl, We have one old newspaper picture of the birth announcement and have been unable to find any more information. Their mother just turned 90 years old