IMHO, this is the beginning of the end. I'll never forget walking into Malley's department store in New Haven on a sad day of 1979 and the shock of seeing a classic design swept away and in its place the new-fangled. Gone was the center dial, and in its place an ordinary RH dial on a panel face of phony wood grain. Gone were the elegantly small and carefully placed buttons and in their place dumb squares of wordless plastic vertically oriented in pointless rows. In some models, gone even was the complimentary fabric softener dispenser, replaced, almost spitefully because they had to manufacture it specially for this line, a retro lint filter column with no depression, just a blank stare. Gone was even the beautifully pristine and brilliant white porcelain tub on the TOL models--it's as though they were rationing the white paint. The finish was greyed and closer to the tone of the BOL blue. At least Jesse was still alive and kicking as were the garbage disposers and the porta-pair(but not for long). Enjoy the images, for they live on only in books...
