question about Gibson brand products

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passatdoc

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Orange County, California
We had a (harvest gold, of course) side by side Gibson fridge purchased c. 1972. It was a housewarming gift from my grandmother to my parents when they moved to their current home in 1972. (they could easily afford a refrigerator, but that was what my grandmother wanted to give them, rather than a monetary gift). I recall my mother saying at the time that it was one of the most prestigious brands, though I'd never heard of it.

Looking at today's Picture Of The Day, there is a Gibson washer which appears to be rather high-end, with a removable control panel, lots of special cycles (perm press, sanitize, etc.), and a very large (18 lb) capacity for that era. They had already been acquired by White Consolidated by this time.

The Gibson fridge survived about 12-14 years. I was no longer living at home when it was replaced, so I don't know if something broke beyond repair or whether parts could not be located. It had an in-freezer ice maker but no door dispenser, as these did not become more common until the mid to late 1970s. In the mid-1980s my parents replaced it with a GE side by side with a door dispenser.

Anyone know more about the Gibson brand? Was it more common in other parts of the country than in California? Was it really as high end as my mother believed it to be? (I don't remember if my grandmother selected the brand, or if she simply sent them money to buy one and my parents made the brand selection). My grandmother lived in Connecticut, so this was not just a matter of calling her local dealer and having something delivered to our house.
 
Gibson ...

That would be The Gibson Refrigerator Co, They made a good product for years, but went the same way as Westinghouse and Frigidaire as WCI bought them up and ruined them.
 
The Gibson factory was here in Michigan - I thought that Frigidaire/Electrolux eventually bought them up. I rememeber seeing Gibson appliances as prizes on old game shows like "Let's Make A Deal" and "The Price Is Right." They looked really classy and exclusive.

At chruch we have a very large Gibson chest freezer that has been going strong for many years. I don't know if they still slap the Gibson label on anything, but the name has been around for a long time.
 
there is a franklin type "horizon 2000"gibson washer at a local 2nd hand store-
appearing to be late '90s era,it has a dual action agitator that looks a lot like
WP or GE agitators of the same era...never seen a dual action operate with an
indexing tub yet...
 
According to Wikipedia, Hupp Corporation acquired Gibson in 1956, then merged with White Consolidated Industries in '67 and is currently owned by Electrolux.

Electrolux = Frigidaire

This makes sense because, how my appliance collecting got started in the first place.... 3 years ago, I was given a Kenmore badged White-Westinghouse FL washer which had a Gibson stacked on top of it. I could tell by looking at and inside it, it was a re-badged Westinghous/Frigidaire dryer.

Kevin
 
Gibson...

Was produced in Greenville Michigan I believe, WCI took over and ruined a bunch of products, Kelvinator, Westinghouse,Gibson,Frigidaire,and im sure a few others, sad ends to great products!
 
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