Ranges...What was used most in your area..

[lordkenmore]

I don't have exact numbers for my area. But I can say this: electric seems to dominate. Every place I've lived has been electric. In some cases, gas service did not exist. But even the place I lived 10 years ago or so, which had gas heat and hot water, used electric for the stove and dryer.

At the same time, gas must be used by someone--I see the cooktops and ranges at Home Depot.

Given that electric seems so dominant, I actually got rid of some cookware. It was less than ideal for electric (e.g., too small for even a small burner), and I figured the chances of ever having gas aren't good enough to make it worth hanging onto.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

We moved to a typical late 60's suburban development in SE Mass. in 1968. It turned out to be the first of many in the town. Story was the name of the development was to have been "Gaslight Village". Gas everything: stove, water heater, warm air furnace, dryer, and... an outside gas light that was not on the meter. At some point after closing on the house the developers announced that the gas for the lamp would be metered. Nearly everyone had theirs turned off. IIRC, the monthly fee was almost nothing, even back then. However most of the homeowners felt that the developers/gas company was trying to pull a fast one so the response was more a matter of principle.

Stove was Magic Chef w/overhead oven and UNvented 'exhaust' fan.
No dryer until a used Norge many years later.
Furnace was Coleman
Water heater was also Coleman, I think.

 

[appnut]

The subdivision I grew up in from age 7 had gas lights in front of each house.  today that is still the norm and the gas light has to be kept burning.  They are the only lights on each street.  It's part of the deed restrictions of the whole subdivision.  It's far even lighting that city electric lamps disbursed sporadically on a street.  Despite the prevalence of the gas lights, I saw more houses with electric cooktops that gas.  The house across the street was deemed a reddy kilowatt gold medallion all electric house.  BUT had gas connection for the dryer as well as gas log lighter in each fireplace.  The home's 1961 heating was a Westinghouse Heat Pump.  Our house was deemed all gas because the air conditioner was even gas. 

 

[wayupnorth]

Here it was probably 3/4 gas and 1/4 electric and many had side heaters that ran all winter and stunk like hell. Kenmore, Hardwick, Caloric, Magic Chef and alot of Florence's

 

[toploader55]

Gas A/C...

 

My Dad's Restaurant went under  renovation back in 1968. It was the "Colonial Pub" era back then when everyone was doing early American with Eagles over he fireplace hearth, Imitation Vinyl Slate Floors, Wood Paneling, the height of Edged Coppertone etc.

 

Dad had a Bryant A/C Natural Gas Chiller installed in the restaurant. Well, it was constantly breaking down. The component that would always fail was the "Ammonia Pump".  But Good Lord... when that chiller was working I remember they used to bring that bar room down to 60 degrees in a snap. The customers (All Locals) would just marvel at the fact that a Gas Burner making heat would cool a room.

The restaurant had a Garland Range.

 

Domestically in the 60s, In our town (Wood-Ridge) I would say I remember seeing Caloric as the most popular. Older homes had Tappan (which we had that was replaced by a 1964 Westinghouse Electric) and Hardwick.

Most women in our town would much prefer Gas for baking. Which in the 60s there were till a lot of "Home Makers" in our town. You wouldn't dare call them "Housewives".

 

[davey7]

My best friend looked at a house a few years ago which still had gas ac which seemed to work fine. The equipment was massive - as was everything in that era - but it seemed to work well, the house was comfortable on the day of the open house.

 

[brib68]

Electric dominated

where I grew up--small town northwest Ohio. We had a Westinghouse Terrace Top range, our neighbors had a Frigidaire drop-in electric range. GE (and maybe some Hotpoint) was a big seller. I remember a TON of those pushbutton stoves and cooktops. My dad's mother had a pre-pushbutton GE from the early 50's, one house my mom's folks owned had pink GE everything in the kitchen--wall oven, cooktop with the pushbuttons mounted on the cabinet front under the counter, and fridge. Even the kitchen at our church had a pair of pushbutton GE cooktops--these had the buttons in a cluster integrated on the cooktop (front right corner, IIRC?)

The 50's and 60's saw a lot of new construction and updating of existing houses, and electric power was cheap at the time. All Electric Homes were a source of pride! So many ranch houses built with utterly illogical radiant heat in the ceiling. Our houses were older when I was growing up (mom's in a 1966 ranch now that WAS all electric before they moved in--they had gas forced air with central A/C installed, as well as a gas stove) and we had gas heat, but electric stove and dryer.

 

[passatdoc]

Parents live in a 1972 subdivision with no gas lines. Electric only. Builder-supplies appliances were Hotpoint.

My home built 1988 has electric and gas. Builder appliances were BOL GE. Wall behind range has gas line and 110V; someone wishing to use an electric or dual-fuel range would need to remodel. When I upgraded the range, I chose a Frigidaire gas convection model. Dryer area has both gas and 220V, I have always used gas dryers.

Water heater, which is next to the dryer, has a gas pipe and no 220V option.

The only point at which a 220V connection is used is at the air conditioning system.

 

[askolover]

Gas AC

Robur still makes and sells it here. 

 

Our subdivision was built mostly by my father and grandfather...and the man who commissioned it owned Green's Furniture and Appliances....they were a Frigidaire dealer so all those houses had Frigidaire electric cooktops, wall ovens, and fridges in them...but had Lennox gas furnaces.   We were the only house that had a 40 inch Frigidaire electric range and that's because my parents bought that range when they got married in 1966 and were renting until our house was built in 1968.  Every home had electric water heaters.  In 1989, our city would GIVE you a gas water heater if you wanted to change...and that's what half of our street did including my parents.  We switched to a Caloric gas range in 1992 and a Maytag gas dryer in 1994.  Mom has since replaced the Caloric with a new Frigidaire gas convection range, but that Maytag dryer is still turning.

 

[laundromat]

I blame John L. for my conversion

Back in 1986, I met John by accident and became good friends. One day in he afternoon, he stopped by to bring me a few presents. One was a gorgeous GE Americana 40" double oven range with all the bells and whistles every dedicated appliance collector loves on their range. Along with it? Another gorgeous find. A 195? Westinghouse roaster with the cabinet and clock.
The range has the SrnsiTemp multi size thermostatic burner. That burner taught me well and made me a much more precise cook in the kitchen, eliminated the constant smoke detector alarm going off, made it a lot more fun to use a range and totally converted my "Live Better Electrically" hatred to a love for electric cooking. I now enjoy my inductions and rarely use the regular smoothtop range other then to time things.
Growing up in a rural neighborhood that was new in 1952, the builder ran both gas and electric to the newly developed ranch houses there. The Westinghouse Laundromat was the washer included with most and the range,(Magic Chef basic 36"no lights,no pilot,no clock,no shit) with a tiny oven and four small burners all tight together. No space for big pots like a pressure cooker. And a gas furnace,gas dryer hook up and gas water heater. Our house was only 100 amps with 10, 15,and 20 amp fuses which you had to replace if you had too many things running at the same time.
In October of 1963,our Easy Rivera top loading washer took a serious dump. We had it repared numerous times regarding pump issues,belt replacement and removing clothes that slipped over the edge of the inner tub during the overflow rinsing. I hated that washer. On 11/22/1963,our new Lady Kenmore GAS washer dryer combination was delivered and installed so it would be there for my birthday. That same hour, presiden John F. Kennedy was fatally shot and we all stared (including the instalation men) in shock and horror coming to tears. My dad grabbed us all and took us to ,of all places,a roller skating rink. The machine got installed and my grandmother,not waiting for me to get home,washed EVERYTHING without saving even a thread to wash. I went and put on my school clothes on and went out on the woods where I deliberately jumped in mud and dirt to be sure I'd either stay home from school or make her wash my outfits. The next day,she kept me home and talked to me about doing things to get what you want. Then , not getting the correct type of laundry detergent ( She liked to use Super Suds brand) yet and already out of the sample box of Dash,she made a big mess because the suds drained out onto the kitchen floor. She cussed like a sailor and called Sears. Charlie,our regular Sears service tech.was just around the corner and stopped by . He saw she had used the wrong detergent and GAVE her a box of Dash he had on his truck. Then, he ran the machine showing her that if you are not sure there was enough detergent,take a finger or thumb and feel he slipperiness of the water. The softer the water,the cleaner the clothes get. As he did that, I asked him if the interior drum light could come on like the panel light. He said my dad might not want that done. I told him the combo was bought for my birthday and I,knowing a neighbor with a Laundromat model with a light that came on,had it and Sears needed to change it. He spliced the wires and wee!! The light bulb lasted at least ten years and made it so much more dramatic especially when I'd manually pour more water in. At least two gallons.