Servel (?) Electric Fridge -- Free? (SF Bay Area CL)

[rp2813]

I'm guessing at the make based on the handle.  Never seen a "Style Liri (??)" brand before.

 

Hans, do you know what this thing is?

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/app/5786615497.html

 

[funktionalart]

Servel...

…and you are quick on the draw, Ralph. I was just about to post this up here, HA!
This is likely already gone as they say it's gonna be out on the street...

 

[funktionalart]

Servel STYLE LINE

is the whole name, btw.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Allen

I thought Style Line made the most sense, but zooming in on the photo, the N still looked more like an R and the E looked like an I.  I guess it was the angle of the light source.

 

Based on the ad's wording, I think the seller was trying to say the fridge had been operating fine until it was unplugged.  If so, that's too bad.  The ad has been pulled, which probably means a scrapper got to it.

 

[48bencix]

Gas

I though Servel made gas refrigerators. I saw one in a Cabin at Lake Pillsbury that had gas but no electricity. They had running water with a gas water heater, gas refrigerator (Servel) and even gas lighting.

 

[goatfarmer]

I "believe" they made both.

 

[rp2813]

I spent a couple of nights at a cabin in the tiny community of Seneca, south of the town of Chester on a Feather River tributary in Northern California.  This would have been around 1972.  Same deal, all gas, no electric.  I'm pretty sure the gas fridge there was a Servel.   At the time, the lack of a light inside struck me as inconvenient.   The AM radio reception was great at night.  On a little transistor I was able to pull in WLS out of Chicago.

 

I don't know when Servel started producing electric fridges, or whether they were re-badged ones made by some other company.

 

Seneca also had a super primitive phone system, put together with a mishmash of equipment.  There were only a dozen and a half subscribers, listed on a one-sheet mimeographed directory (see below -- sorry for the poor legibility).  I assume as a matter of priority, the bar's ring code was posted at the top of the list.

 

[funktionalart]

Servel have been popping up for sale...

out here in AZ ALOT lately--seem to be several 50s units available at any given time in some of the remote/cabin areas like Prescott, Sedona, occasionally larger cities like Phoenix and Tucson. And they're always in the 500-700 dollar price range…

 

[funktionalart]

Seneca Directory~

Ralph--I LOVE seeing that set of pics! We had a similar setup at our place in Big Sur. The house was also on a party line--PacBell didn't give a dedicated number until something like 1990…..talk about the OLD DAYS.

 

[rp2813]

Allen,

Yeah, the phone in the cabin we stayed at wasn't even as deluxe as the one pictured.  It had the old school separate receiver with transmitter mounted on the front of the wooden case.

 

Not surprised about Pacific Telephone's reluctance to upgrade service in remote portions of Monterey County.   Ma Bell didn't think it was worth the trouble, and they were probably right.  Residential service has always been a losing proposition.  After the Bell System breakup of 1984, the newly named Pacific Bell was really pushing products and special features, which in your case was a dedicated line!  When I worked for Pac Bell, the old timers all said that Pacific Telephone was the ugly stepchild of the Bell System, so the party line service you described isn't at all surprising.

 

I'm pretty sure Seneca's system is still autonomous, with no connection to the outside world.  That place is so small, it would probably be faster to just yell from your front porch.

 

[combo52]

Servel Refrigerators

Servil was building their own electric and gas refs in the late 40s and they continued to make both till WP bought them around 55 or 56.

 

Servil was wise enough to know that Gas Refs were never going to make it because of their poor performance, higher cost of operation and smaller interior size. Their electric models were pretty good and also much more reliable in the long run, How many gas refs do you still see running in basements and garages ? and yet look at all the old electric refs that are still running 50-60-70 years later.