Several have asked for pics of my stored Kenmores and WPs.....

[jons1077]

I like the Kenmores...

It's not always about whether or not a particular machine looked good in our current perception. It's about these machines bringing back good memories. At least that's what it is for me. Alot of people would walk by an avocado green machine or one of these Kenmores and say it looks horrible. When I see one of those black-panel BD Kenmores I think of my childhood because it's what I grew up with. I couldn't care in the least otherwise. I think that's where their beauty is. Granted, some machines are simply beautiful. Terry has the most gorgeous Maytag! Thanks for readin.

Jon

 

[rickr]

I do not think of washing machines as children. Personally, I do not want any of the machines posted. However, I do think that it was kind of the owner to post the pics, and offer to repair these to anyone here that may want a 1960's to 1980's machine.
The styling on these are similar to other brands of the same era. Think fake woodgrain, ect. One persons trash is another persons treasure with this hobby. There are people here that would love to own one of the machines pictured. There is no reason to post rude comments, just because these machines do not interest you.

BTW: How is your collection coming along? Do you have anything to show us?

Just making an observation...... <:

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Re: the styling nightmares....

Here's my take on this discussion:

While I will admit that some Kenmores are more attractive in my eye than others, I don't presume that anyone else should share the reaction that I have to them. If someone likes the same things as I do, GREAT, we can have a lot to talk about. If they have a different passion, that's great too, I'm happy that they have one.

I don't have many fond memories from childhood of Maytags, GEs or any other brand that doesn't do much with the lid raised. As a young kid, I may not have had the hours of cheap amusement had it been that my folks bought something other than their 1961, 1974 and 1983 Kenmores (though I may have adjusted accordingly). Fact is, we had Kenmores and I continued that by buying my own later. Today we still have them and I very much enjoy a Kenmore, styling nightmare or not. You'll never catch me making an excuse for appreciating what I do. It's ironic that my granmothers both had Whirlpools, most of our neighbors had Kenmores or WPs as well, so I grew up thinking those machines were "the bomb" and I still do.

In my storage can be seen a 1974 Kenmore (front-most machine on the left in the first pic). That is a clone of my mother's second washer. I am planning on treating that machine to a total restore this spring/summer, which will involve renewing the mechanicals using new WP parts, and repainting the cabinet which is yellowed now and has some surface rust. It's going to be a decent amount of work, but more fun than real work due to my memories of that machine (I was 10 when we got ours and 18 when we sold it to a friend of mine). I would have no interest at all in devoting that much time to a Maytag, they simply don't "do it" for me, but I'm not going to advocate to anyone that their Maytag or otherwise is anything less than just as valuable and important to them.

I think we're really fortunate to have AW.org as a forum to discuss our washing machine and appliance hobbies. Let's face it, there aren't many other venues out there....we should respect the feelings of other members and be appreciative of the opportunities we have with AW and therefore work to keep the experience fun and enjoyable.