brucelucenta
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2013
- Messages
- 1,924
Being a child of the mid fifties I grew up seeing many of the unusual makes and models of washers, dryers and dishwashers of that period of time. Most of that I just took for granted and figured they would always be around. I think that the biggest demise of these old machines came with the new age of "scrappers". These are men, and some women too, that go around with an old pick up truck looking for anything metal they can take to the scrap metal place. I know from personal experience they will do nearly ANYTHING to get their hands on what they can make a few dollars on by scrapping. I once had at least 75+ machines that were inside a fenced area with a chain and lock on the gate. A couple of guys actually cut the fence along the side, where it was not as noticable and stole nearly everything I had before the police stopped them. That stuff is lost forever along with many other machines they have gotten their hands on. By the time they got what I had inside the fence, I had turned loose of most all the really older machines that are highly sought after. But I did have a few speed queen solid tub machines and frigidaire skinny minis and many others. Old junk yards are getting to be a thing of the past since scrappers came along. I learned how to work on washing machines by going to a local junk yard that used to get all the trade ins from a store called Otasco. Otasco used to sell Philco and Leonard, which is just a Kelvinator with the name Leonard on it. They had hundreds of machines in an open field. I also got some from a local Frigidare dealer too. I used to fix them up and sell them for very little. Usually $50 per machine, sometimes less. I only saw one Apex machine there. I never did get it to work on it because it had been there a while and looked like it would be a lot of work to restore. Hindsight, but if I had gotten it I probably wouldn't have it now anyway. I now have many of the old advertisements, like the ones on the daily ads here. I have them framed and hanging on my utilty room walls. That has been enough for me now. I used nearly every kind of washing machine that I have worked on. It is interesting to go through the years and see how the machines have changed so much. It is funny too, that automatic washers started out as front loaders and now it is getting back to that. The old bendix weren't very good at washabilty or extracting water from the clothes, but the new breed of front loader is entirely different. They have terrific washing abilities and water extraction. They save a great deal on water and probably detergent too. I like the fact that there is virtually no linting at all. The new LG and Kenmore elite made by LG are HUGE in comparison to anything else on the market. The dryer is rated as a 9 cubic foot dryer, which is a full cubic foot bigger than anything else out there. When and if I get a new set that will be what I purchase. Of course if there were any like a Kelvinator or Frigidaire or Philco ect...I would get a set!!! But alas, there is not. I was lucky to have experienced working on and using so many different kinds of machines. That I will always remember.
