Appliance "Sickness"
My father managed a store that sold furniture and appliances (Frigidaire and Maytag) and so it seemed to just..."be".
One of my earliest memories, while I was still riding a tricycle, was the Saturday afternoon delivery of our new Maytag Highlander, this would replace the current Norge Timeline and would begin my fascination in appliances.
Not long after, the folks built a new house...complete with a Magic Chef kitchen (dishwasher, double oven, four-burner range top, and vent-a-hood)...ALL in coppertone (this was, afterall, THE 60's)! I remember the dishwasher, most of all, because it had a pilot light and was, as my father said, "Loud as a thrashing machine." It was a spin tube design and, as I recall, the accompanying literature instructed the owner to give the tube a manual spin, prior to operation. My mother was never very fond of this machine so, when it ceased to function, my father installed a new Frigidaire (also in coppertone).
I spent some of my youth as the "help" (delivering/setting up appliances) at the store and enjoyed the "characters" that worked with my father, but most of all...ALL of those new appliances! Part of my memories include...the smell of the new appliance AND those cardboard shipping boxes; the new boxes of Tide in all Maytag machines; the Frigidaire refrigerator/freezer model that had a pedal to open the door; the Frigidaire "Movie Theatre" (a film playback device in which one could view films detailing the appliance line); the Maytag "mini" washing machine; the plastic food strategically placed in the appliances (this was 60's "staging"), funny...those pork chops never seemed to get done; and, among others, the introduction of Maytag's first dishwasher. This portable top loading machine was equipped with a store display plastic top, so that one could view the washing action. LOVED it! Plug it in and, woooooosh, the thing flies into action---water swirling and thrashing about!
Attached are images of two remaining, and very aged, store window decals advertising the Frigidaire appliance line. Additionally, images of machines similar to our Highlander and Maytag's first dishwasher. Gone are the 60's coppertone and 70's poppy, as well the movie theatre (I snooped about on my last visit, but to no avail), but present are a wealth of memories. Thanks for allowing me to share a bit of it with you.
