Thursday, April 22, 2010

Photos From the 50's & 60's












14 comments:

Why Not? said...

I would so dig one of those bikes.. My mom has a ringer washer like the one pictured.. love that thing, if you really want to get stuff clean that's the machine to use..

Why Not? said...

ooh, it was the first time I left a comment with the new computer, I had to remember my password.. almost didn't get to leave a comment..

Beejay said...

I saw the typewriter (Royal) and remembered that I started working at The Travelers in 1967 and they tried to give me one of those dogs...I hated the Royal typewriters...I ended up with an Underwood, where the shift key stuck...No, there we NO electrics in the office when I started.

Why Not, what kind of computer did you get? I just bought the HP TouchSmart and love it.

Why Not? said...

It's something that my husbands boss put together.. Very nice, very fast with a big wide screen HD monitor which goes great with our blueray player that he put in here as well.. His boss is a big computer geek and he put it together for a bonus at work.. Never had anything this nice before.. Just waiting to mess it up somehow.. So exciting!!

kkdither said...

My grandma had one of those wringer washers. It was quite the production to watch her use it. She had hoses to switch around between the laundry tubs depending on the cycle.... I remember her using bluing and liquid starch, too. She used to then, sprinkle the clothes with water from a glass soda pop bottle with a metal sprinkler attached to the top and then ran the clothes, including sheets through the mangle. I remember thinking how talented she was with that hot mangle.

Makes me almost feel guilty about complaining about doing my laundry... well, almost! :)

Why Not? said...

KK, my aunt owned and operated a little resort, with 4 cabins each cabin had 4 beds in it.. Every week she would wash all of the linens using a ringer washer and then hot mangle them.. I used to love to watch her do laundry.. it looked like fun from the perspective of a 12 year old (a bit of an odd 12 year old I suppose)

Sassa said...

I used a ringer washer!!! And hung my clothes in winter in the basement. Those pics bring back memories for me.

Toad said...

I have an OLD Wringer Washer and Mangle in my basement. They were left by the previous owners. The washer is like new, because It Is covered with a special machine cover. The mangle has been closed for EVER. When I was young, my Grandma had a Wringer Washer, and the neighbor kid stuck his fingers in the wringer and RUINED a few of them.

OKIE said...

My mom had a ringer washer when we were little.
I also remember mom sprinkling the clothes and putting them in the fridge before she ironed them. Hers was a beer bottle.
Wow, that takes me back.

OrbsCorbs said...

This all take me back, too. Mom also had a wringer washer in the basement and I remember the bluing and tubs and Pepsi bottle she used for sprinkling ironing. We also had a mangle for sheets. Wow, laundry really was a big production back in the day.

That bike would probably be worth a couple thousand dollars today.

Toad said...

Mary: My mom put the wet stuff to be ironed in the chest freezer. If you looked in the freezer for food, forget it, ONLY frozen clothes. Karen and I STILL laugh about it.

hale-bopp said...

Like the bike...at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, cars are not allowed past the gate (spark plugs cause too much radio interference). The Green Bank Telescope is about mile and a half walk...or you can take one of their 1960's vintage bikes. They are just parked in bike racks, waiting for people to take one. They also have a fleet of diesel cars, old taxis from the 50's and 60's for staff to drive around. If I remember correctly, that is the first time I drove a manual transmission on the tree instead of on the floor (fortunately, I do know how to drive a stick!)

Ha! I found an image of one of the NRAO diesel cars.

SER said...

I used a ringer washer for many years. Also a mangle and if you didn't watch it, you could put a bunch of creases in a shirt in no time flat with one of those.

Why Not? said...

In the laundry room for our apartment complex here they have a mangle.. I got my sheets stuck in there and since then I never tried to do it again.. I would love to learn how to do it properly because they really do come out nice..