Ramblers and Kelvinators

 What do Ramblers and obsolete Kelvinator appliances have in common?  They were made by the same company, and this place has a big collection of each!  The Kelvinator refrigerators were built to last, and most did for 35-40 years or more.  Sadly, today the average refrigerator is built to last approximately 5-6 years, with one or more repairs during that time.

We stepped back into time, back to when our mothers and aunts had these reliable appliances in their kitchen. Notice the stove has a well beside the 3 burners.  It held soups and stews warm. I remember one of those in the house when I was very young.  On the right side is an electric butter warmer.

Usually the older styles had just one door, but the upgraded model below actually was a side by side.

Inside the freeze was a section for bananas and a dispenser for freezer wrap!

There was never a hunt to find where the cheese or juice was in the refrigerator since there were built ins for those items.  No more kid whining he couldn't find where the orange juice was!

Behind the partial see through door were containers specifically labeled "juice".  If one was a rebel, there might have been milk in the container.

I am old, but I sure don't remember anyone having a pastel pink stove in their house and a darker pink sink complete with automatic dish soap dispenser.

One very familiar thing I spotted along the shelves above was a Corning Ware coffee pot.  We got one exactly like this as a wedding gift and I had to figure out how to make coffee on the stove when we had company.  Back then, neither of us were coffee drinkers.

One room was full of all the different Kelvinator products including freezers and the old wringer washing machines.  I remember using those (and hanging up wash on the line).  

In the 50's and 60's everything was ironed, including sheets, pillowcases and handkerchiefs. The electric mangle in the picture below brought back many memories. My mother had managed to bring hers along when we moved to Arizona in 1955.  I scoured the internet and found a picture of one. 

The mangle was just like the one below.  I learned very quickly how to avoid burning my fingers on the large metal surface!  Both hands were used to guide the item and the roller was worked with knee paddles.  Nowadays I bet most young people don't even own an iron!  

The Electro Sink Center was something I had never even see before! If you wanted to make a salad, juice oranges or even make bread dough, this was the thing to have!  They even had a manual on the counter nearby.  I guess the woman's place was really tied to the kitchen and the home.

 

The 1960's modern kitchen may have looked like the photo below, with the stove top retracting back.  That would have been a plus if you didn't want to clean the burners after using.  Just shove it back in, and "Voila" clean kitchen!