For those of you interested Only in TRAVEL, I (Jack) wrote the blog between MARCH 2010 and October 2010 during our travels west. We saw the most beautiful places and had the best time in our big truck and little trailer. See Blog Archive below.

Sep 19, 2016

I'm Vintage

When I see things from the 1940s and 50s I realize "I'm vintage". Not quite antique, but old. I chose the closest definition from the dictionary: "• denoting something of high quality, especially something from the past or characteristic of the best period of a person's work: a vintage Sherlock Holmes adventure.

I'm going to bombard you with pictures, today. I had a chance, while doing laundry, to walk around "the cabins" in the park. Not all were open, unfortunately, but I was able to get in two. I wish they had had pictures of the original interiors--I could tell by the refrigerator in the big one, they were not all restored completely, to their era. Of course, they had to update them with air conditioning and fridges as people stay in them for a different sort of experience. I also took a few of the pictures that were in the laundry room that reminded me of my childhood.

My Mom had one of these. They were used to iron sheets. Can you imagine? Today's women have it pretty soft, don't you think? Then, if we went back another 50 years...that must have been a very difficult life for women. I remember my Mother-in-law telling me how she used to take the rugs outside and beat them to get the dust out of them.

This looks like a version of a washing machine I saw by the side of the road last week. I remember my Mom used to fill it with a hose from the sink. First with hot water (for the whites), then the colored clothes, then the real dirty clothes. Everything was washed with one fill of water. I guess they were run through a rinse after that. I remember we had only a pair (maybe two) of jeans that we wore for a week before they were deemed dirty enough for washing. After each wash, everything was put through the ringer, then hung out to dry. I didn't have a washing machine until my second child was born--used to boil diapers on the stove. We were very aware of how white or clean our clothes looked on the line for the neighbors to see. I used to use bluing (guess to make them look whiter), starch, hang, sprinkle, and roll in a towel and put in the fridge before ironing Rich's dress shirts. I got a dryer after my third child. What a work saver. Then, of course, came the no-iron or permanent press clothes, which we all fell in love with. I can remember on many winter day brining in clothes that were like cardboard -- felt like you could break them. Then, finding "radiator space" to dry the most important things.


Everything "before" plastic seems to be vintage.

These were just some things we all used. I remember the scrub board and the jean stretchers. I use a broom in the trailer. I think the thing with the three round rings was a rug beater, but I'm not sure--that was before my time.

I imagine all but the cabinetry is new to this trailer. I think it actually has more storage than mine!







This was the smaller camper. Sorry, I know this is confusing, but Blogger is being totally uncooperative.



This was a big trailer. I wonder what they towed it with.


Vintage cabinets?  What do you think. Not the fridge and I don't think they had full stoves in them.


The first TV we had was a Phillips (I think) 7" in a huge cabinet. We had to sit across the room so we wouldn't hurt our eyes. It  was a scary new fangled contraption. The neighbors would all come over to watch Milton Berle and I Love Lucy. I remember, specifically, counting 18 people all squished together watching on evening. My Dad had gotten some sort of back pay from the army and he loved gadgets so we had a TV in 1948--way before most people.

Definitely a vintage stove, but in a camper?

Definitely out of place

Toilet definitely vintage. Sink? I don't think so. Neither in a camper.

 I guess we grown ups had a flair for color in the 50s.
 One of the first apartments Rich and I rented had a totally pink bathroom Ugh!
Everyone had a telephone table of one sort or another. I picked up one of those phones not too long ago and it was Heavy!! Our telephone table when we were growing up was in the small front hall. I remember my brother stretching the cord and hiding in the coat closet for privacy when he talked to his girl friends. We had party lines with generally four other people on the same line. It was impolite to listen in on someone's conversation, but I remember doing it a few times. Good think my Mom didn't find out. I doubt, but could be wrong, that people had them in RVs.
 I made a mental note of what kind of car this is, but I lost it. Happens a lot these days.

This is the outside of the first small camper--Blogger doesn't want to put it where I want it.

It's very warm here. Can't wait for evening so I can walk around. There's no shade. Instead, I need to get my little vacuum out. I spilled salt all over the place. I guess it's better than sugar.

2 comments:

  1. What a great laundromat. Yes that thing is a rug beater there are 2 in that picture one is at the left. I know because I saw them in a move or somewhere. And the vintage trailers are fun. In Bisbee, AZ. we used to stay in them but they sold the place and I don't know what is going on there anymore but it has a huge fence blocking the view in. hmmm

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  2. I wonder where my comment went. I thought the other one was a rug beater but wasn't sure, Jo. I told Susan that you wished her a happy birthday. She smiled and asked me to say thank you.

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