For me, crickets and the hum of a box fan in the window will always be the sound of summer nights in northern Michigan. Near the beginning of this video you momentarily spoke too close to the fan and it made me giggle. The joyful of sound of children talking into the fan is a sound that will be vacant in the memories of the current generations.
Hi Mike - those are some great summer sounds that you are remembering. Especially up north when you could hear the crickets and birds so clearly with a fan whirring in the background. Thanks for sharing!
I think the reason I love these old things are the good memories they bring to mind. Also the quality is unmatched - not too many things purchased today will be around and still working great in 70 years! I love watching your videos.
I needed a fan when I started college in 1967. I looked and looked for months for a compact floor fan, without ever having any concept of a hassock fan. I just knew what I needed for a small dorm room. I visited my great aunt in Whitesville, W.Va. that summer and, totally by accident, found the perfect hassock fan in the hardware store. I was too poor to buy a $30 fan, as was my great aunt. I didn't even have $30 with me. But every merchant in that little town knew my great aunt, and she told them what a good boy I was. The store owner accepted my check and off to college in Atlanta I went with my hassock fan. It still ran in my old bedroom in 1996 when my parents died and we sold the farm. I think it was a Hunter.
When my ex husband died, my now husband and I helped my daughter clean out her dad’s house and garage. We uncovered a Westinghouse fan, like yours but smaller. My husband cleaned and restored it and it sits on his desk in his garage. Everyone comments on how cute it is.
Thank you, Kevin. We have taken fans for granted. So nice to see all those fans that have lasted for many years. The fans I have bought since about 1980, for the most part, are no longer operational--maybe I used them too much. Couldn't help but notice the Cavalcade and how organized you have things--a wonderful accomplishment.
My dad was an early adopter of air conditioning, with his 1953 GE window unit in the den. It didn't reach the bedrooms very well, so we had GE desk model fans to run at night. A dark gray/light gray one for me and a turquoise and white one for my sister. They had rubber bushings holding the blades on and that eventually failed on both of them, about 30 years down the line. My grandparents had a GE hassock fan, this huge round gray thing. Its bushings eventually failed too, but not before my grandfather whittled a replacement for the plastic switch lever, out of wood. He was a regular Jed Clampett.
Hi Jonathan! Sounds like you were a GE family! Love that your grandfather made a new lever out of a piece of wood! I love how people who were handy would make things like that! Thanks!
The Westinghouse blades are Micarta, which Westinghouse also sold as counter top material, My Mothers first cousin has a similar westinghouse She bought in 1952, She is 92 and still using it. Dominion was made in Mansfield along with Westinghouse and Tappan.
Hi Hans - thanks for this. Micarta - I couldn't remember the name of the material. Mansfield was quite a manufacturing town at one time! Stay cool this summer!!
Hi, Kevin! The fans bring back so many memories. I was in Junior High before there was air conditioning at school. Our home used fans until about 1967 when we got a window unit that cooled the bedrooms only. Remember, I grew up in Texas, but we were just used to the ambient temperature and the use of fans! Thanks for sharing more of your collections. I enjoy watching and learning about whatever you bring us. Have a lovely day, Kevin!
Hi Nancy! I think when we were kids we were more used to the warm temperatures because there wasn't air conditioning, and so we just lived with it. Maybe we notice it more now because we are so used to having air conditioning everywhere we go. My schools didn't have air conditioning, but in Michigan we were out in early June before things really got hot. Thanks!
I KNEW you would have a collection of fans (electric and Human) and I love them all. The Dominion was a repaint, they were all originally Turquoise. Yours is anywhere from 63 to 68 or so. I have 2 of them and one was my grandmothers. I remember it in her dining room window in Ecorse Michigan and we used to sing into it as kids. It went with her to her senior apartment in Wyandotte and then in acquired it in the 80's . I still use it and it's in really good shape (wish I could attach a pic) The other I found stashed in a friend's attic when they bought the house, dated 1964. I think I remember you having a Kenmore Roll About which would be the exact one we had growing up. Thanks for trip down memory lane,
Hi Jim - thanks for the information on the Dominion fan. I was pretty sure it had been painted. Glad to know you hare still using your grandmothers! I do have a Kenmore Roll About which is currently in my workshop area. Thanks!
We have a couple GE death fans as my hubby so kindly calls them 😂 he's more of a worrywart than I am! I really do wish they would bring back these fans with the same quality! The fans now just don't move the air the same way and they're all SO LOUD! Do your fan guys happen to have YT channels, or can you recommend any good channels that show how to rebuild/refurbish the GE fans? One of ours needs some TLC.
Hi bbymks - I think there was a time when manufacturers assumed that most people would stick their fingers in a spinning fan blade. The new fans are much louder - I think it has something to do with the blades. I don't know of any YT channels that are about fixing old fans, but it wouldn't surprise me if one exists. Maybe a search of "vintage fan repair" would help find something. Thanks!
@cavalcadeoffood so loud...and you don't really recognize how loud until you turn it off, then the silence is deafening. I'll have to do another search, it's been a few years since I last looked.
This is the first time I've ever seen or even heard of a hassock fan. However, I can bear witness that Lasko still exists. I've got one of their box fans running in my kitchen window right now.
So much fun👍! Lots of memories growing up without AC! So maybe I am the only nerd but I remember with my siblings talking into the fan at a very close range and getting a kick out of the vibrating “ choppy” feed back🤣🤣😵💫. Just gave my adult daughter a vintage tabletop fan, it is super heavy! It is called a “ Peerless” ,black , with awesome solid brass blades, beautiful early industrial design. Thanks for the fun video 👍👏
Hi Diana! We did the same thing growing up! It was fun to hear our voices through the fan. The Peerless fan you gave your daughter sounds beautiful. Some of those old fans with brass blades are works of art! Thanks!
Chicago was indeed a major source of everything electric (appliances, motors, tools), and was the electronics capital of the USA (TV’s, radios, telephones etc) prior to the integrated circuit era of the late 1970s/80s. Admiral, Zenith, Motorola (just to name a few of the majors) were all located within a couple miles of each other.
I've been a HUGE fan of Cavalcade of Food for years!! I also grew up in an AC free home back in the 70's. My parents thought that air conditioning in Minnesota was a bit of a luxury. Summer was for airing out the house after being closed up all winter! My dad would always strategically place box fans in the upstairs windows... either blowing in or blowing out depending on the time of day. I loved having a fan in my bedroom window on those warm summer nights, the white noise helped me to fall asleep.
Hi Greg - thanks for being such a big fan of Cavalcade all these years! I can see how air conditioning in Minnesota might be seen as something one could live without. It's nice to throw open the windows and let fresh air into the house especially after a long winter. I still love the low murmur of a fan at night - very relaxing. Hope you're keeping cool this summer! Thanks, Greg!
Those fans were the best! My great aunt always had a table top metal fan. She would put a bowl of ice cubes in front of us and tell us kids that was her air conditioning for the country cabin. I’m caught your radio hour and enjoyed it so much! Thanks to you and your friends for the walk down memory lane with the fan collection.
These fans are like the ones my grandparents and parents had. They seemed to do a better job than current ones and ac do now. Only problem was the finger issue you mentioned. Your shop brings back such good memories
Hi Kevin! I hope that you are having a great summer! How many people remember going to play in the basement when it was 90 degrees outside? We never had air conditioning until I was married. Just the fans. My parents had the whole house fan that was in the ceiling in the upstairs hall. It was supposed to draw the cool air inside from the windows. I still use a fan when I want the windows open. I love to hear the birds! Summer wouldn't be summer if we couldn't have the windows open sometimes!
Hi Terry Sue! It's nice to let the fresh air into the house, especially during the warmer months. I know some people who have never opened their windows. Thanks!
oooo that Westinghouse fan is great! love it. thanks! Screen doors and electric fans......... that's how we survived. or else we went to the lake or beach where it was cooler.
I, too, remember my Mom setting up a big bowl of ice cubes with a large fan behind it "air conditioning" our tiny living room during Detroit's humid summer heat. We lived off Michigan Ave. near Cecil St. in a wonderful Polish neighborhood. Great memories !
Hi Joan! The ice cube idea was really something! I know the Michigan and Cecil area well - my dad grew up on Central and we were in that neighborhood often. Went to Risko Funeral Home a number of times for funerals and it was right on the corner, as I recall. Thanks!
Several years ago, I dug out a greenish-colored Ultra-Twenty out of the scrap pile at the local recycling yard -- sadly, it had been left outside for some time & subsequently gotten mangled pretty badly at the yard. It came home because it was such a far-out design & well... any fan with a pilot light deserves a second chance. Yours is the second one I've ever seen and it's nice to know you are enjoying it! When I was a little kid, my Dad had an old beat-up Berns Air-King top-of-the-line reversible window fan in his garage. It had an interesting beveled shape to it, was quite thick in the center, & had separate top & bottom plastic grilles, divided by a horizontal metal band. I loved playing with its multi-colored push buttons but it probably did not appreciate me switching from intake to exhaust while on high speed. He likely tossed it when we moved from Chicago to Alabama back in the 80's & I'd love to find another.
Hi junqueboi - thanks for sharing your fan stories. You don't see the Ultra-Twenty fans very often. I looked for years but without success. That old Air-King fan of your dad's was quite a fan. I'm sure there are still some out there! Thanks!
Hello Kevin, My family had a 1954 Viking Window/Floor belt driven fan with a Packard motor. I didn't come along until the '70's so it had been retired to the garage where it still ran until I sold it at a yard sale. What I do remember is the attic fan. The a/c would be turned off at night and the attic fan turned on. It somehow blew air to any window that was opened. (I still don't understand how it did that.) As for the round floor fans, I have 2 or 3 in storage. They are so cool. Back in the day there were so many stylish products of the likes I doubt we'll ever see again. Cheers From Coastal South Carolina
Hi TT - that Viking Window fan is quite a machine. I saw one once and it looked very well built and heavy duty. Seems like they put a lot of thought into design and style of common products back then. Attic fans were popular - I think it pulled the warm air from the house and pushed it out the attic vents and so cool air would get sucked into the house through the screens for constant air circulation. Thanks!
so many beautiful fans, Kevin Our house was built in 1900, and we do not have air conditioning in here. We have lots of fans everywhere 😅 some window , some floor fans 👍 Always enjoy your videos . So charming ❤.
that was my Ralphy!, he collected classic toasters, coffee peculators,tube radios, and all manner of kitchen gadgets. I should put up shelves, to display some of his collection.. in his loving memory 🥲 21:24 we always had box fans like this in the windows to pull the cool outside air into the bedrooms on hot summer nights. back in the 60's /70's and would sleep soundly until a loud crash, when the fan vibrated off the window sill, and hit the floor. they were TG&Y or Kmart fans, but they always survived the fall without any major damage.... the Ultra twenty looks like it was a super duper deluxe model! WOw Awesome!
Thanks, GothGuy! You're Ralphy sounds like he collected a lot of the same things! A couple of people mentioned how the box fans would sometimes fall out of the windows in the middle of the night!
What a great video! I'm so happy to hear that the Cavalcade radio hour is back. That blue K-mart box fan brings back a lot of memories. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and everyone seemed to have had at least one of those fans. My great-grandmother had that same Lau fan, but it was mounted on a heavy-duty stand with casters. Before today, I had never seen one anywhere else except in her house! My grandparents had the same GE wall/desk fan you have on the cabinet over your range. I was lucky enough to inherit it! It's name is Ed, short for Edward Scissorfan, a name it got when my younger cousin stuck his finger into it one day back when we were young kids. Before that day, it was always on a table. After that, it got hung up on the wall out of reach. The way the base swivels totally around to allow it to hang on the wall is a brilliant piece of design/engineering.
Hi neerg - thanks for sharing your fan stories! I love Edward Scissorfan! The reversable base on those GE fans is a great design - I can see why the fan got put up on the wall after what happened! Thanks!
On the Westinghouse, it's most likely the blades are made out of Micarta, which was a Westinghouse product. They used it in furniture design as well, and for serving trays.
I had a K-Mart fan just like yours! I also had one in avocado. BTW-Fans of fans want to see the “spin down” after the fan is switched off so don’t move the camera until the blades come to a stop.😁
I have to say, I really love your fan collection! The pretty blue Kmart fan brings back memories. We bought two of them in 1975 when I first got married. We gave one to my parents. I think that those fans were used for 20 years! It really was a great fan that moved alot of air. Thank you so much for doing this video! The new fans do not last like the old ones. Except maybe the industrial kind. I sure miss Kmart too! Memories when my kids were young!
Born 1963, grew up in Panama City, FL. Nothing but box fans until I was about 6, then 2 window A/C units. Central A/C in jr high school- about 1977. We were ALWAYS hot.
Hi Kevin! You and I are probably around the same age because I too grew up with that EXACT LAU fan in the mid 1960's. Your episode actually made me remember that fan as I began watching and lo and behold, it shows up as the star of the show at the end of the episode - what a treat! Remember getting your face close to the grill while the fan was running and singing into it? 🤣
Wow! Nice collection ya got there with a good amount of variety. I would say my favorite type of fans would be box fans with all of the various colors, shape sizes and control layouts they had. Not to mention they are relatively speaking easy to store although they do take up more room than fans lol. Regarding the Fresh’nd Aire, those used Bakelite blades, and for the Westinghouse fans, those used Micarta which I’m pretty certain actually came out in the 1920s. Regarding the dominion box fan, that one does look like it was probably repainted, but believe it or not, I’m pretty sure they were manufacturing up through until the early to mid 70s and at least their desk fans did come in avocado. That wizard desk fan that you have was made by Burstead electric/McGraw Edison. Their desk fans were known as “dimestore fans” because you could get them pretty cheap at your local drugstore or five and dime. They were pretty cheaply made, and definitely weren’t the best of quality, but they are still super common today. Anyways, that’s my slice of information lol. Thanks for sharing the collection!
I grew up in San Francisco, Bay Area and we had box fans when we needed them, but never needed air conditioning. We had the brand Eskimo box fans, they came in turquoise.
Hi John-Robert - you had a perfect climate growing up that didn't require a lot of air conditioning. I think I have a Eskimo box fan somewhere. Thanks!
Good morning! I hope the summer is treating you well. 🥰 I need to catch up on the episodes! We are cleaning out my mom's garage, and I just threw away a Kmart box fan!😆 My grandpa had a very old oscillating fan and we were always afraid it was going to cut the dog's tail off if she got too close!😱
Another great video. I grew up on a farm in northern Florida with no air conditioning so fans were very important. You do such a nice job with your presentations.
Nice Kevin ! My family kept cool with that Penncrest reversible fan for many years. Came with a window frame that made it even more efficient! It really did exhaust the hot air well. Enjoy your summer. Chip.
In between all of my tours around my house and gardening and home improvements leaves a little time for me to check out all your videos thoroughly at least at this time of the year. However, when winter time comes, I’ll have a lot more viewing time available lol.
Since being an average midwest family we had one fan to share and tried to limit AC. Ours was the pretty turquoise blue Dominion. We'd argue who got to put it in their window lol. So one night I get it and we put the window sash down on it. Was such a strong motor it wiggled out and BAM on the floor! Back up it went and then it wiggled its way backwards laying on the screen. Fan ended up being a floor fan. It was good & hefty we used many summers. One night when it was older it sparked flames and he hasn't been used since. Mom was always trying to pitch it asking why I liked it. Its just junk. I liked keeping its pretty paint cleaned. I'd hide it different places protecting it from the trash and I still have it 50+yrs later:)
Hi Olivia! Thanks for sharing that great story about your Dominion fan! Sounds like it got a lot of good use growing up and I'm glad you still have it!
the robins egg blue kmart/lakewood is model p-23, yours is a product of the early 70s, but the p23 was made all the way up until the early-mid 1990s in the ice gray color, was discontinued, then was brought back in the late 1990s under the model name p-25, and the p-25 was manufactured all the way up until lakewood's shutdown around 2008-2009, so that fan was made in some sort of iteration for 35-40 years (1970-2009) surely an impressive lifespan and most DEFINITELY a fan i want to add to my collection
Question: I own my Grandfathers percolator coffee pot that currently is not working. Have you thought about a video on repairs of these old equipment? Maybe resources for help , repair or general maintenance. Thanks the wife and I watch your videos several times a week.
Hi - I have thought about doing videos on repairs, but my ability in repairing is somewhat limited. I have found with some old percolators that the thermostats go bad or the heating element burns out causing them not to work. Thanks!
I LOVE your extensive collection of everything you have! Is this a store that you have opened to the public?? Or do you give “in person” tours? I have never been to Michigan. I need to change that! lol!
Hi John Robert - it's just a personal collection. It's not open to the public at this time, but I try to share the collection through the videos. Thanks!
Those are some fantastic fans! I have a old GE oscillating fan like yours, sadly it needs repair work and have no idea who could work on it. Appliances can transport us to another time. Would love to see the many vacuums of cavalcade. Do you have any malt blenders? I recently got a jadeite green Hamilton beach model 30. Makes fantastic malts! Stay cool with the help of your fantastic fan collection.
Hi Corey - they sure do transport us! I don't have many vacuums - it's not something I collect although I have friends who have hundreds of them! I don't have any malt blenders in the collection. I almost bought a green HB - it was a big one and could make up to 5 malts - but it didn't work properly and it was a project I didn't want to take on so I passed on it. Sounds like yours works great!
and we end the video with a nice lau ultra twenty. a product of the 50s, and certainly another fan i want in my collection, and yes i do have a fan from my childhood that i want rather badly, an early 1980s shell manufacturing company (SMC for short) Laguna ceiling fan, model KB-52. white and polished brass, spade blade badges (similar to what some of the 52 inch union spinners have but not quite), a schoolhouse light kit with a floral globe, variable/infinite speed knob built into the switch housing, forward/reverse/off pullchain, blades being mounted on top of the motor, the blades were cane with pinkish-tan inserts, a plastic beehive shaped canopy, tassel pullchain extensions, and a polished brass ring around the motor, the fan fell in 2013 after being reversed too many times and unscrewing itself from the ceiling (no injuries thankfully) and i wish i could have saved it from being dumped but i was 4 at the time so i sadly had no say in the matter, and i am still keeping an eye out for one now. tl;dr, cool ceiling fan falls, big sad, still looking for one today
Hi Shari - washers and dryers are something I don't collect, and unfortunately there's no extra room. But I do love looking at the old machines - some of them are really incredible appliances!
Laying in my bed on a hot summer night. Green box fan tucked in the window Gently blowing over my bed. Windowsill just above high-level. Looking up, I can see the Evening sky; The last of the kids on the block Chattering as they head home. The smell of the night air- cool, with a hint of the woods Just beyond the block, my house was on. My lullaby for 3 years well dad was stationed at the military Academy in New York . (I also remember the fan in the living room-Mom kept it on the floor. My brothers were always putting playing cards through the grate and laughing hysterically as the metal blades slice them and threw them into the air ! They also did this with pencils . The days of learning common sense on your own, with your own consequences.
Hi nanad - thank you for sharing those wonderful memories of growing up with fans going on warm summer nights. I think many of us can relate to those memories.
I come across many old fans at work and the best one's (made in usa) either have translucent blue blades or imitation wood grain on them 👍👍 Galaxy comes to mind for one of the brand names
the country aire is another lakewood product (dang they keep finding their way to you lol), and is a product of the late 60s-early early EARLY 70s as the country aire branding died off sometime around 1971-1972.
Isn’t Sandusky the town that, that movie; Swan Song, was filmed? As a retired hairdresser from Marina Del Rey, CA (Los Angeles), I can relate to the storyline of that movie. At least to some degree.😊
mid 60s* late enough to have the grey color scheme yet early enough to have the metal bladeset turquoise, metal bladeset: after 1959 but before 1964 tan/grey, metal bladeset: after 1964 but before 1967 tan/grey, plastic bladeset: 1967 until 1973, when general electric shut down their fan division.
I worked at a place with a number of vintage fans and one day they all were gone...to the trash, and already hauled away, could not save them. All in perfect working order too. Sigh.
I have had a couple of fans with thermostats. In my experience, I found that they don’t work too well. They seem to not have a positive on/off and tend to rapidly cycle the fan on and off at the “set point”.
Would like to meat u in person n c your little cottage in lexington area grew up there probably know some of ralphs mexican buddys foleys market in lexington makes the best homade subs fresh big fan of your show we are cut from the same cloth
When my ex husband died, my now husband and I helped my daughter clean out her dad’s house and garage. We uncovered a Westinghouse fan, like yours but smaller. My husband cleaned and restored it and it sits on his desk in his garage. Everyone comments on how cute it is.
![🔴 ฟุตบอลแชมป์กีฬา 7HD แชมเปียน คัพ 2024 [รอบรองชนะเลิศ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zPm8ClLVhoE/mqdefault.jpg)
For me, crickets and the hum of a box fan in the window will always be the sound of summer nights in northern Michigan. Near the beginning of this video you momentarily spoke too close to the fan and it made me giggle. The joyful of sound of children talking into the fan is a sound that will be vacant in the memories of the current generations.
Hi Mike - those are some great summer sounds that you are remembering. Especially up north when you could hear the crickets and birds so clearly with a fan whirring in the background. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh, I forgot about that !
Definitely hysterical as you tried to either communicate or sing !!!
Kevin maybe that's how Chicago became the windy city it made all the fans. That's a great collection
Hi Beryl! Makes sense that Chicago would be the fan capital! Thanks!
I must say, I'm quite "blown away" by your very impressive fan collection! Thanks for sharing, as always!
LOL! Thanks, Karen!
One of the delightful sounds of summer from a childhood long, long ago! Thank you.
Hi CC! I agree - something about the sound of an electric fan!
Wow! I grew up with the Westinghouse mobilaire fan. If you speak into it while it is running, it makes your voice sound funny. Great fun as a kid.
Hi Jane - that was always a fun activity to do with the fan when we were kids!
I think the reason I love these old things are the good memories they bring to mind. Also the quality is unmatched - not too many things purchased today will be around and still working great in 70 years! I love watching your videos.
Thanks, missyoumike! I agree - most of what is made today will not still be working in 50+ years. Thanks!
I needed a fan when I started college in 1967. I looked and looked for months for a compact floor fan, without ever having any concept of a hassock fan. I just knew what I needed for a small dorm room. I visited my great aunt in Whitesville, W.Va. that summer and, totally by accident, found the perfect hassock fan in the hardware store. I was too poor to buy a $30 fan, as was my great aunt. I didn't even have $30 with me. But every merchant in that little town knew my great aunt, and she told them what a good boy I was. The store owner accepted my check and off to college in Atlanta I went with my hassock fan. It still ran in my old bedroom in 1996 when my parents died and we sold the farm. I think it was a Hunter.
Nice video. That first fan on the stand, when you turned it on I thought, "All clear for take-off". It does look like a plane propeller.
Hi Scooter! It does look like an old plane propeller! Thanks!
When my ex husband died, my now husband and I helped my daughter clean out her dad’s house and garage. We uncovered a Westinghouse fan, like yours but smaller. My husband cleaned and restored it and it sits on his desk in his garage. Everyone comments on how cute it is.
Thank you, Kevin. We have taken fans for granted. So nice to see all those fans that have lasted for many years. The fans I have bought since about 1980, for the most part, are no longer
operational--maybe I used them too much. Couldn't help but notice the Cavalcade and how organized you have things--a wonderful accomplishment.
Thank you, Bluehill! The older fans were built to last a long time, even with heavy use. It took me some time to get things organized!
I'm a fan of Calvacade of Food and Kevin. Thanks for sharing your collection 🌞
You're welcome - I appreciate you watching!
My dad was an early adopter of air conditioning, with his 1953 GE window unit in the den. It didn't reach the bedrooms very well, so we had GE desk model fans to run at night. A dark gray/light gray one for me and a turquoise and white one for my sister. They had rubber bushings holding the blades on and that eventually failed on both of them, about 30 years down the line. My grandparents had a GE hassock fan, this huge round gray thing. Its bushings eventually failed too, but not before my grandfather whittled a replacement for the plastic switch lever, out of wood. He was a regular Jed Clampett.
Hi Jonathan! Sounds like you were a GE family! Love that your grandfather made a new lever out of a piece of wood! I love how people who were handy would make things like that! Thanks!
We had fans for sure in my parents Bronx apartment!
Hi Wendy - I'll bet those fans were essential during the summer! Thanks!
The Westinghouse blades are Micarta, which Westinghouse also sold as counter top material, My Mothers first cousin has a similar westinghouse She bought in 1952, She is 92 and still using it. Dominion was made in Mansfield along with Westinghouse and Tappan.
I don't know about Micarta, but it being a plastic type of material from the 50s makes me think of asbestos?
Hi Hans - thanks for this. Micarta - I couldn't remember the name of the material. Mansfield was quite a manufacturing town at one time! Stay cool this summer!!
I am one of those fan people. I pretty much have one in every room of the house.
Hi DBV - sounds like your fans are keeping you cool this summer!
Hi, Kevin! The fans bring back so many memories. I was in Junior High before there was air conditioning at school. Our home used fans until about 1967 when we got a window unit that cooled the bedrooms only. Remember, I grew up in Texas, but we were just used to the ambient temperature and the use of fans! Thanks for sharing more of your collections. I enjoy watching and learning about whatever you bring us. Have a lovely day, Kevin!
Hi Nancy! I think when we were kids we were more used to the warm temperatures because there wasn't air conditioning, and so we just lived with it. Maybe we notice it more now because we are so used to having air conditioning everywhere we go. My schools didn't have air conditioning, but in Michigan we were out in early June before things really got hot. Thanks!
I KNEW you would have a collection of fans (electric and Human) and I love them all.
The Dominion was a repaint, they were all originally Turquoise. Yours is anywhere from 63 to 68 or so. I have 2 of them and one was my grandmothers. I remember it in her dining room window in Ecorse Michigan and we used to sing into it as kids. It went with her to her senior apartment in Wyandotte and then in acquired it in the 80's . I still use it and it's in really good shape (wish I could attach a pic) The other I found stashed in a friend's attic when they bought the house, dated 1964.
I think I remember you having a Kenmore Roll About which would be the exact one we had growing up.
Thanks for trip down memory lane,
Hi Jim - thanks for the information on the Dominion fan. I was pretty sure it had been painted. Glad to know you hare still using your grandmothers! I do have a Kenmore Roll About which is currently in my workshop area. Thanks!
We have a couple GE death fans as my hubby so kindly calls them 😂 he's more of a worrywart than I am! I really do wish they would bring back these fans with the same quality! The fans now just don't move the air the same way and they're all SO LOUD!
Do your fan guys happen to have YT channels, or can you recommend any good channels that show how to rebuild/refurbish the GE fans? One of ours needs some TLC.
Hi bbymks - I think there was a time when manufacturers assumed that most people would stick their fingers in a spinning fan blade. The new fans are much louder - I think it has something to do with the blades. I don't know of any YT channels that are about fixing old fans, but it wouldn't surprise me if one exists. Maybe a search of "vintage fan repair" would help find something. Thanks!
@cavalcadeoffood so loud...and you don't really recognize how loud until you turn it off, then the silence is deafening.
I'll have to do another search, it's been a few years since I last looked.
This is the first time I've ever seen or even heard of a hassock fan. However, I can bear witness that Lasko still exists. I've got one of their box fans running in my kitchen window right now.
Thanks, James! I thought I saw Lasko fans for sale somewhere recently. Thanks for confirming!
So much fun👍! Lots of memories growing up without AC! So maybe I am the only nerd but I remember with my siblings talking into the fan at a very close range and getting a kick out of the
vibrating “ choppy” feed back🤣🤣😵💫. Just gave my adult daughter a vintage tabletop fan, it is super heavy! It is called a “ Peerless” ,black , with awesome solid brass blades, beautiful early industrial design. Thanks for the fun video 👍👏
Hi Diana! We did the same thing growing up! It was fun to hear our voices through the fan. The Peerless fan you gave your daughter sounds beautiful. Some of those old fans with brass blades are works of art! Thanks!
Great collection of Fans Kevin, good to see them all !! Cheers , Mike
Thanks so much, Mike!
Chicago was indeed a major source of everything electric (appliances, motors, tools), and was the electronics capital of the USA (TV’s, radios, telephones etc) prior to the integrated circuit era of the late 1970s/80s. Admiral, Zenith, Motorola (just to name a few of the majors) were all located within a couple miles of each other.
Thanks for the information, obc! I know that Chicago was a huge manufacturing center.
I've been a HUGE fan of Cavalcade of Food for years!!
I also grew up in an AC free home back in the 70's. My parents thought that air conditioning in Minnesota was a bit of a luxury. Summer was for airing out the house after being closed up all winter!
My dad would always strategically place box fans in the upstairs windows... either blowing in or blowing out depending on the time of day. I loved having a fan in my bedroom window on those warm summer nights, the white noise helped me to fall asleep.
Hi Greg - thanks for being such a big fan of Cavalcade all these years! I can see how air conditioning in Minnesota might be seen as something one could live without. It's nice to throw open the windows and let fresh air into the house especially after a long winter. I still love the low murmur of a fan at night - very relaxing. Hope you're keeping cool this summer! Thanks, Greg!
Those fans were the best! My great aunt always had a table top metal fan. She would put a bowl of ice cubes in front of us and tell us kids that was her air conditioning for the country cabin. I’m caught your radio hour and enjoyed it so much! Thanks to you and your friends for the walk down memory lane with the fan collection.
Hi Donna! I love your aunt's idea with the ice cubes! People got creative in ways to keep cool! Thanks for tuning in to the radio program!
These fans are like the ones my grandparents and parents had. They seemed to do a better job than current ones and ac do now. Only problem was the finger issue you mentioned. Your shop brings back such good memories
Thanks, Kim! The older fans really work well!
Kevin you know your in serious trouble when you need a store front to hold your collections! LOL!!!!
LOL! Hi Nanette - I realized that years ago but by then it was too late!
Watching while reading, The Great American Meatloaf Contest Recipe Book. It was a Goodwill find.
Hi Dan! Now that sounds like a great cookbook!
Hi Kevin! I hope that you are having a great summer! How many people remember going to play in the basement when it was 90 degrees outside? We never had air conditioning until I was married. Just the fans. My parents had the whole house fan that was in the ceiling in the upstairs hall. It was supposed to draw the cool air inside from the windows. I still use a fan when I want the windows open. I love to hear the birds! Summer wouldn't be summer if we couldn't have the windows open sometimes!
Hi Terry Sue! It's nice to let the fresh air into the house, especially during the warmer months. I know some people who have never opened their windows. Thanks!
Omg I've never seen someone make so many videos so often so consistently.
Hi Daniel - I usually post once a week if I am able. Thanks for watching!
oooo that Westinghouse fan is great! love it. thanks! Screen doors and electric fans......... that's how we survived. or else we went to the lake or beach where it was cooler.
Hi Christina - a screen door was a must! Thanks!
I, too, remember my Mom setting up a big bowl of ice cubes with a large fan behind it "air conditioning" our tiny living room during Detroit's humid summer heat. We lived off Michigan Ave. near Cecil St. in a wonderful Polish neighborhood. Great memories !
Hi Joan! The ice cube idea was really something! I know the Michigan and Cecil area well - my dad grew up on Central and we were in that neighborhood often. Went to Risko Funeral Home a number of times for funerals and it was right on the corner, as I recall. Thanks!
I'm a big fan! 😂 great video, very cool, old fans!
Thanks for being a loyal fan, Hank!
It reminds me of a tv with the knows as well! Love it!!!
Thanks, Angie!
Several years ago, I dug out a greenish-colored Ultra-Twenty out of the scrap pile at the local recycling yard -- sadly, it had been left outside for some time & subsequently gotten mangled pretty badly at the yard. It came home because it was such a far-out design & well... any fan with a pilot light deserves a second chance. Yours is the second one I've ever seen and it's nice to know you are enjoying it! When I was a little kid, my Dad had an old beat-up Berns Air-King top-of-the-line reversible window fan in his garage. It had an interesting beveled shape to it, was quite thick in the center, & had separate top & bottom plastic grilles, divided by a horizontal metal band. I loved playing with its multi-colored push buttons but it probably did not appreciate me switching from intake to exhaust while on high speed. He likely tossed it when we moved from Chicago to Alabama back in the 80's & I'd love to find another.
Hi junqueboi - thanks for sharing your fan stories. You don't see the Ultra-Twenty fans very often. I looked for years but without success. That old Air-King fan of your dad's was quite a fan. I'm sure there are still some out there! Thanks!
Hello Kevin,
My family had a 1954 Viking Window/Floor belt driven fan with a Packard motor. I didn't come along until the '70's so it had been retired to the garage where it still ran until I sold it at a yard sale. What I do remember is the attic fan. The a/c would be turned off at night and the attic fan turned on. It somehow blew air to any window that was opened. (I still don't understand how it did that.) As for the round floor fans, I have 2 or 3 in storage. They are so cool.
Back in the day there were so many stylish products of the likes I doubt we'll ever see again.
Cheers From Coastal South Carolina
Hi TT - that Viking Window fan is quite a machine. I saw one once and it looked very well built and heavy duty. Seems like they put a lot of thought into design and style of common products back then. Attic fans were popular - I think it pulled the warm air from the house and pushed it out the attic vents and so cool air would get sucked into the house through the screens for constant air circulation. Thanks!
so many beautiful fans, Kevin Our house was built in 1900, and we do not have air conditioning in here. We have lots of fans everywhere 😅 some window , some floor fans 👍
Always enjoy your videos . So charming ❤.
Thank you, Julia! Sounds like you have a beautiful old home!
that was my Ralphy!, he collected classic toasters, coffee peculators,tube radios, and all manner of kitchen gadgets. I should put up shelves, to display some of his collection.. in his loving memory 🥲
21:24 we always had box fans like this in the windows to pull the cool outside air into the bedrooms on hot summer nights. back in the 60's /70's and would sleep soundly until a loud crash, when the fan vibrated off the window sill, and hit the floor. they were TG&Y or Kmart fans, but they always survived the fall without any major damage....
the Ultra twenty looks like it was a super duper deluxe model! WOw Awesome!
Thanks, GothGuy! You're Ralphy sounds like he collected a lot of the same things! A couple of people mentioned how the box fans would sometimes fall out of the windows in the middle of the night!
What a great video! I'm so happy to hear that the Cavalcade radio hour is back. That blue K-mart box fan brings back a lot of memories. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and everyone seemed to have had at least one of those fans. My great-grandmother had that same Lau fan, but it was mounted on a heavy-duty stand with casters. Before today, I had never seen one anywhere else except in her house! My grandparents had the same GE wall/desk fan you have on the cabinet over your range. I was lucky enough to inherit it! It's name is Ed, short for Edward Scissorfan, a name it got when my younger cousin stuck his finger into it one day back when we were young kids. Before that day, it was always on a table. After that, it got hung up on the wall out of reach. The way the base swivels totally around to allow it to hang on the wall is a brilliant piece of design/engineering.
Edward Scissorfan......That's just too funny. I hope your cousin got his finger back.
Hi neerg - thanks for sharing your fan stories! I love Edward Scissorfan! The reversable base on those GE fans is a great design - I can see why the fan got put up on the wall after what happened! Thanks!
On the Westinghouse, it's most likely the blades are made out of Micarta, which was a Westinghouse product. They used it in furniture design as well, and for serving trays.
Thanks, John! I couldn't think of the name of the material!
@@cavalcadeoffood you're very welcome 😊
Hassock fan was the best, I was a baby and would sit on this and watch my dress float. It was a metal fan with a dark burgundy finish.,
Great memory! Thanks, IngDebo!
I had a K-Mart fan just like yours!
I also had one in avocado.
BTW-Fans of fans want to see the “spin down” after the fan is switched off so don’t move the camera until the blades come to a stop.😁
Hi wmalden - I don't know if I've seen a Kmart fan in avocado! I'll have to remember the spin down next time. Thanks!
I have to say, I really love your fan collection! The pretty blue Kmart fan brings back memories. We bought two of them in 1975 when I first got married. We gave one to my parents. I think that those fans were used for 20 years! It really was a great fan that moved alot of air. Thank you so much for doing this video! The new fans do not last like the old ones. Except maybe the industrial kind. I sure miss Kmart too! Memories when my kids were young!
Hi Terry Sue! I miss Kmart, too! Those were good fans and I think Kmart sold a lot of them. Thanks!
Born 1963, grew up in Panama City, FL. Nothing but box fans until I was about 6, then 2 window A/C units. Central A/C in jr high school- about 1977. We were ALWAYS hot.
Hi Andrea - I can imagine how how the summers got in Panama City! Thanks!
Hi Kevin! You and I are probably around the same age because I too grew up with that EXACT LAU fan in the mid 1960's. Your episode actually made me remember that fan as I began watching and lo and behold, it shows up as the star of the show at the end of the episode - what a treat! Remember getting your face close to the grill while the fan was running and singing into it? 🤣
Thank you! That Lau fan is wonderful! Yes, we would talk into the fan while it was running - fun things to do when we were kids!
Wow! Nice collection ya got there with a good amount of variety. I would say my favorite type of fans would be box fans with all of the various colors, shape sizes and control layouts they had. Not to mention they are relatively speaking easy to store although they do take up more room than fans lol. Regarding the Fresh’nd Aire, those used Bakelite blades, and for the Westinghouse fans, those used Micarta which I’m pretty certain actually came out in the 1920s. Regarding the dominion box fan, that one does look like it was probably repainted, but believe it or not, I’m pretty sure they were manufacturing up through until the early to mid 70s and at least their desk fans did come in avocado. That wizard desk fan that you have was made by Burstead electric/McGraw Edison. Their desk fans were known as “dimestore fans” because you could get them pretty cheap at your local drugstore or five and dime. They were pretty cheaply made, and definitely weren’t the best of quality, but they are still super common today. Anyways, that’s my slice of information lol. Thanks for sharing the collection!
Hi TH - thank you for all the good history and information!! It's nice to have the background on some of these fans!
Great episode Kevin! I really enjoyed this!
Glad you enjoyed the episode, Vicki! Thanks for watching!
Those Dominion box fans were usually turquoise in color. They made them in green in the 70s..but yours looks like a 60s model.
Thanks for the information on the Dominion fan, Tory! The fan seemed repainted to me.
I grew up in San Francisco, Bay Area and we had box fans when we needed them, but never needed air conditioning. We had the brand Eskimo box fans, they came in turquoise.
Hi John-Robert - you had a perfect climate growing up that didn't require a lot of air conditioning. I think I have a Eskimo box fan somewhere. Thanks!
@@cavalcadeoffood even back then, I remember loving that box fan with the turquoise color and the aluminum blades.
Good morning! I hope the summer is treating you well. 🥰 I need to catch up on the episodes! We are cleaning out my mom's garage, and I just threw away a Kmart box fan!😆 My grandpa had a very old oscillating fan and we were always afraid it was going to cut the dog's tail off if she got too close!😱
Hi GSM! The summer is good, so far! Sounds like your grandpa's fan was a scary one! Thanks!
Wow!! Now, I see that you do a radio broadcast, too!!! 😮
Hi John-Robert - yes, on Saturday mornings at 9am (Eastern). You can listen live online. Thanks!
@@cavalcadeoffood I will do so, indeed. ☺️
Another fan(tastic) episode!
LOL - thanks, FellowTractor!
Very cool! Thank you Kevin!
Thanks for watching, John!
Another great video. I grew up on a farm in northern Florida with no air conditioning so fans were very important. You do such a nice job with your presentations.
Thanks so much, Susan!
Nice Kevin ! My family kept cool with that Penncrest reversible fan for many years. Came with a window frame that made it even more efficient! It really did exhaust the hot air well. Enjoy your summer. Chip.
Hi Chip - that Penncrest fan is one of the most powerful I've seen. I'll bet it helped keep your house cool! Thanks!
Great show. Brings back memories.😊
Thanks, Charles - glad it brought back some good memories!
In between all of my tours around my house and gardening and home improvements leaves a little time for me to check out all your videos thoroughly at least at this time of the year. However, when winter time comes, I’ll have a lot more viewing time available lol.
Hope you can spend some time watching during the winter months! Thanks!
@@cavalcadeoffood oh I will!
Chicago is the fan capital? Maybe that why they call Chicago the Windy City? Da dum tissss! 🥁 I just had too 😂
LOL! Good one, Canerican!
Since being an average midwest family we had one fan to share and tried to limit AC. Ours was the pretty turquoise blue Dominion. We'd argue who got to put it in their window lol. So one night I get it and we put the window sash down on it. Was such a strong motor it wiggled out and BAM on the floor! Back up it went and then it wiggled its way backwards laying on the screen. Fan ended up being a floor fan. It was good & hefty we used many summers. One night when it was older it sparked flames and he hasn't been used since. Mom was always trying to pitch it asking why I liked it. Its just junk. I liked keeping its pretty paint cleaned. I'd hide it different places protecting it from the trash and I still have it 50+yrs later:)
Hi Olivia! Thanks for sharing that great story about your Dominion fan! Sounds like it got a lot of good use growing up and I'm glad you still have it!
@@cavalcadeoffood Kevin you're the best. Love your vintage place and shows. Happy Summer to you!
I was waiting for the Mobilaire!
Here it is!
I am a fan collector myself ive been collecting for quite a few years
Hi Bobby - I'm sure you probably have a lot of these fans. They are a great thing to collect! Thanks!
the robins egg blue kmart/lakewood is model p-23, yours is a product of the early 70s, but the p23 was made all the way up until the early-mid 1990s in the ice gray color, was discontinued, then was brought back in the late 1990s under the model name p-25, and the p-25 was manufactured all the way up until lakewood's shutdown around 2008-2009, so that fan was made in some sort of iteration for 35-40 years (1970-2009) surely an impressive lifespan and most DEFINITELY a fan i want to add to my collection
Thanks, Matt!
Question: I own my Grandfathers percolator coffee pot that currently is not working. Have you thought about a video on repairs of these old equipment? Maybe resources for help , repair or general maintenance. Thanks the wife and I watch your videos several times a week.
Hi - I have thought about doing videos on repairs, but my ability in repairing is somewhat limited. I have found with some old percolators that the thermostats go bad or the heating element burns out causing them not to work. Thanks!
I LOVE your extensive collection of everything you have! Is this a store that you have opened to the public?? Or do you give “in person” tours?
I have never been to Michigan. I need to change that! lol!
Hi John Robert - it's just a personal collection. It's not open to the public at this time, but I try to share the collection through the videos. Thanks!
@@cavalcadeoffood a well curated and organized collection it is, too! Not to mention, quite extensive!! I LOVE it!!
Those are some fantastic fans! I have a old GE oscillating fan like yours, sadly it needs repair work and have no idea who could work on it. Appliances can transport us to another time. Would love to see the many vacuums of cavalcade. Do you have any malt blenders? I recently got a jadeite green Hamilton beach model 30. Makes fantastic malts! Stay cool with the help of your fantastic fan collection.
Hi Corey - they sure do transport us! I don't have many vacuums - it's not something I collect although I have friends who have hundreds of them! I don't have any malt blenders in the collection. I almost bought a green HB - it was a big one and could make up to 5 malts - but it didn't work properly and it was a project I didn't want to take on so I passed on it. Sounds like yours works great!
and we end the video with a nice lau ultra twenty. a product of the 50s, and certainly another fan i want in my collection, and yes i do have a fan from my childhood that i want rather badly, an early 1980s shell manufacturing company (SMC for short) Laguna ceiling fan, model KB-52. white and polished brass, spade blade badges (similar to what some of the 52 inch union spinners have but not quite), a schoolhouse light kit with a floral globe, variable/infinite speed knob built into the switch housing, forward/reverse/off pullchain, blades being mounted on top of the motor, the blades were cane with pinkish-tan inserts, a plastic beehive shaped canopy, tassel pullchain extensions, and a polished brass ring around the motor, the fan fell in 2013 after being reversed too many times and unscrewing itself from the ceiling (no injuries thankfully) and i wish i could have saved it from being dumped but i was 4 at the time so i sadly had no say in the matter, and i am still keeping an eye out for one now.
tl;dr, cool ceiling fan falls, big sad, still looking for one today
Hi Matt - hope you find your SMC ceiling fan someday. I'm sure there are a few out there! Thanks!
Hi Kevin! I'm just wondering when you are going introduce vintage washers and dryers into your collection. And do a video of them doing a cycle.
Hi Shari - washers and dryers are something I don't collect, and unfortunately there's no extra room. But I do love looking at the old machines - some of them are really incredible appliances!
Laying in my bed on a hot summer night.
Green box fan tucked in the window
Gently blowing over my bed.
Windowsill just above high-level.
Looking up, I can see the
Evening sky;
The last of the kids on the block Chattering as they head home.
The smell of the night air-
cool, with a hint of the woods Just beyond the block, my house was on.
My lullaby for 3 years well dad was stationed at the military Academy in New York .
(I also remember the fan in the living room-Mom kept it on the floor.
My brothers were always putting playing cards through the grate and laughing hysterically as the metal blades slice them and threw them into the air !
They also did this with pencils .
The days of learning common sense on your own, with your own consequences.
Hi nanad - thank you for sharing those wonderful memories of growing up with fans going on warm summer nights. I think many of us can relate to those memories.
I come across many old fans at work and the best one's (made in usa) either have translucent blue blades or imitation wood grain on them 👍👍 Galaxy comes to mind for one of the brand names
Hi Hank - I have seen the fans with the blue blade and also green translucent blades. They really look great! Thanks!
the galaxies are definitely one of the best 70s-80s era fans to have been made
@MattsFans love the look of them too!
the wizard is a mcgraw edison product, i have a little 8" zero that looks practically like it's younger doppelganger
Thanks, Matt. I think I have a Zero fan somewhere - I know I've seen the McGraw Edison name on a number of things.
"They wouldn't necessarily dismember you " 😅
LOL - it was the nicest way I could put it!
Dominion fans were manufactured in Mansfield, Ohio up tp 1969. Currently under Rival/Hamilton Beach.
Hi Andrew - thanks for the information on Dominion!
You're welcome
I didn't know that Rival was still around.
I rely on fans in my home now to reduce my use of central air.
Hi Wendy - that's a good use of fans. They do help the air conditioning work better. Thanks!
Yep, AC free childhood in the 60's. Box fans and sleeping in the basement. How do you keep all that clean?
Hi Dorene! That was growing up without A/C! I dust a couple times a year - it's quite a job!
the country aire is another lakewood product (dang they keep finding their way to you lol), and is a product of the late 60s-early early EARLY 70s as the country aire branding died off sometime around 1971-1972.
Thanks for the information, Matt!
Isn’t Sandusky the town that, that movie; Swan Song, was filmed? As a retired hairdresser from Marina Del Rey, CA (Los Angeles), I can relate to the storyline of that movie. At least to some degree.😊
Hi John - I'm not familiar with that film, but there are a few Sandusky towns in the US, including Michigan and Ohio. Thanks!
When I heard your doing an only fans edition I miss took it for somthing totally different.😂
LOL! I think I'll keep it to just the electric fans, gymbeef! Thanks!
I sitting here watching this, in the breeze of a table model Fresh'nd Aire!
Hi Chris! Glad that Fresh'nd Aire is keeping you cool! Great fans!
The GE fan above you're stove made mid-fifties early 60s.
Thanks!
mid 60s* late enough to have the grey color scheme yet early enough to have the metal bladeset
turquoise, metal bladeset: after 1959 but before 1964
tan/grey, metal bladeset: after 1964 but before 1967
tan/grey, plastic bladeset: 1967 until 1973, when general electric shut down their fan division.
I worked at a place with a number of vintage fans and one day they all were gone...to the trash, and already hauled away, could not save them. All in perfect working order too. Sigh.
Hi Karen - that's too bad. The older ones really work better than the new ones. Thanks!
I have had a couple of fans with thermostats.
In my experience, I found that they don’t work too well.
They seem to not have a positive on/off and tend to rapidly cycle the fan on and off at the “set point”.
Hi wmalden - I agree about the thermostats. I think they were more of a gimmick to give the fan an extra feature. Thanks!
We had the blue box fan from Kmart too. No AC in the house, just a swamp cooler that worked pretty well. Cool video. 😊
Hi 1corinthians - I have a feeling that Kmart sold lots of those blue box fans! Seems like everyone I knew had one. Thanks!
the westinghouse desk fan is a power aire
Thanks for letting me know!
Nice 😊
Thanks, Michael!
Mobile air Westinghouse fan is mid-fifties.
I have 25 old fans . Use 3 and 1 blue oil.
Nice collection!!
Dominion was from Mansfield Ohio!
Thanks, Lawrence! Mansfield was quite a manufacturing town!
Is there tour x's for your store thanks
Hi Andy - the building isn't open to the public at this time. I try to share the collection through the videos. Thanks!
do the fandango
LOL - thanks, Larry!
Would like to meat u in person n c your little cottage in lexington area grew up there probably know some of ralphs mexican buddys foleys market in lexington makes the best homade subs fresh big fan of your show we are cut from the same cloth
Thanks so much, Andy! Foley's in Lexington is great! Glad you enjoy the videos!
Loge your video's
Thanks, Jason!
When my ex husband died, my now husband and I helped my daughter clean out her dad’s house and garage. We uncovered a Westinghouse fan, like yours but smaller. My husband cleaned and restored it and it sits on his desk in his garage. Everyone comments on how cute it is.
Hi BritInLvr - I think they made those fans in a variety of sizes. They are really great fans - glad your husband restored it!