Life Before AC - The Good Old Days
Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
by Patricia Grace
I was talking today with a neighbor whose AC was not working. The poor lady was in a rea
l panic. The AC repairman had listened to her plight and promised relief - next week. My neighbor - let's call her Sandy - was beside herself with worry. She was positive plants would die, children would fall ill and all of the furniture in her home would fall apart as the glue that held it together slowly seeped out of the joints.
True, it was over 100 degrees today. True, it was very humid. True, Sandy was too young to remember life pre-airconditioning, but I knew in my heart that neither she - nor her furniture- were in any real danger. After all, many more of us have lived without AC than have lived with it. It is, in the grand scheme of things, a fairly new luxury.
There was even a time before we had electric fans. The nearest you could get to moving air was to use one of the paper fans on a stick that usually came from the local funeral home and almost always had a picture of Jesus on it. Or, if you were lucky, you might have children who knew how to fold their simplex paper back and forth, bend it in the middle and produce a small fan that could, at least, cool your face.
One possibility for getting a little cooler was to leave the entry door open so air could come through the screen door. Of course, you had to be sure there were no holes in the real screen they used, or else you might have to get one of those yucky fly paper strips that hung down into so many kitchens back then.
Sandy finally went in to fix everyone a cold drink using the ice that came out of her refrigerator door. That reminded me of another way to get cool pre-AC, and pre-refrigerator. There was a time when people had ice boxes. Real ice boxes. They held only the big block of ice that the ice man brought a couple of times a week. You could hear the horse clopping down the street and knew it wouldn't be long before the ice man used the big tongs to bring in the ice and the ice pick to chip away a few pieces for everyone to rub on their faces. It was amazing how much happiness those litttle chips could bring.
After a bit, Sandy suggested her children spend time in the big pool in their back yard. Needless to say, that brought up a couple of other memories. Before home pools were invented, kids loved to run through the spray from a water hose and spent many happy hours doing so. Before that, well, I remember drawing water from my grandmother's well. It was cold and tasted wonderful. After each of us had quenched our thirst, we were allowed to pour a dipperful over our heads. What a wonderful way to cool down.
When Sandy gave her children popsicles for a treat, I just had to tell her my all time favorite way of beating the heat, pre-AC. It involved ice chips, salt, home made ice cream and the chance to sit on the freezer to hold it down as an adult cranked the handle. Even though I sat on the towel covering the top, it got really cold. I was usually shivering by the time the ice cream was ready, no matter how hot the day.
I could have given Sandy many more examples of ways to beat the heat without the AC. I hadn't even told her about some of the things my grandparents did to get cool - like skinny dipping in the creek. Sandy decided, though, that her best bet was to take a cold shower and fashion one of those little folded fans. I left her looking for paper and went home to turn off my AC and to dig out my ice cream freezer.
I hope Sandy gets her AC fixed quickly. She doesn't have memories of the good old days when staying cool meant fanning yourself or rubbing ice chips on your face - or a dozen other ways we found to beat the heat.
I hope Sandy's washer doesn't break down anytime soon, but if it does, I have lots of stories about using lye soap and a long pole to push clothes around in a big pot. Or about our first washing machine with the wringer you had to turn by hand. On the days we used those, we were very glad to have our fans on a stick or a few chips of ice.
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Top-level comments on this article: (10 total)Hi Patricia, what a great story! I still don't have AC and I remember using the hand crank on the washer my mom had, but before that, we used our bathtub and a scrub board. And as far as a pool? Well, we used our trash cans and filled them up with water. To make it exciting, we made an obstacle course out of the cans. This is what you do when you grow up in modern society, but live in the poor parts of town. We had no clue we were poor and missing out on the luxury of AC, Washers/Dryers and dishwashers.Thanks for the light hearted-story and the smile that sent me down memory lane. God bless! TeresaHi Teresa, I am glad the article brought back a few good memories. One of the best things about growing up without some of the modern conveniences was the way we worked together to find fun things to do. It sounds as if your obstacle course trash can pools were way more fun than today's back yard pools!Thank you for your kind words and blessing.Patricia
Patricia we were just talking today about how soft we have become. Many people all over the world live in far hotter, dryer or humid climates then us without the comforts of AC or even electric. How did people get along before all this? The fact is they survived albeit not comfortable but survived. We didn't get our first AC unit until late 60's and it was a window unit. Yes when you stop to think about it we could survive. Yes no TV, no Internet, no AC and yes down to basics. Now I'll wait for the reply that is sure to come, justification for it all. Well it still does not diminish we created our very own problems. Yes like those taking drugs, we have become dependent on it.Hi Robert,You are right about many people becoming dependent on modern conveniences. I will admit some of them make life easier, but they don't really make us happier. We were a happy bunch back then, too. I guess there is good and bad in any situation. I just like to remember the good things about the old days. Lots of good times were had back then.Patricia
Left by Cliff CohuSandy, your article brings back memories of "hot summer nights" andblistering afternoons at my granparents house in Iowa in the late 50s andearly 60s. Traveling through Nebraska on U. S. Highway 30 from GrandIsland to Kearney in temperatures of 103 degrees F, our air conditionedenvironment was unique. We called it "four by four" in Dad's Buick Special.That is, all four windows rolled down. Hey. It's healthy to sweat. It is themain source of purging toxins from the body. I treasure the "oldies butgoodies" of life.Hi Cliff, I am glad the article brought back a few good memories. Some of the old things were really, really great - though they may not have seemed so at the time. I'll bet this Tidewater weather for the last couple of weeks has reminded you of your days in Iowa.I'm guessing, though, that you didn't have to contend with "swamp smoke" as we have had to do recently.Patricia
Hi, Pat:
I remember all these things too.. What a journey down Memory Lane this was. We always had what was called a "swamp cooler". This was a metal box with a water line that poured water down all sides of the box. Inside the box there is a "drum fan" that used the air intake to cool the air with the water dripping down pads on the inside of the box.
This only worked in areas like the West where the humidity is low. So, in the East and South this "technology would not be as effective due to the much higher himidity levels.
When Duffy's Ice Cream Truck would come to our neighborhood Duffy would give you a second snow cone cup with ice chips in it for an extra penny. Where I grew up in Anderson, California, it would be over 100 degrees for 60 to 90 days each summer. So all of us kids would really look forward to hearing the music box on Duffy's truck.
We had an irrigation canal that traversed through our neighborhood. The water came from the Sacramento River, which came from 500 feet deep at Shasta and Keswick dams on the Central Valley Water and Power Project. The water was about 55 degrees and was so cold you would jump in and have to get out in a minute or two. So that was our primary way of staying "cool in Cali" before it was "cool to be in Cali", so to speak.
So that's it from your borther-in-law for tonight. I am pleased that you are finding ways to write as it gives you, and many of us, much pleasure. So, don't be bashful. Keep it up. we are with you.
My God Bless You for all your days, Pat. You are the best sister-in-law a guy could ever have. Darlene would be very please to know that you are pursuing this talent you have.
With best regards.
E.F. (Evan) Williams, President
AEGIS Consulting, Inc.
Las Vegas, NVHi Evan,Thank you for the kind words about my writing. I hope I can bring a few good memories and a few smiles to my readers. There may, eventually, be a story about you! I know there will be one about Darlene. I hope wherever she is that she is aware I am writing and getting it out for people to read.I know you recently signed on to the SearchWarp family. Kristen and I think you would excell in writing some type of historical article. We look forward to reading the first one.It sounds as if people in Ca. were ahead of the curve in finding ways to deal with the heat before AC.Be careful out there in California. Maybe you could write about how it feels to be in a rocking and rolling building when an earthquake hits!Pat
Hey there, congrats on the featured article! As you may know, I have a birthday right around the corner and I just got off the phone with my mother who was telling me she did not have AC when she was pregnant with me and how hot and unbearable that summer was. I was thinking, "Yeah, you think you were hot, how about me tucked away inside boiling to death in embryotic fluid?" I still remember that you know? And I could'nt even get near a fan or a window to catch a passing breeze!Guess that's why I married a man in the AC business.Keep up the good work, I look forward to your next story!Hi Myla,Glad you are enjoying the stories. Many of them begin with memories of things that happened to me or someone in my family. Lots of material there.Your mother and I have a lot in common. I, too, had a baby in August way back before AC. She was right that it was pretty unpleasant from time to time. I'm sure, though, that -like me- she feels the result was more than worth having to deal with the heat. I mean, she has you. She must really enjoy your writing and your far out sense of humor. I'll bet if she wanted, she could use you as the subject of some stories SHE might like to write. My child was a boy, but being born in the same season as you, his body probably went through the same overheating process. Wonder if that is how you became so creative? Wonder if he could write?Maybe my son and your mother could both become writers. Wouldn't that be neat? Of course, I don't know when your mother was born. Maybe she was a winter baby. Wonder if chilling a developing brain produces the same type of creativity you have?Keep on writing and making us laugh.Patricia
Pat: Wonderful! I have re-located from your Tidewater area to East Texas, in search of a Real America, and have discovered my Shangri-La. Its great to realize that there is yet a strong trace of Real America in "your" area. Thank you for bringing such vivid and joyful memories. You carry on a Great Heritage. Thanks again! Ciao Bene. BobHi Bob,I am glad you enjoyed remembering a few of the good old days. I am sure you have quite a few memories of your own that would bring smiles to our faces if we read about them.I am glad you found what you were searching for in Texas. It is great to enjoy life wherever you are. It sounds as if East Texas is where you were meant to be. Keep on enjoying each new day and remembering good things that happened in days past. You can't go wrong doing that.Pat
hi patricia,coincidentally, we have no air conditioning due to it breaking, and we've had a few 100 degree days.fans help, but it's hot! how do i know this? when you take a cool shower and get out, you are soaking wet from sweat before you're done drying off!thanks for sharing, i enjoyed it,best regards,sue thomHi Sue,Sorry to hear about the AC. Not a good time for that to happen. I hope you don't have to wait a week for repairs like my neighbor!I'm glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for the comment.Patricia
Talk about remembering the "good ole times" - I just relived part of my childhood reading this. I didn't have A/C either and remember sleeping in the dining room on a mattress to catch a breeze - my homeplace is on a hill - if that didn't work - I'd sleep in a hammock under the apple trees!!Pat - you are a very special friend and I don't know what I would have done not having you to listen to my "tales of woe" and knowing that you were there for me.Hummmmm - talk about memories!!Hi Connie,I am so glad you read and enjoyed the article. Taking people back home for a bit was the goal. I love the idea of sleeping in a hammock under the trees. I would love to hear about some of the other things your family did to beat the heat.We do have some good memories, don't we, Girl! We could write another couple of stories about good times shared in the past. Happy Anniversary :>)Pat
Hi SandyIt is good to be taken back a bit - to when we perhaps relied more on ingenuity and practical sense than on machines! I do though have to make the point that architects often build houses these days that need AC to circulate air - the small windows, the cramped and awkward living areas and the fact that even if one opened a window no air would flow means that an AC unit is necessary just to move the air around a bit! If we want to have a greener world architects would have to learn once again how to build houses that could cool themselves, that might actually allow heat out as well as allow the heat in - we could do it 100 years ago but have lost that ability today!Great Article!Hi,Glad you enjoyed a brief walk down Memory Lane. I wonder how many things were the same in the USA and Scotland before AC. I would love to hear about ways to deal with the heat that were unique to your area. I am guessing that the two areas would have ice, water hoses and ice cream in common.The things you suggested may happen sooner, rather than later, if the price of oil continues to rise along with other "negative" trends in our world. I will look forward to a few of those changes. In the meatime, I am glad I now have AC to help with these hot, hot days and nights.Patricia
Hi patricia,what was your greatest inspiration when writing your stories, how did this affect your writing.Ta, Noa
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