The sure don't make em like they used to!
"We still love using them," Diedre Hall laughs. "It's like eating toast from
another century!"
Diedre (60) and Ron (64) Hall (pictured here with their light bulb and
toaster) have never purchased a new toaster in their entire lives. The Ann
Arbor, Michigan couple have bought new light bulbs, but not for their "baby's"
room which has been illuminated by the same bulb since before their only son
Michael, now 40, was born. All in all, they have a total of six appliances
including their toaster, a blender, a "Fridgidaire" refrigerator, a meat
grinder, an electric mixer, and a single light bulb, all that were made
before they were born.
The Toaster with the Most-er- The Halls Brandish Their Techno-Marvels
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"Diedre brought them along when we were married," Brags Ron. "Neither of us
had any money, so we were happy to use these crusty old antiques, and really
didn't question it. We were embarrassed to still be using these appliances
for a long time, wishing we could afford a modern kitchen. You know, it was
the late fifties and everyone was trying to be modern."
"But when we were able to afford the better stuff," Diedre adds, "we just
didn't care anymore. We'd rather put our kid through college than have all
sorts of modern appliances. Plus we were beginning to recognize just how
odd it was that our old appliances were still working. Now it's just a
novelty to have a guest over for lunch and toast their bread on this, you
know, relic! Ha!"
The toaster is an impressive piece of machinery. Unlike the kinds of
toasters that became common in the second half of the twentieth century, this
two-slice toaster clamps around two pieces of bread which fold around an
ancient heating element. Everything is exposed in this model, unlike the
toasters of today.
"Your bread will never get stuck in one of these!" says Diedre, brandishing the
appliance. "And we've never had to replace the heating element."
Another device the Halls enjoy demonstrating is a light bulb that they claim
was manufactured in 1927. Ron has a theory about this one: "One year Diedre
and I went to Fort Meyers, Florida for vacation, and we visited the house
where Thomas Edison lived. They had light bulbs everywhere which they said
were built in Edison's time and still work. The filament was made somehow
from bamboo or something like that. I think our bulb might have been made in
some way like that. I still don't know about the rest of 'em, but that's my
best explanation for the bulb!"
As for the rest, they all work just the way the Halls claim they do. The
blender, mixer and meat grinder seem to work with some hesitation, but
amazingly they do work. They admit to having had the Fridgidaire recharged
with freon in the last ten years, but maintain that no other work has been
done to it. "It stays a little too cold if you ask me," says Diedre. "Back
then, freezer burn wasn't as much of an issue."
"We are just holding out the hope that we can pass these appliances to
Michael. After we're gone, he'll have more than just our pictures and videos
to remember us by." says Ron, mournfully.
Editor's note: Coincidentally, one week after this was posted, Mrs. Hall
contacted me to let me know that the Blender finally gave out. They have no
plans of buying a new one.
sources
Interview with Diedre and Ron Hall August 11, 1998
Photo credit: Derek Barnes