The Many Fans of Cavalcade of Food (electric fans, that is!)

A few weeks ago we had a visit from our friend Todd, who is an electric fan collector. Todd was kind enough to help Ralph and I do a stove exchange in the Cavalcade kitchen studio, and he also brought me a surprise gift - a LAU Ultra Twenty fan! Many of you were curious about the fan, so I share it with you here along with a number of other vintage electric fans that help keep the Cavalcade cool during the summer months. Box fans, pedestal fans, desk fans, hassock fans. #vintage #electricfan #vintagefans #fancollector #cavalcadeoffood #vintageappliances

[bullethill]

I'm a fan of Calvacade of Food and Kevin. Thanks for sharing your collection 🌞

[KarenKayF]

I must say, I'm quite "blown away" by your very impressive fan collection! Thanks for sharing, as always!

[mikeluxton]

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.

[berylwhite]

Kevin maybe that's how Chicago became the windy city it made all the fans. That's a great collection

[GothGuy]

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!

[Bluehill]

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.

[OBC-radio]

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.

[missyoumike]

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.

[janeparrett]

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.

[angiemehrtens]

It reminds me of a tv with the knows as well! Love it!!!

[nanetterolph]

Kevin you know your in serious trouble when you need a store front to hold your collections! LOL!!!!

[HumbleVoyager]

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!

[WeHadOneOfThose]

Great collection of Fans Kevin, good to see them all !! Cheers, Mike

[Susan-puxj]

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.

[madcitywendy]

We had fans for sure in my parents Bronx apartment!

[nanad]

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.

[BritInvLvr]

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.

[DBVintage]

I am one of those fan people. I pretty much have one in every room of the house.

[terrysuemakesvideosforyou]

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!

[jonathan_nc]

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.