Suburban Chicago, December 31, 1963. It's time for my Parents again to host the New Year's Eve party for our suburban colony of Lithuanians. The redecoration of the house is completed, and a heavy, Spanish chandelier now hangs over the dining room table. There's that fruit bowl again. Mom hasn't bought "fine china" yet, so the guests eat off of the dishes she collected with receipts during a Jewel Food Store promotion. The coffee pot had a little holder for a candle warmer underneath it. The flower-like pieces on the table—with the gold stems and white, ceramic buds—are candle holders. You can tell it's an extraordinary day because there is a box of potato chips on top of the refrigerator.*
Lily—wearing the black dress—talks with the Other Irene. Behind the Other Irene is the plastic plant. The fellow on the left was not a frequent visitor, but he's sitting next to my Mom's best friend, Donna. You can see her left hand, holding the cigarette.
I'll post a photo of another view of this table tomorrow.
*I can't remember the brand name of that 1957 refrigerator, but it lasted over 32 years. Mom replaced it only because the handle fell off, and no one carried that part any longer.
3 comments:
Mr Kris thinks the frig might have been a Coldspot, which was a Sears brand name that predated the Kenmore label. I thought it might have been a Deepfreeze. My dad's first job in the US was working for Deepfreeze as a draftsman.
I think that unit had a second life in the basement. Didn't it have a makeshift handle made from a piece of rope?
I think "Deepfreeze" is correct. It was not a "Coldspot." Somewhere, in the thousands of photos, there is an image of the front of the fridge. The name appeared on a plate at the top of the door.
The fridge died and never made it to the basement. We had an upright freezer in the basement.
Deepfreeze it was. Our model was very similar to this one, but it was white, and it did not have the decorative line along the length of the door.
Post a Comment