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Thread Number: 26292
Leonard??? Duracrest??? |
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| Post# 403597 1/3/2010 at 13:26 (5,220 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
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Post# 403632 , Reply# 1 1/3/2010 at 14:54 (5,220 days old) by appliguy  (Oakton Va.) |
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According to Wikipedia
The Leonard Company was founded in 1881 by Charles H. Leonard in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The famous Leonard "Cleanable" Refrigerator came about after a mishap in the Leonard home: a pail of hot cooling lard was left inside an ice box on top of a cake of ice, resulting in melted ice, a spilled pail and cooled lard spilled all over. Charles created his refrigerator with removable liners and flues. In 1885, Leonard introduced metal shelves and improved the door-locking mechanisms. 1907 saw the introduction of porcelain lined interiors, which further enhanced the cleanability and sanitation of refrigerators. The refrigerator cabinets were made of highly varnished carved-oak, brass fixtures, and enhanced with mirrors.[1] Electrical refrigerators were introduced in 1918, and by 1925, Leonard was building one out of every five refrigerators produced in the United States, which amounted to 1000 refrigerators per day. Leonard merged with Kelvinator in 1926. The Leonard brand of appliances continued to be sold exclusively through Leonard dealers, as well as through Canadian and English dealers. As for Duracrest I know that here in the DC area those were Kelvinator made appliances that were sold at our local Hechts Department Stores...PAT COFFEY | ||
| Post# 403655 , Reply# 2 1/3/2010 at 19:02 (5,219 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
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Thanks,Pat. I only saw Leonard products at a local chain of stores named E.J.Korvette.I am not sure how true the info.of their origin I heard is but,when we were younger,we were told that 8 men who served in the Korean war founded it and ,because of their own beliefs,they coined its name from that (Eight Jewish Korean Veterans)instead of combining or arguing over who's name would be used.As I said,that was only hear say. I think that the May Company,previous,maybe current owners of Hecht's (if they're still in business)Department Stores had a contract with Kelvinator back when Hecht's had their own line of Major Appliances.I had a neighbor who had the set replacing their older Laundromat from '55.I had never seen one before but noticed the similar wash action to the Kelvinators I had seen at other homes as well as a few local laundries.After that,I came across the gas and electric company's warehouse where the old,broken down machines went before being picked up to take to the dump where the owner sold the entire unit or parts to mostly used appliance dealers. | ||
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Post# 403725 , Reply# 3 1/4/2010 at 09:31 (5,219 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.) |
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Just to let you know Laundromat........ | ||
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Post# 403730 , Reply# 4 1/4/2010 at 09:46 (5,219 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA) |
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Believe that Duracrest was May Department Stores' private label, don't know who they had doing OEM for them. A neighbor had a Duracrest gas stove in avocado, I recall. Other store chains/buying groups: Macy's.....Supremacy Aimcee.....AMC (single-city department stores) Carter-Hawley-Hale....Ambassador Sears...Kenmore Penneys....Penncrest Wards....Signature Lowes...Holiday Western Auto....Wizard | ||
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Post# 403771 , Reply# 5 1/4/2010 at 12:42 (5,219 days old) by appliguy (Oakton Va.) |
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JamieL | ||
| Post# 403844 , Reply# 6 1/4/2010 at 21:02 (5,218 days old) by hilovane (Columbus OH) | ||
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For those not familiar, E.J. Korvette was a chain of department stores in the NYC-metro area. In the '70s, legendary TV game show host Bill Cullen was their spokesperson. | ||
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Post# 403870 , Reply# 7 1/4/2010 at 23:36 (5,218 days old) by simpsomatic (Melb, Aust-now Palm Springs,US) |
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In Australia if you could not afford the Kelvinator brand you could purchase the Leonard brand. Same as General Electric and Hotpoint here in the USA. One of the collectors in Australia has posted a thread of a Leonard semi-automatic washer he has in his collection, the one with the hole in the lid for the suds return........ | ||
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Post# 403884 , Reply# 8 1/5/2010 at 04:41 (5,218 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia) |
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Aussie Leonard badged Kelvinator | ||
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Post# 403885 , Reply# 9 1/5/2010 at 05:11 (5,218 days old) by gizmo (Victoria, Australia) |
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My family had a Leonard two door fridge freezer. Made in Australia by Kelvinator. | ||
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Post# 403897 , Reply# 10 1/5/2010 at 05:56 (5,218 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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| Post# 403947 , Reply# 12 1/5/2010 at 11:06 (5,218 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
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Carocel
One day during a visit to a friend's home in Baltimore,we went to EJK's to look at bicycle parts.They had a neat display showing off the Carocel water powered compact dishwasher! It was hooked up to a recirculating pump and the top was glued on so nobody would make it leak.They were priced at $49.I used to have one but haven't seen them in a while.They may have gone to appliance heaven?We would also buy "Fizzy's"soft drink tablets,45 rpm records,8 trak tapes and jaw breakers there.
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Post# 404034 , Reply# 13 1/5/2010 at 17:09 (5,218 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions) |
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