I had an Aunt who lived in the country in Missouri and she had a house with electric ceiling heat.  Of course this was interesting to me and I was disappointed that I couldn't see anything happening, like the glowing coils on a stove, LOL.  (I was very young at the time.)

She didn't like it.  She spent a lot of time at her kitchen table and said that her feet were always cold.

Eddie -- as I read through your post, I remembered looking through the classified ads for rental apartments/homes and seeing "AEK," and then saw your mention of it further down.    That abbreviation was prevalent back when I was hopping from place to place in my younger days.

I presumed GE was somehow associated with the film in the OP, as the town of Schenectady was referenced up front.

The scene where they walk into the house in the evening and turn on the lights in the den, it's those fluorescent "offset" lights that shine up on the ceiling and reflect off the ceiling.  My "other mother's" 1961 house across the street had that in her den. Naturally, when the house was bought and "remodeled", those lights were removed, but the cathedral ceiling in the den remained.   It was a Reddy Killowatt Medallion House.  It had gas for the patio and front sidewalk gas lights as well as gas for a clothes dryer and gas lighter in the fireplace.  The house had a heat pump; a Westinghouse kitchen and Westinghouse Computer Control Laundromat pair in the laundry room for the Parade of Homes.  The house also had a garage door opener.  The original water heater may have been electric, but at some point in the 53 years, a gas one was installed. 

Back in the '60s -- and maybe '70s until the first energy crisis hit -- PG&E was promoting the purchase of new appliances through a multi-media campaign.  Most memorable were the billboards, one theme being "Don't be a dishwasher -- buy one."  Another was something on the order of "Ice Follies of 1964" or whatever, depicting a woman trying not to spill as she placed trays into the freezing section of an old refrigerator, suggesting the purchase of a new frost free refrigerator with ice maker.  Or maybe she was just trying to defrost it.  My memory is hazy on that one

Eddie might remember some others.  All I know is that we stuck with our '49 Westinghouse refrigerator until the early '70s and didn't get a dishwasher (a portable absolute BOL top load Frignature -- of course) until about then as well.  Everybody had a newer refrigerator than we did.   That held true for the '49 Westinghouse stove too -- up until 2008 to be exact. 

Yes, most memorably (even if not a "real" person), Alice Kramden.  I remember one episode of "The Honeymooners" where she was ranting about the state of affairs in her kitchen and, referring to the ice box stated, "Oh, I forgot to defrost it," as she walked over to the box and reached underneath it to extract a large round pan full of water that she dumped into the sink.

I suppose Ed and Trixie had an actual refrigerator, as they were the standard to be judged by.

Family friends owned a bar on the main drag (the only drag?) there in the late '60s.  They also had access to a cabin nearby on a Feather River tributary in the tiny hamlet of Seneca.  All phones there were big wooden crank types and the directory with ring codes was on a single mimeographed sheet of paper.  Maybe a dozen subscribers in all. 

Back around 1980 I had a friend and co-worker who was a licensed pilot and four of us flew up to Chester for a couple of days.  We slept in the woods by the airstrip and the mosquitoes sounded like giant dive-bombers.  I had a scar for years from scratching one particular bite that would not stop itching.

I can't imagine getting into a single engine plane again, let alone sleeping in the woods without so much as a tent.

I can't remember the name of the bar.  I do remember that it was on the far-ish west end of town in a sort of rustic commercial strip on the south side of the street.  I don't think it was a free standing building, but I could be wrong.

Most likely any photos that might have provided clues were tossed before we moved (I had been storing them for ten years), but slides may still exist in round trays that hold 100 each.  My sister took those to sort through so I'll inquire with her.

These all-electric homes were promoted by all three major appliance manufacturers, starting in the very late 1950's, I believe.  They each had their spokesperson - for GE there was Ronald Reagan, Westinghouse had Betty Furniss, and Whirlpool had Fran... and I forget her last name.  It all played on how good life was and how a better life was possible if you possessed the right things.

The manufacturers had learned to rely on two bullet points:  materialism (by the consumer) and planned obsolescence (by the manufacturer).

lawrence

We knew her as Zelda Gilroy, but Sheila Kuehl was an excellent member of the California State Assembly and (it may come as no surprise to many) was open and out about being a lesbian.  She was admired by her colleagues.

LOL Eddie!  You remembered the important stuff!

Both of the misstatements you pointed out flew right by me.   I thought I was just adding to what you had posted, and didn't realize what I had written about her was different from what you had.

Steve, I'm all over six outlets in every bedroom!  The living room at our new house has a grand total of three outlets, and that really limits what furnishings can go where.