Thread Number: 8409
A Beautiful Day to visit Early, Iowa |
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Post# 159335   10/7/2006 at 22:32 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Evening folks, Today was an unseasonably warm day in all of Iowa, and quite beautiful too! I headed west from Waterloo about 8 this morning and met up with Greg at Sanders Hardware in Early, IA. While most on this list know about this wonderful store and a few have been lucky enough to experience it first hand, I thought I'd share my first experience there for those who have never seen such a sight as this! Mr. Sanders and his wife were kind enough to let Greg and I rummage through the 'store' and warehouse this afternoon. While Greg found some nice Hoover vac parts, I found a rollermatic agitator kit while we searched through shelf after heaping shelf of NOS and used parts. I found it very difficult to contain excitement during my visit, therefore I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. Before I bring on the photos, I thought I'd share a bit of what I found out today from Mr. Sanders. They had started the hardware store downtown Early in the spring of 1959, as a Hardware Hank. At that time he also became a dealer for Maytag, KitchenAid, and Hoover. Then in 1964, he built the current location on the east side of US 20/71, which runs along the east edge of town. It would be safe to assume that he hasn't gotten rid of very much during the 40 or so years of ownership. It appears he has kept almost every trade in, unless someone decided to purchase a trade along the way. Truly an amazing place. Thank God for Iowa! |
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Post# 159336 , Reply# 1   10/7/2006 at 22:32 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159337 , Reply# 2   10/7/2006 at 22:33 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159338 , Reply# 3   10/7/2006 at 22:34 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159339 , Reply# 4   10/7/2006 at 22:34 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159340 , Reply# 5   10/7/2006 at 22:35 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159341 , Reply# 6   10/7/2006 at 22:36 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159342 , Reply# 7   10/7/2006 at 22:38 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159344 , Reply# 8   10/7/2006 at 22:39 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159345 , Reply# 9   10/7/2006 at 22:41 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159346 , Reply# 10   10/7/2006 at 22:43 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159347 , Reply# 11   10/7/2006 at 22:43 (6,410 days old) by tlee618 ()   |   | |
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Ben, Thanks so much for sharing those pictures. Greg has told me about this place but I had no idea it was this packed!! Glad that you both had a fun day. |
Post# 159348 , Reply# 12   10/7/2006 at 22:45 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159349 , Reply# 13   10/7/2006 at 22:48 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159350 , Reply# 14   10/7/2006 at 22:51 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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I was surprised how good the porcelain's condition was on the Filtrator. My favorite part - making things look new again! It is indeed missing the jeweled lamp cover for the pilot light, but I just couldn't leave this one behind because of that. Thanks Greg for letting me tag along - it was quite a memorable adventure! Ben |
Post# 159351 , Reply# 15   10/7/2006 at 22:58 (6,410 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Ben, that Filtrator looks great - it really pays to have an all-porcelain cabinet! Once again, I saw a few things that I'd never seen before. Having not paid much attention to the dishwashers scattered around the place, I was shocked at all the KitchenAids and Maytags! I brought home two KD-17 series machines - rather rough, but stripped, cleaned and restored will make one great dishwasher... |
Post# 159352 , Reply# 16   10/7/2006 at 22:58 (6,410 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 159353 , Reply# 17   10/7/2006 at 22:59 (6,410 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 159354 , Reply# 18   10/7/2006 at 23:02 (6,410 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Look how bad the racks are in this poor dear - I've never seen them THIS bad before! When Ben says "cereal box prize", he's not joking. Getting these things out of that place is like digging in the cereal for the tiny plastic prize at the bottom of the box! We had a good time despite the climbing, digging and lifting - and the owner. (those of you who have been there know what I mean!) |
Post# 159365 , Reply# 19   10/8/2006 at 04:13 (6,410 days old) by fredriksam (Sweden)   |   | |
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Hey! didnt they have a Hoover Keymatic there? |
Post# 159372 , Reply# 20   10/8/2006 at 06:15 (6,410 days old) by sheerlookhomes (U.K.)   |   | |
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boy! would I love to spend some time 'rummaging' in there..that looks like fun! thanks for sharing |
Post# 159377 , Reply# 21   10/8/2006 at 07:11 (6,410 days old) by goatfarmer (South Bend, home of Champions)   |   | |
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Post# 159386 , Reply# 23   10/8/2006 at 08:49 (6,410 days old) by peterh770 (Marietta, GA)   |   | |
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That place is too much fun for words! I'm glad someone got the Filtrator out of there. At least it was near the door. Did you guys try to go thru the stack of appliances long the wall to the left of the store door? If memory serves, there was a Frigidaire dryer under there that was NOT a filtrator. Maybe a MOL or BOL diaper dryer? And the best part? If and when you go back, you'll find a bunch of stuff you didn't see the last time(s) you were there! |
Post# 159389 , Reply# 24   10/8/2006 at 10:00 (6,410 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 159394 , Reply# 25   10/8/2006 at 10:33 (6,410 days old) by trainguy (Key West, FL)   |   | |
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Post# 159397 , Reply# 27   10/8/2006 at 10:42 (6,410 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Hey Steve - as Pete had mentioned, the Filtrator was only a few feet away from the side door in the warehouse. While the distance was not much, to no surprise, Greg and I did have to move a heap of crap off the Frigidaire in order to make it mobile again! LOL Pete - Greg did show me that MOL Frigidaire dryer in the store. I can't remember now what exact year it was, but I'm thinking mid sixties. We spotted a gassy MOL 65ish dryer in the warehouse, all rusted out as usual. For those who have never experienced this, it is very hard to describe: A) the actual environment B) the MANY methods of removing items First, when first dealing with A, you are trying to find the goodies in either the store or the warehouse, which requires hours of going through machines and parts on the shelf in the store, or making a strategic attempt to find goods in the warehouse. When you then deal with B, you are working with the TIME to get the item or machine out, and also getting the owner to make his mind up about the price (which also seems to involve the time of getting the time out). Yes, most everything is for sale, but some goodies are better left due to the later. A good example is the button assembly for a 160 Maytag Greg showed me - it had a penciled price of 19.95, but when I took it to the counter, he had looked it up in a 1969 price guide, and mentioned 70 bucks. Here is the link from Steve and Greg's adventure last October for more crazy warehouse photos: CLICK HERE TO GO TO swestoyz's LINK |
Post# 159398 , Reply# 28   10/8/2006 at 10:55 (6,410 days old) by brent-aucoin ()   |   | |
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Wow! Too much fun! What was the deal with the two Maytag Dishwashers outside? One looked like it was a portable. Were they just too far gone? They look great in the digital pictures. Thanks for sharing the fun!!! Brent |
Post# 159407 , Reply# 29   10/8/2006 at 12:54 (6,410 days old) by golittlesport (California)   |   | |
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Post# 159414 , Reply# 30   10/8/2006 at 13:57 (6,410 days old) by peteski50 (New York)   |   | |
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Post# 159415 , Reply# 31   10/8/2006 at 14:01 (6,410 days old) by rickr (.)   |   | |
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WOW!! Like a time warp, only for real! Glad you guys had a fun filled day doing what we all like best... looking for, and finding treasures. I have never seen so many Maytag wringer washers. Looks like this is the place they go to die. Is this business still operational? It looks like it is in a fairly well maintained facility. There would be high costs for preserving all that stuff in indoor storage, even if there are no employees on the payroll. Love the Filtrator dryer BTW. I know where there is one of those in outdoor storage. |
Post# 159424 , Reply# 32   10/8/2006 at 16:27 (6,410 days old) by sudsman ()   |   | |
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What i wouldn't give to come there and "prowl"for a day.. |
Post# 159450 , Reply# 34   10/8/2006 at 23:47 (6,409 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)   |   | |
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is how did that place get to be like that in the first place. I can only imagine the odor it has! Does anyone ever get hurt crawling around all that old stuff? What a rat's nest! BTW, how many of those are in there? |
Post# 159452 , Reply# 35   10/9/2006 at 00:53 (6,409 days old) by hooverwheelaway ()   |   | |
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I spy some coppertone Hoover twinnies! And a really rusted out one, too. Any pictures with a Vacuum theme? :-) (Obviously would be posted somewhere else...) Congrats on another fabulous find! ~Fred |
Post# 159457 , Reply# 36   10/9/2006 at 04:14 (6,409 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Post# 159465 , Reply# 38   10/9/2006 at 07:42 (6,409 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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The adventure is fun - you never know what you're going to encounter and believe it or not, we've been pulling machines out of there for about five years now. He keeps adding to the piles too, now Dependable Care and Neptunes. I did see an early 70's TOL Gibson washer I'd not seen before but I didn't feel up to a long negotiation with the owner to become an over-priced Gibson Girl! There are a few vacs scattered around the place, we saw a few convertibles, commercial convertibles - even an earlier Conquest wide-path upright. Nothing is new and most are pretty beat. I did buy some "W" Handi-Sacs and a whole box of natural-bristle brush strips I will need to identify but there isn't much else there in the way of parts. You're right, Fred, there were LOTS of Hoover twinnies around - stacked two high in the main store. He told me once that every one of them needs a pump. |
Post# 159472 , Reply# 39   10/9/2006 at 08:40 (6,409 days old) by hooverwheelaway ()   |   | |
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Ha! That's amusing! |
Post# 159527 , Reply# 42   10/9/2006 at 18:38 (6,408 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Post# 159530 , Reply# 43   10/9/2006 at 18:42 (6,408 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Post# 159532 , Reply# 44   10/9/2006 at 18:51 (6,408 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Post# 159537 , Reply# 45   10/9/2006 at 19:29 (6,408 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 159543 , Reply# 46   10/9/2006 at 20:04 (6,408 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)   |   | |
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Post# 159544 , Reply# 47   10/9/2006 at 20:12 (6,408 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 159547 , Reply# 48   10/9/2006 at 20:25 (6,408 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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One can order parts for certian Hoover twin tubs from various sources in the UK. Pumps, belts, hoses, etc were all pretty much standard on both sides of the pond for some models. Too tired to look up the threads, but check the archives for links. There are also several Yahoo Groups devoted to twin tubs were you'll find part sources. As Hoover UK has recently discontinued twin tubs, parts while more plentiful than the States, are starting to become scarce. You may wish to consider placing order soon. Have an old pump that was leaking, if you know someone that rebuilds pumps, you are welcome to it. CLICK HERE TO GO TO launderess's LINK |
Post# 159549 , Reply# 49   10/9/2006 at 20:36 (6,408 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)   |   | |
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Post# 159551 , Reply# 50   10/9/2006 at 20:43 (6,408 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Oh no you don't. One Hoover TT is all my poor nerves/ears can stand! *LOL* Hoover twin tub washing is fun, but since it is stored away in a cubby, having to roll it out, set things up and get started is more than one can manage these days. It is just so much eaiser to chuck things into the Miele, set controls and come back when all is done. Still, for lots of laundry I need to get done quickly, can't beat twin tub washing. Once you've got a system going, things fly by. |