How Old is the Wheelchair?
Last weekend, I sent an email with photos to someone at Gendron to see if she could provide any information about the wheelchair I acquired, such as when it was manufactured. Early Monday morning, I was surprised to receive a response so quickly:
Good Morning! I’m forwarding your information to ____ _____ a retired owner of our company who should be able to help you and give you the information your asking for.
Great! That was very kind of her to do. I had high hopes, like getting a copy of an old brochure or something, but knowing when it was made would have been sufficient.
The following day, the former owner emailed me:
Dear Scott: The chair was manufactured after 1959 and before 2003. The chair looks to be in very good condition. It may have value to a hospital or clinic for patients with a leg cast.
1959 to 2003! Thanks, that narrows it down. I expected him to know a little bit more, especially since he owned the company. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful and I’m sure he’s too busy to waste time providing information to someone like me.
And what’s with “It may have value to a hospital or clinic”? Is he trying to say I won’t value it or I’m I just reading too much into his words?
Filed Under: Old Finds
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New Wheels
This antique wheelchair is straight from the fridge (that means really cool for all you L7s out there). And, as of a couple hours ago, it’s mine! It’s a wonderful addition to my eclectic decor of interesting old things. Now I need to rearrange my apartment to make it wheelchair accessible. If I ever need to use a wheelchair, at least I’ll be rolling in style.
This was the first thing I saw when I arrived at the yard sale last Saturday. My jaw dropped and I got very excited when I saw it — no, not that kind of excited. I kept going back to look at it, but I couldn’t decide if I should buy it. I left the yard sale with a plan to think about it overnight. If I still wanted it the next day, I’d come back to get it — and haggle for a lower price. However, I forgot that my registration expired that day so I couldn’t drive my car. I could, just not legally, but I didn’t want to risk getting a ticket and I’m a law abiding citizen. I felt like I was missing out on a very rare opportunity.
Luckily, Molly happened by the sale the next day and was ever so kind to get the fella’s name and number for me — thank you ever so much Molly. I called him yesterday and was relieved to hear it wasn’t sold. After work this evening, one of my truck owning coworkers helped me bring it home — thank you kindly, Jed.
Like most of the stuff at the yard sale, this wheelchair was used as a prop for one of the Catalyst Theatre Company’s productions. The guy who sold it to me said it was used by the actor playing FDR in Annie. It’s funny, I thought of FDR when I first saw it — probably because I saw American Experience: Franklin Delano Roosevelt a few weeks ago.
Most people I’ve shown pictures of the wheelchair to found it creepy and said it reminded them of a horror movie. (I’ve been talking about it all week and even mentioned it during the Monday morning meeting at work.) Now that I have it here and was able to give it a spin, I think it’s a bit creepy too. It makes all sorts of creaking sounds and… well, look at it.
As I usual do when I obtain a new old thing, I did a little research. Gendron, Inc. is still in business, making wheelchairs and other medical equipment. It was founded in Toledo, Ohio in 1871 and is the oldest wheelchair manufacturer in the United States. It originally manufactured steel-and-wire wheels for its own bicycles, tricycles, wheelchairs, baby carriages, wagons, and wheelbarrows. When the United States entered World War II in 1941 it concentrated on manufacturing wheelchairs and hospital stretchers. In 1959, they moved most of their manufacturing to a new plant in Archbold, Ohio. My wheelchair was made there so it couldn’t have been made before to 1959.
Filed Under: Garage/Yard Sales + Old Finds
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Wanna Ride My Coattails?
Last Saturday, Undead Molly and I met up for some good ol’ yard sale and antique store perusing in Essex Junction. She’s commented on this blog numerous times and we’ve been exchanging emails (mostly about a super secret project that will be announced soon) over the past few months but, until Saturday, we had never met in person.
The yard sale we met at was the remains of a theatre group whose name I don’t recall. I was expecting much more, like a huge tent and fire eating dwarfs, when I read about it on craigslist. Regardless, there was some really nice stuff and I walked away with a few things.
My favorite find was the coat you see me “modeling” on the left, which I happen to be wearing as I type (dressing up helps me blog). I’ve always wanted a coat like this and my stylist has suggested I get one on numerous occasions. In addition to adding another piece to my dapper arsenal, others can now ride my coattails…
I found copy of Goods and Merchandise: A Cornucopia of Nineteenth-Century Cuts to add to my large collection of vintage illustrations.
Down the street from the yard there was a great antique store. I could have easily spent a fortune there. I was good and only bought two things.
I got another type case, an upper type case to be precise, to go with the one I bought last year. I almost peed myself when I found it I was so excited (two cups of coffee and my small bladder might have contributed to that too). I’m a sucker for anything involving type.
This diary caught my eye for some reason. The calendar will be accurate in 2018, but I probably won’t use it for that. I’ll most likely scan parts of it to use in something and then destroy it by turning it into one of my journals.
I thought it was unused until I found four short entries for March 16, 17, 18, and 21. Someone started to document the weather and their events but that didn’t last long. Maybe Frances distracted them by staying longer than all night.
