Along with the sound of a fresh draft beer hitting my glass, one of my many madelines is the word Spring. The hope of Spring makes living in the midwest in late February and March possible. It keeps many of us from jumping from the basement windows.
The word Spring rushes me back some 50 years, to the sound of air conditioners.
Back in the olden days, residential air conditioning was a hoped for promise. A world's fair trick. Life in the future, along with flying cars. The introduction of window a/c units made all things possible. Even life in the South.
In my neighborhood, the window AC lived in the parents bedroom. Kids could nap in there, but it would have had to feel like NOLA in August to let the kids and dogs inside those hallowed precincts at night. Some of the better families had two. One to watch television by. The neighborhood kids hung out there.
Back in the olden days, residential air conditioning was a hoped for promise. A world's fair trick. Life in the future, along with flying cars. The introduction of window a/c units made all things possible. Even life in the South.
In my neighborhood, the window AC lived in the parents bedroom. Kids could nap in there, but it would have had to feel like NOLA in August to let the kids and dogs inside those hallowed precincts at night. Some of the better families had two. One to watch television by. The neighborhood kids hung out there.
It was the AC that killed the porch, altered domestic architecture, and made the suburbs culturally sterile. I miss springtime on the porch most of all.
The current issue of Garden and Gun had a blurb announcing the release of a new book by Paula S. Wallace, President of the Savannah College of Art and Design. "Perfect Porches, designing welcoming spaces for outdoor living". Another Clarkson Potter picture book. I jumped immediately.
The current issue of Garden and Gun had a blurb announcing the release of a new book by Paula S. Wallace, President of the Savannah College of Art and Design. "Perfect Porches, designing welcoming spaces for outdoor living". Another Clarkson Potter picture book. I jumped immediately.
Many Potter books highlight the homes of the masters of the universe. Structures and locales few earthly beings know exist. This is somewhat more democratic in its reach. Country porches, southern porches, lakeside cabins, urban neighborhood porches.
I don't necessarily recommend it, Bunny Williams' "An Affair with a House" covers the same ground more eloquently, and Mary Randolph Carter's "Family Style" covers the country porch very well. It was however a good reminder of great days to come.
I don't necessarily recommend it, Bunny Williams' "An Affair with a House" covers the same ground more eloquently, and Mary Randolph Carter's "Family Style" covers the country porch very well. It was however a good reminder of great days to come.
Toad
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8 comments:
Without my glasses, I read the topic as "Perfect Porsches"!
Ah, the summer porch . . . when summer evenings were spent OUTSIDE instead of inside!!!! Linderhof has a wide welcoming front porch and we often start our day there once the weather is mild.
Evenings warm enough to sit outside on a porch is the only thing Northern California lacks, in my humble opinion. We have patios, but it cools down here at night, causing a 7pm rush for the warmth of a dining room.
If I typed it, it may say perfect porsche's
After living in NE England for 14 years, I miss summer, outdoor lounging, wearing shorts and t-shirts and sandals... When we move back to the US I know I will suffer from the heat, but I shall try very hard not to whinge! In Salt Lake City my house has only a swamp cooler, not air con. The evenings tend to be cool even in the summer, a blessed relief after the heat of the day. I'm determined to have some outdoor space again, even if the house at present has no porch to speak of.
My dream house would be something with a veranda...
Sure enjoyed this post Toad. My grandparents lived in Moorhead, Minn. & they had the first air-conditioner that I can remember. My growing up in Seattle we never had them. My other grandparents from MT had the first air-conditioner in their car. What made it run, you had to fill it with ice cubes. Crazy memories and so vivid. That and yes, a good front porch and a tall glass of lemonade.
DT: My father worked for a man in the late '30's who had ac in his car. The driver wore a racoon coat, he was so cold.
Nj summers were/are so hot and humid I remember sitting out on the screened in porch late at night sipping ice tea and talking while we waited for the house to cool down...
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