Well, we finally got it – a new icebox that is. Two delivery men unloaded it from their truck and parked it by our front door. Their task ended there. It’s a bit more than an icebox. It weighs 775 pounds! I certainly didn’t worry about it getting stolen! A warning on the large cardboard box says: IF HANDLED MANUALLY MORE THAN ONE MAN IS NEEDED! Really?
I called it an icebox because when I told a senior friend that our refrigerator was being replaced. He commented, “So, you’re getting a new icebox!” Yes OK, an icebox. Boy, that brought bring back memories from my youth. It piqued my interest so for fun I Googled “icebox.” The first thing that came up was an upscale jewelry store near Atlanta. Wow, am I behind the times.
So I narrowed my research and found that the original icebox – or “cold closet” was invented by American farmer and cabinetmaker Thomas Moore in 1802. Moore used his icebox to transport butter from his home to the Georgetown markets. This allowed him to sell firm, brick butter instead of soft, melted tubs like his fellow vendors at the time.
The icebox achieved widespread use until the invention of the electric refrigerator in the early 1940’s. I remember our old family icebox. We replaced it with an electric refrigerator while I was still a kid. It became one of our favorite appliances. A real eye opener for me was when I moved to Spain as a young military wife in the 60’s and no longer had a refrigerator. I was back to an icebox!
So I reflected upon how that original icebox had morphed into the modern kitchen appliance we have today! No handling large blocks of ice. No need to defrost it. Getting ice water, ice cubes, or crushed ice by merely pushing a button is so convenient. Keeping foods perfectly fresh is such a luxury!
All this came to mind over the past 9 months. As you may recall, our 25-year old refrigerator was finally reaching the end of the line. We tried everything to keep it running – even thinking maybe the refrigerator repairman should stay in our guest room to save him from driving back and forth! So you say, why not just give up and buy a new refrigerator? We did – but because of “supply-chain” issues we couldn’t get one that would match our built-in refrigerator space for some time. We were told the delivery time would be a year – perhaps a little less. Turns out it was delivered in nine months – sort of like a pregnancy.
Rather than buy a new, temporary replacement refrigerator, we decided to try to keep the old unit alive until the new one arrived. Nursing an ailing refrigerator for nine months wasn’t fun. The freezer would freeze for a while and then thaw for a while. You never knew if your ice cream would be firm – or like pudding. The frozen foods were often encased in ice. We seldom knew for sure what we were thawing for dinner – every meal became a mystery! Hubby placed thermometers in each compartment and on good days, the fresh food section would register the appropriate 40 degrees.
Our mantra became: DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE OPENING THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR – DO NOT STAND AND GAZE WITH THE DOOR OPEN AND PONDER WHAT SUITS YOUR FANCY! That sort of took the fun out of looking into the refrigerator! Nothing was put into any kind of order – quickly open the door and throw the stuff in! Don’t take time to organize anything. Time is of the essence! That brought back a memory. A friend told me when she came home after a long hot day she couldn’t believe what she found! Her kids were sitting in front of the wide open refrigerator door trying to cool off!
Our old refrigerator wouldn’t go gracefully! The various noises it made were nerve-racking! Every new groan gave us cause for concern. One time the repairman told me I just had a screw loose – therefore the noise! At first I thought he was talking about me! Most of the time it just whirred and groaned and occasionally let out a loud burp! As with everything – we got used to it! For a while I thought I had tinnitus – a ringing in my ears! Thank heaven it was just the refrigerator saying goodbye!
The morning of the changeover was a busy one. We had to remove everything from the old one. Once we were done, Hubby asked me if I wanted to wipe it out one last time. I couldn’t believe it! He’s always complaining about my need to constantly clean – and now he’s asking me to wipe out a refrigerator that’s going to the recycling plant?
The refrigerator installation guys arrived next. At first I thought they were sumo wrestlers! Great big husky fellows. I guess that’s to be expected when installing such a large appliance. They were just nice young soft-spoken guys and they did a great job!
Their first task was to remove the old refrigerator and haul it out to the street. I was concerned what the empty space would look like after 25 years! Hubby told me not to fret! Dirt could never get into such a tightly enclosed space. Really? That tells you how much he knows about dirt. It was filthy! The installers were great and told me to take as much time as I needed to clean the area! As I did, Hubby stood by telling me exactly how to go about it. He confessed he was surprised how dirty it was and how nice it looked once I finished my cleaning frenzy.
Do appliances have feelings? I know they don’t, but somehow I become attached to them! I’ve even gotten attached to my cars! Why do we do that? Beats me! I must admit I felt a wave of sadness as the old refrigerator left the house. I swear I heard it give out one final whine. My eyes teared up!
Overall, the installation went fairly smooth with just one minor issue. The delivery guys accidentally crushed part of our tile walkway bringing it up to our front door. Why? As I said it weighs 775 pounds! The walkway can be fixed – not a big deal!
OK! The new unit is in and running! No groans, whirring or burps! Now we just have to get someone to build new front wooden panels for the refrigerator to match the contiguous cupboards. It needs to fit in with the rest of the kitchen! Even refrigerators can’t be discriminated against! This is the new “woke” era after all!
So now we wait for the new refrigerator to get cold before loading our food items in it. Meanwhile, Hubby reads the instruction book. If a door is left open for more than 2 minutes a buzzer rings! There’s a compartment to thaw foods quickly – and one to cool things quickly. Once hooked up to wi-fi you can monitor it from anywhere! Is the door open? Is it cooling properly? What are the temperatures in each compartment? So I ask, “If something is wrong is there a button or code to implement to correct it?” The answer is, “No, a real person has to come and fix it!” It even has a special mode allowing foods during certain religious holidays to remain pristine! No, I’m not making this up!
So, it’s finally time to fill the new refrigerator. I told Hubby I was going to wipe it out first. What does he say – “What do you want to do that for?” I didn’t respond. I just gave him the evil eye! Go figure! He wants me to wipe out the old one headed for the scrap heap and not wipe out the new one! But within a few minutes of reading the instructions he remarks, “It says to wipe out the refrigerator before use. Just use water and a sponge! Don’t use any spray!” Now, I can guarantee within a few minutes of starting my cleaning task Hubby will be trying to supervise me!
No, I am not going to leave him alongside the road! I’m going to call the two sumo guys back and ask them to put him in the old fridge and recycle him as well! Yes, it will weigh more, but what’s an extra two hundred pounds? I doubt they will notice the difference.
Any interesting experiences with old or new appliances? Our readers love to hear from you and your comments will not be published outside this website.
4 Comments
I’m staying with a friend in San Francisco and there is a side door in the kitchen that goes out to the original icebox. Now it is storage.
Hi Roberta—Another good one!
My grandma always called the refrigerator the “icebox.”
Growing up, we had a summer home, a bungalow, at the Jersey Shore (“Joisey Shaw”). When I was very young, circa 1950, that house had a real icebox, and I remember when the “iceman cometh” to refill it with those huge, heavy blocks of ice that they handled with large, sharp tongs. For whatever reason, my four-year-old self was fascinated by this process.
Back in the city, we of course had an electric fridge. I never asked why we had the modern convenience in one house, but the outdated icebox in the other. But eventually, the summer place was outfitted with an electric one.
One thing about a fridge: it’s one of the very few large appliances that lasts for years and years, as if by wizardry. A fridge lasts longer than most cars.
Compared to most folks, I have a smallish fridge, without an ice-maker or water cooler. Don’t need ’em, don’t want ’em. Don’t like real cold drinks anyway. My late wife was the opposite, so we had that constant competition, wherein she would turn the fridge up, and I would turn it down. Even when we “compromised,” she would cheat.
Last thing: the strangeness of our mother tongue. Why does “fridge” have a D in it, but “refrigerator” does not? (Picky, picky, picky, Joe…)
Our family called our Fridge an icebox since the beginning of time. Eventually my siblings and I switched to the more modern term, but to my parents and their siblings, it was always the icebox. A holdever from being raised on farms during the depression, I guess. I have been fortunate with these appliances over the years. Never had a bad one that needed repair. I remember back in my single days living in Chula Vista I had a small studio apartment. I thought the refrigerator was too old looking and plain, so I put a wide strip of orange and yellow flowered contact paper down one side. It really jazzed the place up! As always, Roberta, I love your stories!
You are going to recycle hubby, that’s funny! Mine likes to give directions also, or sometimes just watch if I do it “correctly”. When I ordered my fridge 30+ years ago, after wiping it out, I decided I didn’t like the white in my white kitchen with the other almond appliances, so I returned it! Awful, I know! So when the 2nd one came, I said the heck with that wiping! Appliance is a shopping chore I hate to even think about. I love my old fridge but like you, I have been nursing that thing constantly for years or really, just making sure the coils (underneath the stupid thing) are clear from dust so the compressor doesn’t blow! But it is embarrassing to see the handles rust around the edges & the ice dispenser surround area bleed rust down the front, despite constant scrubbing with brushes, bleach, comet, etc. Hubby swears there are no replacement parts available, I keep suggesting recycling or salvage yards. Now that we are building & moving, I have no choice! Dread it!
And your new one comes with a phone app? Good grief, I finally got my new blue Prius, I’m still afraid to drive it, I believe it talks back! My salesman downloaded the app and that night I got a text from my car – the doors were unlocked. turns out I can lock, unlock & start my car from the bedroom @ the other end of the house. The car sends the app a signal. I also have an app for my hearing aids, I am overwhelmed with apps!