The vacuum salesman also made a big impression in another way. Mother kept a clean house but he could find dirt every time he came. He would vacuum a small portion of the sofa and then dump the contents on a pristine white piece of paper. How amazing and appalling. Could we be that dirty?
We recently purchased a vacuum cleaner since the one I'd been using of my mom's was not working well. And it suddenly occurred to me how in the rapid flight of time, it had turned 30 years old. It was hard to decide between a bagged vacuum, which I've always had, or a bag less. I chose a bag less and love it, but––sigh––it's not a pretty picture. Before I was oblivious to the amount of dirt in my house, and now that it is so visible in the clear canister, I am more than slightly mortified. The directions say to empty after each use. That's a bit much I think, but my goodness, when I do and see what I collect in the next vacuuming––well, I need to change the subject, its so humiliating.
To take my mind off dirt, we also had a potato man who would come by selling potatoes by the sack. Mom would store them in the basement. I seem to remember her sometimes giving him a hot meal before he went on his way.
My favorite itinerant was the scissor and knife sharpener who would come by about once a year. He walked, pushing a large contraption. He would ring a tinkly bell and call out "Scissors!" We must have heard him because we would run to collect scissors and knives and take them outside for sharpening. He was a weathered old man who knew his trade well.
When I did a little research on these knife grinders, it seems much of what I read related to the Chicago suburbs, which is where I grew up. It may be a coincidence, but apparently other midwesterners remember these guys coming up their streets as well. Do you?
How we loved these little interruptions to our simple "Leave it to Beaver" life in a Chicago suburb.
(Photo source: Pinterest.)
This is a fun post! We had only a milk and bread man. My grandmother also had a vegetable man, but we did not. I'd love a scissors/knife man! We have one who comes to the grocery store from time to time. John's grandfather was a "rag man" who collected rags and sold them.
ReplyDeleteDon't stress about that dirt... You'd have wasted your money if there was none. ☺️
Well said Vee!
DeleteI don't remember any of those "men" coming to our house, although Ron tells stories about the milk man and the egg man. Did times change that quickly (he is only four years older than I), or did different families choose their "men" based on their lifestyle? I wonder . . .
ReplyDelete(I think that I would love a "grocery man" so that I wouldn't have to go to Walmart every week!)
Oh yes, those clear vacuum canisters can be quite revealing!
"Dirt happens", is what I like to say! Crazy how dirty a house can get each week! Thankful for these good tools that we have at our disposal!
ReplyDeleteI have a vague memory of my parents having milk delivered (after that we always drove through a dairy. We'd pull up in our station wagon, my mom would tell a man what she wanted, he'd gather the order, bring it to the car. Mom would pay and off we'd drive.) I also remember a bakery truck with donuts that would come down the street every week. I grew up in Southern California. I also have fond memories of the ice cream truck. If my grandpa was at our house, he'd get us double cones of ice cream for a quarter! My mom was always aghast that he'd spend that on each of us! lol!
I don't remember brush or knife men, but I do remember bread being delivered wrapped in tissue paper and coal being delivered by the sackful. I haven't seen a milkman delivering for years now, I wonder if they still exist! Great to hear your memories of such things though. Oh, and I have one of those clear canisters and I hate seeing what is in there too, so rest assured you are not alone in disliking it, or in it filling up - which after all just shows that it is doing the job properly!
ReplyDeleteThere were not many delivery men where I grew up other than the milk man. I do vaguely remember an old school bus outfitted with shelves inside that had vegetables and fruits. And of course the ice cream truck that we ran after begging him to wait for us to go collect our dimes. I have one of those canister vacuums as well and it's amazing what we collect! ♥
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ReplyDeleteToo many typos...had to start over, LOL! Oh how fun to remember these days! Oh yes, I remember the Fuller Brush man and how excited I would get when he would come. Do you remember getting those little bottles of "toilet water" that he had? Oh this just thrilled my soul when got them! We also had a milk man, there was the Charles Chips man and the Holsum Bread man who always had an array of breads, rolls and yummy snack cakes. It was the best day in the world when Mom would allow us one of those special treats, not just boring bread! Aww....I want to go back there! Anyone have a time machine I could borrow? Thanks for the memories, Dotsie!
ReplyDeleteYup, the bag less vacuums can look sorta gross. Although it would be nice to dump that and not have dirt and dog hair sit in a bag, smelling yucky. Dirt has its own funky smell. ha! We had the Omar bread man come to our house. When I was a young bride in the mid-60's, Charles Chips was delivered as well as milk. Fuller Brush had a hairbrush years ago that I loved but they no long make. My mom used to go to Stanley products parties. Oberweis delivers milk and milk products here in Indianapolis. There are a couple of stores that will deliver your grocery order; Meijer and Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market. You can order through Amazon for Fresh Thyme and it's delivered within a short period of time. Schwan's Home Foods has been around for years. You could get your ice cream fix along with a nice steak and veg for dinner. Can't remember if Watkins was home delivery or the party plan. Menards, of all places, sells Watkins products. While we are all nostalgic, does anyone remember pants stretchers? My mom had some that she used on my dad's work pants and hung them on the clothesline. She also had curtain stretchers to use after washing curtains. Blast from the past!
ReplyDeleteHow interesting your post is. We have a Fuller Brush lady in our town, and I bought all the men new FB hairbrushes for Christmas this year. Must say...the bristles were so hard they hurt our heads! My hubby still uses a hairbrush by FB that must be over 50 years old or close to it. I could use your knife and scissor sharpener for sure. My Rada knives and the one I got from Pampered Chef lose their edge quickly.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post immensely, just reliving your memories with you! I don't remember a Fuller Brush man coming to our home, but it sounds like a very exciting time for you. The only delivery we had was milk. We had a milk truck come once a week to deliver our milk in plastic bags and cream. Oh how we loved it when mom bought fresh whipping cream! Thanks for opening the door to the past, and sharing your memories... and I do understand about the dirt thing... we have a Kirby and I continue to use it because I've had the bagless containers, and its far more work with them, than the bags, I think, lol! Plus the ick factor of seeing your dirt, yes!
ReplyDeleteHi Dotsie, I do so enjoy these nostalgic posts that you write; they always give me something to think about. I wonder how different growing up in the midwest was from growing up in the southeast. Fairly different, I imagine. I don't remember Fuller brushes, but my mom might. I do remember vacuum cleaner salesmen and encyclopedia salesmen. I can still remember my parents buying our World Book Encyclopedias from a door-to-door salesman. I don't believe we ever had a potato man or knife grinder, but how convenient that would be! I do, however, remember the milkman delivering to our front door and also the Charles Chips man. Did you have Charles Chips potato chips in your area? They delivered to your home in a big, round tin, and I remember my grandmother's tin stayed in her kitchen for years. Thank you so much for sharing these fun reminders of the good old days. It makes me kind of sad that things have changed so very much.
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a good week, Dotsie, and are managing to survive this awful heat and humidity.
Hugs to you,
Denise
How I love this post and the images of your "Leave It To Beaver" life! I grew up in a small town which was more Mayberry than Leave It to Beaver, but still had the slow pace and beauty that I sometimes yearn for. Things are so different now... we just send off to Amazon for everything! Ha!
ReplyDeleteYep. The Fuller Brush man. And our next door neighbor's milk delivery and the clink of the bottles. Their kitchen window was outside my bedroom window, so I would hear that early. We had a Charles Chip salesman who would come too. Big tan cans of chips. Another life time ago, but sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteLovely nostalgic post. We had a milk man and an egg man in addition to the Fuller Brush man. There was also a Cushman bread man, but we seldom bought from him as my parents deemed the products too expensive. And every few weeks we also had a fish man who came through with fresh fish for sale. My mother often did buy fish from him -- usually haddock or swordfish, and scallops once in a while. My parents surely did enjoy their fish. Thanks for the memories!
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