  Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 246 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 207.200.116.139 |
Sheesh, let's take a break from the Super Bowl threads!  This house is at 759 Webb, on the southeast corner of Third Street. Top photo shows it new in 1923, bottom was taken last summer. Looks none the worse for wear, but that tree sure has taken off. The home belonged to Conrad Volkert, who owned that grocery store at Clay and Oakland that I posted a few days back. Spent a lot of time in that house. It had a coal-fired furnace wrapped in enough asbestos to give the EPA cardiac arrest.   | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1010 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 69.246.13.131 |
Ray, it looks nicer with the shutters. I bet those old gravity furnaces were a bear to keep the house warm with. Bet you haven't seen one in years  | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 247 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 207.200.116.139 |
No...sure haven't, Psip! That one has a gas conversion unit, at least....I remember furnaces like that having a coal bin nearby and shovelling the coal into it. Hey, that's me. Older than coal. | ||
Jiminnm Member Username: Jiminnm Post Number: 292 Registered: 02-2005 Posted From: 69.241.164.222 |
Ray, my grandparents had a octopus-style furnace, gas converted from coal, that looked remarkably similar. There was a huge compartment where the coal used to be burned, with a little gas burner in it. The wall heat vents were at least a foot square, probably bigger, with no cold air returns. They converted to gas sometime in the 1950s, so there was a coal room nearby, with a large window chute so the truck could just pour the coal in. I remember shoveling coal and stoking the fire when I was a kid. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 3034 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 67.160.138.107 |
jjaba's house on Northlawn and Schoolcraft, Detroit had a coal stove. It is the same furnace as pictured. We converted to gas. Some neighbors burned stoker coal, much smaller coal and on an automated feed. Today, all of the old piping is gone and a new modern system keep it toasty. Since we owned the house, we controlled the heating from upstairs. The downstairs flat stayed warm enough. Atleast they never complained. jjaba's print shop was in the coal bin, a spare room after conversion. 759 Webb looks much newer than 1923. It looks more like post-WWII, late 1940s. Are you sure? jjaba, Westsider. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 249 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 207.200.116.139 |
Yup, it was built in 1922 and the photo was taken the next winter. It is a modern looking colonial for its time, I agree. Jiminnm..."octopus-style"...LO L! Excellent metaphor. Jjaba, our old coal bin at Steel and Schoolcraft was converted to an huge pantry for Mom after the gas conversion. House full of asbestos; lead paint throughout, no grounded electrical recepticals; no kid's seat in the cars; wow...howcum I'm still alive? | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1013 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 69.246.13.131 |
Ray,, no microwave no automatic washing machine no cloths dryer no TV no broadband no air conditioning no air transport But you had: a slide rule a Ironrite Pencil and paper (word processor) a book called a dictionary News papers 3 or 4 AM Radio good police protection good fire protection good school system a street full of respectable neighbors street cars regular rail road transportation an ice box and a good prospect of finding employment a few things have changed over time | ||
31ford Member Username: 31ford Post Number: 273 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
Great pics Ray--- it's always neat to see before & after... | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 252 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 207.200.116.139 |
A slide rule -- I never could get beyond multiplying two times two. Ironrite -- Yeah, Ma had one of them things. Pencil and Paper -- kept the gin rummy scores Dictionary -- Still have one on my desk today Newspapers -- Subscribe to two today. AM Radio - Listening to Freddie Wolf or Jack the Bellboy. Police and Fire Protection -- and took it for granted. Good School System -- and took that for granted, too. A street full of respectable neighbors -- Well, except for the Johnson kid, rumors said he smoked cigarettes in the alley.... Street Cars -- Smooth ride, no fumes. Railroad Transportation -- and my Lionel Trains in the basement. An Ice Box -- And snitching ice chips from the Ice Man's truck in the summer. Prospects of Employment -- I had not been one day without a job from 1949 to 2001 when I retired. Sigh. A different world. I miss it just a bit. | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 1121 Registered: 09-2005 Posted From: 68.230.22.99 |
Psip & Ray - You forgot: ONE phone - with a cord into the wall Most everyone's mom was home all day, you seldom got away with anything. Often only one car No AC as you said - and when someone was catching it from their parents, you could hear it all over. You also knew what everyone was having for dinner by the aroma (cooked from scratch) The neighborhoods were nearly crime free, not because of cops, but because of parents. Most nights no one went anywhere - except maybe Thrifty Monday at Sears. Boys had paper routes - Freep in the VERY early AM, Detroit News after school. | ||
Psip Member Username: Psip Post Number: 1016 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 69.246.13.131 |
Ray, its quite simple. Put the C scale 1 on the 2 of the D scale, then move the slider to the 2 on the C scale, read your answer on the D scale, it is 4. See, easy For division, just do the reverse. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 254 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 207.200.116.139 |
Karl, wasn't the News; as jjaba points out, it was the Detroit Times. But good additions! Psip, that was about all I could do with a slide rule. Math always was the downfall of my academic career. |
