Way back in time I wrote a column about wash day in my family when I was a young boy. I recalled the log cabin that my father built back in the mid 20s and the fast moving spring running beside it ...

“See that?” I asked, pointing at a TV ad for major appliances. “If we ever have to get a new washer and dryer, that’s the color I want!” They were deep blue, and I heard a choir of angels singing.

The bell on our new washer really intrigued me. Around 1950 we finally got an actual automatic washing machine. You’d plug it in, turn it to “start” and then you could walk away while it swirled the ...

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