News Photos gallery
Lawrence residents recall how they beat the heat in the days before air conditioning July 15, 2011
Imagine living in a house hotter than the outside temperature. Simple pleasures, such as sleeping and cooking, would be sweat-breaking labor. Forget lounging on the couch to beat the heat. Today, staying inside is usually the best bet to stay cool during the summer. Heat index of 110? No problem, just crank up the AC. However, many of Lawrence’s older residents remember the days when air-conditioning — and, sometimes, electricity — weren’t available. Ask them how they stayed cool and many will give you a simple answer. They didn’t. This week, we caught up with several people who agree to share how they dealt with summer before the days of air-conditioning. Here are their stories. As you continue reading, resist the urge to lower that thermostat.
E-mail this gallery to a friend
The Evanston, Ill., apartment Maggie Carttar grew up in was a heat trap; it had a black tar roof and no air-conditioning. However, all it took was a 10-cent ticket to the movie theater to escape the heat. Nearby Lake Michigan was also a sanctuary from the summer temperatures. At night, Carttar said hundreds of people would camp out at the lakefront park. Carttar said that despite her best efforts, there was little she could do to avoid the heat without air-conditioning. “We were young, so I wouldn’t say it was impossible,” she said. “Nowadays, I don’t know if I could go through it because we’re so used to air-conditioning,” she said.
Dick Schiefelbusch kept cool during hot Kansas days by opening adjacent windows in a building to create an airflow. He also had a back up plan. “When all else failed, go to Colorado Springs,” he said. He grew up on a farm outside Osawatomie and said there was always a place to swim. He said the deep wells provided cool water, and blocks of ice were always a drive a way. They would keep the windows open during the day, although dust then became become the problem. It was the small pleasures that made the heat bearable, he said, such as homemade ice cream in the evening. “Heaven was a swimming pool,” he added.
Although she grew up without air-conditioning, Mildred Luckan’s western Kansas hometown had plenty of wind. Luckan said there weren’t many places to swim, so the wind was all they had. She and her friends spent most of the day under porches or in the shade, enjoying the outdoors and playing games. At night, she said they would play baseball in her neighborhood. “I guess you don’t stay cool that way, but we went out, and we just absorbed it,” she said.
Carol Floersch remembers escaping the Kansas City heat at Quivira Lake. At home, they’d draw the shades. On the really hot days, her family would keep cool by placing a bucket of ice in front of a fan. “When I went outside, I used to fry eggs on the cement, and then my little dog Biff would come eat them,” she said.
Effie Simmons’ family farm in Coffey County didn’t have electricity. No fans, and definitely no air-conditioning. “We didn’t really keep cool,” she said. Her family slept outside, hoping to catch a breeze. Sometimes they’d find it; other times, the mosquitos and chiggers would find them. She said she tried staying out of the sun as much as possible, but her daily chores made that a tough task. In fact, she said it was more important to make sure the animals stayed cool. “You just didn’t think about it; you were just used to it,” she said. “That’s just the way things were.”
Mary Domyon’s brother was her only sibling who wore shorts. During Pennsylvania’s hottest months, Domyon and her sisters borrowed them to stay cool. “But we made my mother sew up the fly so it would look like a pleat,” she said. That wasn’t the only clothing they shared. Domyon said there was a big cave in the small town she grew up in where people could swim. Her brother had the only swimsuit, so they all took turns wearing it. She said she and other neighborhood children would lie in tubs full of cold water. At night, her mother did her best to keep the children cool, covering them in cold water as they laid in a hallway with a slight draught. “Don’t move around because you won’t cool off,” her mother would say.
Martha Harper grew up on a farm north of Lawrence in Leavenworth County. Her farm didn’t have electricity, but it did have lots of ponds to escape the heat in. Many times it was more comfortable to sleep outside. She said she would ride horses and camp with her friends in the surrounding hills. “It was a completely different life than it is today,” she said. Harper said her house, poorly insulated and made of stone, was never cool until the fall, so windows were always open during the summer. The breeze wasn’t the only thing that would come in. “My sister had a bedroom upstairs, and the bees would get into the house,” she said. “They would get in her bed, and I can remember her fighting those bees.”
Sylvia Hacker’s father was one of the first people in their Brooklyn neighborhood to own a car. Apart from the car’s transportation advantages, it had another benefit. “The way we kept cool was our father took us for rides all the time,” she said. Hacker would go to the beach at Coney Island, which at the time cost a nickel. She said she slept on a spacious ledge outside her apartment to catch the cool wind. And like DeSandro, Hacker said she always had a fan to cope with the heat. “We had our ways but we never really dwelled on it that much because we never experienced air-conditioning,” she said.
Loretta DeSandro recalls several ways she stayed cool growing up in Kansas without air-conditioning. During the day, her family pulled the blinds down to keep out the sun. She used hand-held fans to keep cool, and when her father bought a small electric fan, her entire family would crowd around it. At night, she slept next to the window with the best breeze. “And the rest of the time, you just sweat,” she said. She remembers driving to Colorado during the summers in a car without air-conditioning. Despite the heat and her brother’s arguing, she insisted on keeping the windows up to prevent the wind from messing up her hair. “As kids, I don’t think it bothered us; we didn’t know any better,” she said. “But now we wonder how we ever did it.”
Marketplace
Arts & Entertainment · Bars · Theatres · Restaurants · Coffeehouses · Libraries · Antiques · Services
- 59 minors, several local businesses, cited for alcohol violations in state regulator's patrols in May May 23, 2013 · 32 comments
- Blog: Brownback signs 'Celebrate Freedom Week' bill May 23, 2013 · 15 comments
- Opinion: Why gay role models matter May 23, 2013 · 45 comments
- Senate Republicans approve sales tax increase, cuts in income tax rates, lower food sales tax May 23, 2013 · 60 comments
- Blog: GOP tax plans would increase taxes on low-wage Kansans, decrease taxes for high-income Kansans, report says May 23, 2013 · 31 comments
- Long-term plan suggests toll lanes on K-10 corridor May 23, 2013 · 52 comments
- City commissioner wants state to revoke nightclub's liquor license May 21, 2013 · 88 comments
- Former area Boy Scouts react to decision allowing gay scouts May 24, 2013 · 17 comments
- Republican tax plans would increase state revenue, analyses say May 22, 2013 · 51 comments
- On the street: Should residents or businesses who use too much water be fined? May 24, 2013 · 19 comments
- Doctor finds 'A Healthier Wei' to treat kids May 14, 2013
- Former Lawrence resident Sri Srinivasan confirmed for prestigious D.C. Court of Appeals May 23, 2013
- Bill Self: Security tricky subject May 25, 2013
- Thread of pain ran through Jackson’s career June 28, 2009
- Club Magic manager says he's trying to turn around a new business at an old, and troubled, location May 25, 2013
- Wool ballcaps go out with a whimper as baseball flips its lid April 15, 2007
- Wildflower Walk set for Saturday May 24, 2013
- Lawrence man pleads guilty to bank robbery; 52-month sentence recommended May 20, 2013
Comments
justanotherjoe 1 year, 10 months ago
Fantastic photos!! I didn't need to read the captions, the picture of these beautiful people made my day! Thanks.
myoder 1 year, 10 months ago
We'll have a video of some of the interviews soon. They are also great, with many good stories.
roadwarrior 1 year, 10 months ago
agreed, fantastic pictures of these beautiful people and wonderful stories.
ILoveLawrence 1 year, 10 months ago
Some younger residents remember it too ... I'm in early my 40s and grew up in Kansas without AC. The experience sure makes it easier to now save the money and keep the thermostat at 85 degrees.
mountainair 1 year, 10 months ago
I completely agree with the earlier most. Mike, your photos are gorgeous. I just love the light richness of them.
Jonathan Kealing 1 year, 10 months ago
Here's a link to the video Mike referenced earlier. Great people:
Handling the heat before air conditioners by Mike Yoder
blindrabbit 1 year, 10 months ago
Everyone fled to Minnesota or Colorado!
jmadison 1 year, 10 months ago
Any scientific data on the summertime relative humidity levels in eastern Kansas pre-construction of the reservoirs versus post construction?
rockchalker52 1 year, 10 months ago
Best story of the week! Thank you.
kansasplains1 1 year, 10 months ago
I COMPLETELY agree. The photos are wonderful!!!
It is also great to see seniors who are sharing their knowledge from the past with us.
Mike Yoder, these are wonderful photographs.
Who wrote the text?
I'm going to send a copy of this article to friends throughout the country and in Africa (it will be interesting to see how they endure the hot weather), and also to the New York Times.
JJE007 1 year, 10 months ago
It is good to have perspective.
Lene 1 year, 10 months ago
WOW! What wonderful memories!
yoornotmee 1 year, 10 months ago
You can put a wet sheet in an open window and the breeze will help cool the house.
We have A/C and a crayon still melted on our bathroom floor last week. The melting point for a crayon is 105*F.
merrill 1 year, 10 months ago
When one is out and about think about a wide brim straw hat AND a umbrella or perhaps just an umbrella will do. Nothing like shade every where one goes.
saticon 1 year, 10 months ago
My wife and I were discussing the "no a/c" condition as we read this article. Both of us grew up in Kansas and neither of us had a/c. Not even in our cars. We took a trip to Colorado once in a '63 Galaxy 500 which had no a/c. And it had vinyl seats! "Ouch" on the legs when you wore shorts. In the summer we would sleep on the living room floor and my parents would put a box fan against the screen door to pull in some cooler air. Fortunately we lived in a basement house so it was cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter due to being surrounded on three sides by earth. Basically, we just toughed it out. If we had to, we went to my grandparents' house up the road. They had a window a/c unit in their house. Still, I often find it funny that I complain when the a/c is not working well in a store or something. When did I become a hot weather whip?
Alabamastreet 1 year, 10 months ago
I once walked from my freezing cold car to my freezing cold house in 110 degree heat. I was outside at least 37 seconds. I have a photo of myself if you want to post.
Otherwise, what a fantastic story. Thanks Mike, Jonathan et. al. that was a really good read.
cj123 1 year, 10 months ago
I didn't have an A/C until I moved out at 18 and I am only 32. My grandmother had an A/C and I hated going into her house in the summer. It was too cold! My parents decided to get central air after I moved out!
frustratednks 1 year, 10 months ago
WOW! This made my day too. Those photos are wonderful! You should consider writing articles once a week/ or month about our elder residents remembering the days of their youth. Pictures from their youth would be awesome as well. Thanks for a great start to my day!
ok 1 year, 10 months ago
Great story!!! More please!!!
gl0ck0wn3r 1 year, 10 months ago
Back then, you could get five bees for a quarter and you'd tie an onion to your belt as was the style of the time.
FarneyMac 1 year, 10 months ago
Except you couldn't get white onions, because of the war.
gl0ck0wn3r 1 year, 10 months ago
In 1957 I saw him turn turn the Secretary of Agriculture into the Secretary of the Interior. It was hell on their wives, but it sure brought down corn prices. Built a house out of corn. It was the worst home I ever owed. When it got really hot it smelled like Frito's.
PopcoRN 1 year, 10 months ago
I loved reading this. It definitely makes me appreciate the a/c I get to enjoy in my home and at work, and I'd like to give a shout-out to all the hard working people who are having to be out in this current heat wave to earn their livings. Thank you for doing what you do!
number3of5 1 year, 10 months ago
I grew up without ac. Some of my life was spent without electricity. My husband and I put in ac 2 years ago. I wish we did not have it. My daughter and I share a booth at the Perry Lecompton Farmers Market and yesterday everyone was suffering extremely from the heat except me. I just sweated.
westcl 1 year, 10 months ago
I grew up in Kansas City, KS during the dust bowl and terrible hot summers. My brother worked for an ice company and he was allowed to bring home any imperfect blocks. The ice was placed in an wooden ice box and as the ice melted into the pan below we would splash the water on our faces.
I roller skated alot to create my own breeze. We had a porch swing and spent alot of evenings on the front porch.
Yeoman2 1 year, 10 months ago
I am a little younger than most of these fine folks (67) but I remember living in a small house in El Paso, Texas while my father was stationed at Ft Bliss. We had moved ther from Whitter, Alaska in 1951 and the climate change was a real shock!
We had the very genesis of "air conditioning", what we call today a "swamp cooler", an evaporative cooler on the roof of the house, every house in the neighborhood had one. While this offered a bit of relief, the additional humidity was a problem, although the climate in west Texas is usually pretty dry (but it it did snow on occasion, although not to the tops of the windows like in Alaska!). When we got our first "refrigerated air conditioner" living in southwest Oklahoma we thought we were living with the Rockefellers and the Astors! But it sure was an improvement.
cait48 1 year, 10 months ago
I grew up in a semi-rural area south of KCK (but north of JC). We never had AC. My parents lived there for over 40 years and the closest they got to it was a window unit in their bedroom when I was in my thirties. They had a huge box style window fan that went up in the dining room in the spring and came down in the fall. It would spin both on intake and exhaust. At night, it would go on exhaust so air could be forced in through bedroom windows. We also had an attic fan that would force air in through the windows at night. When I was a kid, my dad had an old iron bed he set up in the yard. We would sleep outside and every morning we would pull a tarp over it in case it rained at some point during the day. My dad (born in 1921) told me that when he was a kid the entire family would just move outside for the summer. They would cook, sleep, eat and hang out without ever going into the house. Their water was from an outside pump and they didn't have electricity. He used to laugh at us for being dependent on fans.
gphawk89 1 year, 10 months ago
As a kid, we did have A/C at home but not at school. I never remember it really being a problem even though we certainly had some very hot days in late August. We'd just open the classroom windows and turn on a couple of fans and deal with it.
My current car has no A/C. Hasn't for years. Black exterior. Black leather seats. I'm not looking forward to walking out to the parking lot in a few minutes and scorching my a$$.
Commenting has been disabled for this item.