No this is not a post about Jim.  I recently acquired a couple of household necessities that harken from the olden days.  I’ve always wanted a rotary dial phone that’s been restored and can be used with modern phone lines.  I found a company that refurbishes just about any kind of phone you can imagine so I did some research to find out exactly what kind I wanted.  I love old movies and I wanted a phone that evoked that 1940’s era.  I settled on the Western Electric 302.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING!

The Model 302 was manufactured in the United States from 1936 until production of entirely new units ceased about 1954.  However, units were routinely refurbished at least until 1958.  It was the first widely used American telephone to include the ringer and network circuitry in the same telephone housing. (Thank you Wikipedia!)  It has gained the nick name “The Lucy Phone” because it’s featured in the I Love Lucy TV show.  If you’ll recall, Andy & Aunt Bea had a phone with a separate earpiece.  So when Andy called Helen Crump to ask for a date to Mount Pylant he had to talk into the wall unit and hold the receiver to his ear. Even then, Sarah was probably on the other line listening in.

I wanted to take some pictures of someone talking on the phone evoking the emotional convos you might witness in a Humphrey Bogart film noir or a lighthearted comedy starring Jimmy Stewart.  I thought about hiring a professional actress with great range to exhibit the different types of calls seen in old movies, but all I could get was this goober and I guess she did the best she could.

Wut up homies!

This is her attempt to look serious and concerned…

Oh no, you mean I only have two months to live???

And here is her pathetic attempt to look surprised and delighted…

Seriously? They found a cure???

Enough of that nonsense!  Bottom line, I really love this old phone.  It feels heavy and solid and I enjoy turning that rotary dial 11 times to call my mommy in Mississippi.  And that ring???  Man, it brings me back to my childhood! 🙂

The other “old thing” I added to my casa was an antique mantle clock.  I got it for a steal on Ebay and it took forever to get here from Germany, but it was worth it.  It’s a JUNGHANS clock manufactured sometime in the late 20s/early 30s.  I wish someone would let me know how to pronounce that name. (Anyone?)  It looks great on my mantle and it bongs the time every hour and once on the half hour.  The “tick tock tick tock” is lovely to hear also.

Kinda “art-deco” right?

I edited the picture with a sepia effect to make it look old-timey.

Am I an ARTISTE or what?

So that’s it for my newly acquired old stuff…wait, you say this is a blog about animals, so what does all this have to do with kitties, bunnies & chickens.  Nothing, but it’s my blog so deal with it!  OK, here you go…

Here’s a kitty & a bunny.

And here’s a pretty good lookin’ chicken…

🙂

Satisfied?