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Pop Quiz!

DanHolohan
DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
in THE MAIN WALL
did Sears, Roebuck & Co. do in their plumbing & heating business during 1941?

Let's see who guesses the closest.
Retired and loving it.

Comments

  • Weezbo
    Weezbo Member Posts: 6,232
    Big Money maybe 500,000.

  • Mike T., Swampeast MO
    Mike T., Swampeast MO Member Posts: 6,928


    $18,500,000.00
  • John S.
    John S. Member Posts: 260
    I'll say

    $3 million

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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    None of you

    are even close.
    Retired and loving it.
  • John S.
    John S. Member Posts: 260
    how about...

    none?

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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    nope.

    Retired and loving it.
  • Supply House Rick
    Supply House Rick Member Posts: 1,399
    Zero?

    How about all the metals went to the War effort? so ZERO!
    Happy Safe New Year,
    Rick
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    The war

    began on December 7th of that year.
    Retired and loving it.
  • John S.
    John S. Member Posts: 260
    It must be

    ...a whole lot, then.

    enquiring minds...

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  • Supply House Rick
    Supply House Rick Member Posts: 1,399
    Dan was I right?

    > began on December 7th of that year.



  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    Oh my,

    yes.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Supply House Rick
    Supply House Rick Member Posts: 1,399
    Dan was I right?

    Rick
  • Supply House Rick
    Supply House Rick Member Posts: 1,399
    Wow!

    What do I win?
  • John S.
    John S. Member Posts: 260
    Todays Sears

    IMHO, it's too bad they merged with K-Mart. A few greedy, unethical people ruined that company. I've personally boycotted them. I'm still a Sears customer watching closely.

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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    Sorry, Rick,

    you were mistaken. Sears had all the way up to the start of the war that year to sell. And sell they did.
    Retired and loving it.
  • John S.
    John S. Member Posts: 260
    I'm curious...

    do you have numbers for their residential construction as well? That too, would be interesting.

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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    The number

    is for total P&H sales. I don't know how much was residential.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Brian (Tankless)
    Brian (Tankless) Member Posts: 340
    147 Million

    Close ?

    C'mon Dan, what's the number :)

    Brian.
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    Somewhere in between

    your guess and Rick's.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Brian (Tankless)
    Brian (Tankless) Member Posts: 340
    97.25 Million

    Yes, yes, yes.....no?
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    Getting

    warmer!
    Retired and loving it.
  • Brian (Tankless)
    Brian (Tankless) Member Posts: 340
    112 Million

    Getting warmer or cooler ? Up or down ?
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    And then number is (or was) . . .

    $70,000,000. And that included 28,000 stokers.

    Amazing, isn't it?
    Retired and loving it.
  • lchmb
    lchmb Member Posts: 2,997
    how about

    I liked the old house's they used to sell, in the range of $1000 for middle income to $4000 for high income...Wish I could buy a house for that now..:)
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    And here's how the did it.

    From The Library: Sears
    Retired and loving it.
  • John S.
    John S. Member Posts: 260
    WOW!

    that IS amazing. Babys, they were a boomin'.

    "The majority of our customers install their own heating systems." unreal. no wonder people were smarter back then.

    I should know this (but don't),and the "Lost Art"s at work, but, is this before the Hartford Loop was introduced? wonder how many boiler explosions they were responsible for? :)

    You have to love the illustrated salesmen and the presentation is incredibly simple (in appearence) yet extremely well-thought and effective.

    that's cool.



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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,600
    Get's better

    Look at what they were still doing in 1957. Again, from the Library (it pays to wander off the Wall).

    Homart Do-It-Yourself literature
    Retired and loving it.
  • Brian (Tankless)
    Brian (Tankless) Member Posts: 340
    Don't need you anymore,

    Dan or HH, I can get all I need from 1957 Sears :)

    Gonna branch out on my own & get all the cookie cutter stuff from the "Mall".

    That was a good read, thanks.

    Brian.
  • The Wire Nut
    The Wire Nut Member Posts: 422
    The good ol days...

    Dan,

    When did S&R stop selling the diy systems?

    It's interesting to note that hartford loops showed up in the catalogs sometime between the 1927 and 1957 version. But not a close nipple into the equalizer T. With 18" "A" dimension, they clearly weren't running 5 lbs of steam!

    Note no insulation is shown in the homes. Would have made it a bit more interesting to snake copper tubing, no?

    And asbestos paper, pipe insulation and cement, who'da thought... No liability issues too!

    Here's a thought on the idea that the average homeowner could install a system back in the good ol days. Up until the war most people grew up on farms. That made you quite handy and mechanical, and, incidentally, was a factor in why we won WWII. "Our boys" could, quite literally, fix or improvise anything. When transport broke down, they could be fixed by someone within easy reach. When it came to improvising ways to get through hedgerow or mine fields, they were able to design and install the appropriate gizmo on the spot.

    When I was growing up in the '60s (I was born the year that last catalog was printed), I devoured any book and magazine I could find on doing or fixing it yourself. Remember, in those days, people actually repaired their radios, TVs and Hi-Fis. Remember the good old tube tester at the local Rexall?

    Up until the last 25 years or so people also designed and built their own radios, Ham equipment, test equipment, Hi-Fi, or their was always Heathkit if you didn't want to scrounge parts. This stuff was also taught in public schools.

    I remember reading these books where everyone had a complete wood/metal shop in their basement (no doubt with a lot of Sears tools!). Growing up in an apartment in NYC, I was always so jealous of these lucky folks... Though at some point I did have a lathe in my bedroom, but that's another story...

    If only I could get my basement uncluttered enough to have a shop...

    Sigh... the good ol days...

    BTW, if you are interested in some of the older shop manuals and the like, Lee Valley tools (www. leevalley.com) has reprinted a lot of the books from the first half of the last century... They sell great tools too.... One of my favorite catalogs... (no connection between me and them, BTW. The plug is of my own volition).

    Alex
    "Let me control you"

    Lost in SOHO NYC and Balmy Whites Valley PA
  • Weezbo
    Weezbo Member Posts: 6,232
    I gotta Think this PopQuiz is In Question...*~/:)

    Not even the Federal reserves had That Kind of Dollar :)

This discussion has been closed.

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