Restorations: A Vintage GE Radio

Okay, I’ll admit it – to call this a “restoration” is indeed a bit of a stretch.
But I had a whole thing going on.
So for the sake of continuity, I’m sticking with it.

On a recent thrift trip to my local Goodwill,
I spotted this rad radio.

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At a glance – it looked cool; it appeared to be in great condition – it was six bucks.
But – did it work???
I plugged the cord in to Goodwill’s handy dandy outlets
so conveniently made available in their electronics section and –
it worked!!!

BUT –
I spotted it –
I found the Achilles’ heel.
The radio was missing its volume knob.

Yet, I couldn’t leave the thing behind.
I carried it awkwardly around the store.
(Always grab a cart, folks – take it from me.)
I went back to the electronics section.
I put it back on the shelf.
I picked it up yet again.

I took it home with me.
I was DETERMINED to make it work.

When I got home and plugged the radio in,
I realized the volume was actually stuck at a decent level.
Maybe I could have accepted the radio, flaw and all,
but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I couldn’t stop myself from researching and trying to come up with some sort of a solution.

Eventually, after having researched radio parts (expensive!)
and attempting to brainstorm (more like a brain fog!),
I Googled “Makeshift Radio Knob”.
I found this YouTube video where this dude
replaces his car radio knob using rubber Vacuum Caps.
I wondered if I could apply the same concept to my radio.
I took a trip to AutoZone.
I didn’t know if it would work –
I knew I needed the Vacuum Cap to be considerably long to actually stick out of the radio,
and to get technical – the diameter of the hole on the Vacuum Cap
needed to be approximately two tenths of an inch.
I picked one out randomly,
stuck it in where the radio knob should go,
and voÍla – it fit perfectly.And it WORKS perfectly.
I can achieve background noise.
Or, I can let my neighbors listen in on my radio jam sessions if I ever choose to do so.

That’s all there is to it.
While I can’t claim complete originality for the idea,
I really do think more people need to be aware of this ridiculously easy fix.

There is a solution to every problem.

Antique Mall Haul: September

Well, it’s been a while.
Let’s see if I remember how to do this.

I say it’s been a while – it’s been nearly a year.
But this is honestly the first time since my last post that I actually felt like making another.

I took another trip to the St. Charles Antique Mall recently
(you can read my review of the mall here)
and I thought – “Heck, why not?”
So here I am.
It’s nothing grandiose and this obviously does not concern a new antique mall,
but I did pick up quite a few things and I thought I would share them with you.

Here goes nothing.

For some reason I have recently become fascinated with sconces, of all things.
(Yeah I know, I don’t know why…)

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If you personally know my family,
you may know of our belief in the ultimate superiority of mason jars.
Or perhaps you know we claim the motto that everything is better in a mason jar.
When I saw this Crown mason jar, I was first impressed by its size,
but what really caught my eye was the lid.
Now, I do not believe the jar is original to the lid.
The lid is an antique A&W lid that would have sealed a jar of A&W Root Beer –
around the rim are the words,
“Take home a jar of A&W Root Beer.”
I have a semi-emotional attachment to A&W –
my grandfather used to buy me their mini corn dogs when I was a kid.

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Meet Tommie.

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I was stoked to find these NASA patches at the antique mall.
Patches, to me, signify stories. They fascinate me.
I recently went to an Apollo 11 exhibit at the Science Center
and there was a display about patches that explained their meanings
and I was actually absolutely enthralled.
I am enjoying researching these and learning their stories.

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And that’s about it.
Thanks for “voyaging” back to my little piece of the “blogosphere”.

A Vintage Tradition:
To Take a Break

I do not own this image. This image belongs to www.pinterest.com.

As some of you already know,
this blog was, in part,
started as a required project as part of my education.

Now, that does not mean
that I did not have a personal desire
to start the Vintage Voyager blog.

However,
now that this blog is no longer a requirement –
it is no longer something that I have to do –
I am confronted with a decision.

This is what I have decided.

I am going to participate in that age-old tradition
of taking a break.

Especially with the Christmas season approaching,
I will be taking the rest of the month of December,
and perhaps some of if not all of the month of January,
to take this break.

At the end of this time,
I will reevaluate where I stand
and then make the decision of what the future looks like
for the Vintage Voyager blog.

In the meantime,
I wish to thank all of you very much
for your support of me throughout this journey.

I appreciate all of you.

And please allow me to wish you a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely,
Alexandra

Restorations:
Antique Crystal Lighter

It was a month or two ago
that I spotted this antique crystal lighter
and knew that I had to have it.

Specifically, I saw a picture of it on
 the Facebook page for the Lutheran Resale Shop of Jennings.

My friend works there,
and so I called her and asked her to hold it for me.

I wound up paying five bucks for it.

When I first got my lighter,
all it would do was give off sparks.

I knew that some restoration would be in order.
With help from my Uncle,
{shout out to UM!}
I learned that since there were sparks,
all I should need to do was to put some lighter fluid in it,
and it would be good to go.

At first, I thought that the fluid would go in to the crystal base.
Turns out I was completely wrong there.

The lighter is actually composed of two parts:
the base and then the actual mechanism that is the lighter.

So, I needed a screwdriver to open up the lighter,
and some lighter fluid.

I also learned that it is the screw in the middle
that must be opened,
not the other that is further off to the left.

When this middle screw is removed,
there will be a white… something.

This is the second thing that threw me off.

But I learned that this is essentially the wick of the lighter,
or rather, it is what absorbs the fluid that leads to the wick
that will allow for the lighter to actually light.

As far as lighter fluid goes, I picked up some
Ronsonol Lighter Fuel
from my local Walgreen’s for around seven bucks.

All I had to do was put a decent amount of
lighter fluid in, and bingo!

Let there be light!

 Do you own one of these things?
Would you be interested in finding one and restoring it yourself?

Let me know in the comments!

BLOOPERS:

Turns out I had a friend join me
during the photography process.

This was before I used my screwdriver as a weapon against him.

But let me assure you
*NO BEETLES WERE HARMED IN THE MAKING OF THIS BLOG POST*

Vintage Music:
A Halloween Playlist

Halloween is upon us.
I celebrate through music.
Halloween is not Halloween without good Halloween music.

So today on the blog, I want to share with you
some of my favorite songs that are ideal for
a vintage Halloween playlist.

{First of all, I must establish the fact
that the information shared on today’s blog post
is verified by Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
accessed through the Gale Virtual Reference Library,
as well as the Biography in Context section of Gale,
allmusic.com,
and each video comes from YouTube.}

According to Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians,
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
was the man to originally record the song
“I Put a Spell on You”.

This song somewhat stands apart from the others in this playlist, as you will see.
Or hear, rather.

However, this is an essential song that I do not
want to exclude from this playlist.

And so, I am not going to.

Tommy Dorsey recorded the song
“Satan Takes a Holiday”
in August of the year 1937.

https://youtu.be/eITKaaIY1fU

Glenn Miller had his last number one
with his 1944 hit
“That Old Black Magic”.

I don’t think this song would typically
be considered strictly a song for Halloween,
but its title and lyrics go along with our theme
and I absolutely adore Glenn Miller
so in he goes to this playlist.

https://youtu.be/WrV1IvbjNZc

According to allmusic.com,
Duke Ellington recorded “Haunted Nights”
in the year 1929.

https://youtu.be/kxb1y9JInaQ

And finally,
according to the Biography in Context section of Gale,
Artie Shaw recorded the song
“Nightmare” in the year 1938.

This is one of my all-time favorite songs
and it is perfect for a Halloween playlist.

https://youtu.be/22z-JJSd9mA

If you would like,
you may tell me which song you like best from this playlist,
and share with me your favorite Halloween song.

Happy Halloween to you all!

Citations:

Helander, Brock. “Animals, The.” Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, edited by Nicolas Slonimsky and Laura Kuhn, vol. 1, Schirmer, 2001, pp. 90-91. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=scccld_main&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX3491800435&it=r&asid=5612f193d4896940f2bc9575667a0ad0. Accessed 28 Oct. 2017.

“Dorsey, Tommy (actually, Thomas Francis Jr.).” Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, edited by Nicolas Slonimsky and Laura Kuhn, vol. 2, Schirmer, 2001, pp. 921-924. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=scccld_main&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX3491803181&it=r&asid=d03462fb9e05b84059085ad91639d85f. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.

“Miller, (Alton) Glenn.” Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, edited by Nicolas Slonimsky and Laura Kuhn, vol. 4, Schirmer, 2001, pp. 2447-2449. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=scccld_main&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CCX3491808766&it=r&asid=48388e2caec74c6ded8b67709cca85b2. Accessed 28 Oct. 2017.

Dahl, Bill. “Screamin’ Jay Hawkins | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links.” AllMusic, AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/screamin-jay-hawkins-mn0000309458.

“Artie Shaw.” Contemporary Musicians, vol. 57, Gale, 2006. Biography in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1608004678/BIC1?u=scccld_main&xid=1e7c7d47. Accessed 28 Oct. 2017.

Antique Mall Haul: October

Last week on the blog,
I started the Mall of the Month series.

To go along with that, by way of a follow up,
I want to share some of my finds with you!

So, after every Mall of the Month post,
I thought I would proceed the following week
with an Antique Mall Haul post.

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First of all,
(actually I can’t remember what I picked up first, but I will start here…)
I found this dark green and gold bowl.

Is it chipped?

Yes.

Is it most likely not truly antique or vintage?

Maybe, I honestly don’t know.

But my downfall is
all things dark green and gold,
and so I picked this up to keep some of my jewelry in.

I also picked up this 1986 centennial pin,
which celebrates the 100th year of the
dedication of the Statue of Liberty.

I collect brooches and pins – I liked the colors in this pin,
and the history that it represents.

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Up next, I got this nature magazine from the year 1923.
I mean, how awesome is that?

1923.

I couldn’t pass it up.
It was published in September,
meaning that this magazine just recently turned 94 years old.

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And finally, I almost always pick up some records
when I go to the St. Charles Antique Mall,
because in all honesty they are really cheap
from the booth I get them from.

This record is by some dude named Ace Cannon.

I have no clue who he is.

 But I thought that it was really cool that the record came
with the little labels that you would put in a jukebox.

So, these are my finds!

How do you like this Antique Mall Haul post
as a follow up to my Mall of the Month posts?

Let me know in the comments!