AC After and Before

Have a friend from the Houston area who speculates that if not for the invention of air conditioning, Houston would not a population large enough to justify paved roads.  This is probably pretty close to true for much of the south.  We just went a few very hot days with a broken air conditioner.  Climate is controlled again and we are cool and happy.

Thought about growing up mostly without air conditioning and some of the things done to stay cool on the farm, especially at night.  Remember lightly sprinkling the bed sheets with water so the evaporation would cool them. But my favorite memory before air conditioning was taking the beds outside on hot summer nights. To lay in a comfortable bed outside on a dark starlit night was a special treat.  Going to sleep watching falling stars is a favorite childhood memory.

Maybe we should try a little less climate control again.

Comments

Janet Saltsgiver said…
Terry, thank the good Lord for air conditioning. I too remember hot nights when you would wake up without a dry thread on. We would sleep with all the windows open and pray for breeze. We did have a small electric fan, but it was good for only one person. My Mom told me she bought it after I was born on June 22, 1939 and had to live through the hot summer. A bad case of heat rash is what caused them to spend the money for a electric fan, which was not that common in those days. Glad they make bigger ones now.

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