This memory is from just a couple of years ago, but it has deep and fascinating roots to the 50s and 60s that youll see as you read on... we have this old electric lamp post in our back yard that was custom made by my wifes uncle back in the early 60s. The top is an old ships lantern that he acquired while in the Navy during WWII. He took the insides out of it and bought a (then) modern light fixture to mount it on so it would take a standard light bulb. Over the years out in the weather the electrical contacts in the bulb socket corroded to the point it stopped working. The light fixture he used was one of those old style swivel lamps that you used to see on department store ceilings shining down on some product. They use recessed lighting now. He used this particular one because the base of the fixture perfectly form fitted the bottom rim of the ships lantern. I went to several stores that sold fixtures and found nothing even close. I searched the internet and came up empty again. Everyone in the house was disappointed. And then it came to me... an old friend I grew up with (Allen Bussy) and his dad owned and operated Nash Electric Supply over on Union St. I hadnt seen Allen or his dad since our youthful days at Southside Baptist, Jenkins Jr. High and Spartan High, so I decided to pay him a visit and see if he knew where I might find and old fixture like this one. Even after 30+ years we immediately recognized each other as soon as I walked in the door. Its an old building with dusty shelves and creaky wood floors. Allen just left a customer standing there at the counter and rushed over to me with a big hug and hand shake. We both apologized to the stranded customer who was then nice enough to let me break in line. Allen looked at the old corroded fixture and said he remembered them but said he hadnt seen one since the 60s. He said they didnt make them any more and the company that made them had long been out of business. Then his dad comes in to say hello. He had been close friends with my dad and my grandmother from church. Old Mr. Bussy looks at the fixture, nods his head, looks at Allen and says... Swiveleer, back left row, top shelf. I couldnt believe my eyes when Allen came back out with that box in his hand. A brand new Swiveleer light fixture just like my old one. They still had two on the shelf from back when they were new in the early 60s. The cardboard box was dry rotted and the printing was faded but the fixture inside was pristine! Now that lamp post shines at night just like it did back in the 60s! Old Mr. Bussy has recently passed (RIP) but the store he left for Allen to run still has strong ties to the 50s and 60s that even Allen evidently wasnt aware of until his dad told him where to look. They had two of those old fixtures still on the shelf, in dry rotted and faded boxes covered with dust, but I just didnt have the heart to buy both of them. I just had to leave one on the shelf as a testament to our youth. By the way, old Mr. Bussy told me that because I was the only customer since the early 60s to come to him for one like that, he would sell it to me for cost (yes he actually remembered what he had paid for it) the best $1.50 I ever spent!!!!
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 18:40:37 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015