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| ANTIQUE Sunbeam appliances are displayed by Mike Arnold in his Troy kitchen Friday, including, from left, a Mixmaster, Coffeemaster and a 1939 toaster. | |
| PHOTOS BY JONATHAN FICKIES/TIMES UNION RESTORER |
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Mike Arnold's home looks like your grandmother's. The kitchen countertops gleam with chrome appliances, a 1954 Sunbeam Mixmaster and Coffeemaster and a rounded Sunbeam T-9 automatic toaster from 1939. ``It's the toaster that sold a million Pop-Tarts,'' Arnold says with a smile. The six-burner stove, with dual ovens, is a 1950 Magic Chef that looks like it just came off the showroom floor. The refrigerator, the wall clock, the kitchen table, the coffee maker -- all are antiques that shine like new. And all are in perfect working order. For Arnold, such antiques are not simply things he loves to collect. They are the way he makes his living. Arnold is the sole proprietor of 20th Century Restorations, and he earns his keep by restoring old TVs, radios, refrigerators, ovens, washers and dryers. ``I started when I was 15. At that time, these things I am working on were still in everyday use,'' he said. ``As time progressed and people wanted to keep their old things, the new people were not willing to repair them. I was.'' As he speaks, the meticulously kept house is filled with the chimes of a dozen clocks of all shapes and sizes. ``Don't even think about it,'' he tells Zack, an extremely friendly cat who tries to jump onto the turntable of a 1915 Victor Victrola. Every room is filled with antiques Arnold has lovingly restored to working order, but it is the kitchen he shows off with pride. Here are the types of appliances that are the bulk of his business. He caters to people who want a look that reminds them of the warm smells and comfy kitchens of their youths. ``It's a warmer feel. It's a retro feel, in that they remember their parents and grandparents having that look and feel,'' said Arnold, 55. ``People are looking for nice, old refrigerators, deco kitchen sets. It's the look I grew up with.'' Arnold is the third generation of his family to live in his Christie Street house. The interest in appliance restoration did not run in his family. His father was a papermaker, and his mother was a housewife. He's lived in the house all his life, and he runs his business out of his basement. That basement is a treasure trove of antique appliances large and small. There is a 1935 GE Monitor Top, one of the first refrigerators and easily recognizable for the large white tire-shaped unit on top where the compressor, motor and condenser coil are stored. The top comes off, enabling it to be sent for repairs while the customer keeps the cabinet. The Monitor Top -- manufactured from 1927 to 1937 -- accounts for half his business: buying, restoring and selling them. He even has been consulted by General Electric, which has long since lost the information on how to repair them. While they cost $79.50 new in 1935, one in perfect condition now fetches $1,500. ``That would have been the first electric refrigerator in the house,'' he said. ``Before that, it would have been an icebox. It was the beginning of the electric age. You crimped to buy that appliance, and you took care of it so it would last decades and decades.'' Atop the 1982 Kenmore washer and 1950 Bendix dryer sits a 1955 DuMont TV showing movies in black and white. Arnold restores and sells those as well. ``People who are looking for the look don't seem to mind the black and white as long as they perform,'' Arnold said. It's a modern creation, however, that has caused Arnold's business to boom. A Web site created five years ago, www.cybercut.com/20thcentury, contains photographs of the antique appliances that have brought him business from across the nation. ``They send refrigerators, stoves, coffee makers, anything you can think of,'' he said. ``I do a large volume of parts and restoration of parts for people as well. If a customer is working on a project, I'll talk them through it on the phone and sell them what they need.'' Drawer after drawer in his well-organized but crowded basement contains TV tubes and assorted parts for everything from vacuum cleaners to telephones. His only disappointment, he said, is not having anyone to pass the knowledge onto. He has no children. ``I'd love to find somebody who would want to come and just learn because when I'm gone, the knowledge will be gone,'' he said.
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