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We have been very fortunate to meet some really great people through VintageFans.com. Not only our customers, but in our occasional travels, we have had the opportunity to meet some really nice folks that shared our love of Americana, history and preservation. We stumbled onto a gem this weekend when we made a short trip to purchase a few old 1920s Emerson ceiling fans that spent their life in a central Texas cafe. When we had finalized our transaction, we ran to a nearby historic bakery that we are very familiar with from past travels.
Little did we know that we were about to meet an elderly gentleman who worked at the bakery since the early 50s arriving there every morning around 3a.m. to make the kolaches and other delicious treats that hungry customer's waited in lines for. I could tell that he was the kind of individual who did what it took to get the job done. You know the kind, the no excuses, get up everyday to do a good job individual working in a business that made the same thing day in and day out year after year, with no complaints. Dodge use to use the slogan "Job Rated Trucks" back in the 30s, 40s and 50s. This was that kind of man and this bakery was that kind of business. The same can do attitude that built this great nation, won the wars, put men on the moon, and overcame any adverse situation, whether that be hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes etc, they dealt with it, and moved on. It was a true pleasure to witness this still in motion and our slogan of "Preserving History in Motion" came to mind as we looked around.
When we asked would he mind if we took some images of the two antique ceiling fans, one an early Hunter Tuerk made around 1906-13 circa and the other a 20" circulator that likely dated from the 1930s, he smiled and said, why no, "please take all the photos you would like". The entire place was ripe with Americana, complete with a screen door leading to the bathroom. I kept thinking we were going to see Betty Crocker or Aunt Jemima in the flesh smiling back at us as we toured the historic heart of the operation. We were given a history lesson about the fans, the antique Hobart mixer, and the custom built gas fed oven. Ah... the oven. It's the coolest one we have ever seen and it was huge.Its bleach white panels and cast aluminum maker's mark boldly proclaiming it to be generations old. Our host explained that it would cost way too much to run it today because of the fuel and of course that is sound conventional thinking. But, there was one problem with his statement, he was telling it to someone who loves to go against the grain, someone who owns a successful business that services, repairs, and restores antique and vintage ceiling and desk fans, for goodness sakes. I heard the same kind of logical thinking when I tossed the idea about to a few people that I was thinking about taking my hobby and turning it into a business. "Oh.....Ok Mark, go right ahead..." "you can buy brand new fans at Home Depot or Lowe's for a fraction of the cost" was the typical reply with raised eyebrows, to which my internal reply was "watch me", because I knew I had a passion for the vintage American made fans and I was willing to do what it took to take it to the next level and beyond. With this oven, it was so cool that I would gladly pay four times as much for a loaf of bread that was baked in it, just to experience bread that was cooked in it after it had been mixed by a nearby 1920s Hobart mixer, the Cro Magnon great granddad to modern Kitchen Aide. Think about it, how many other places could you still eat bread from a custom built oven that was old in the early 1950s when it was installed second hand? And of course, in the ambiance of "Bakeryville, U.S.A" that looks like Hank Kimble, or Fred Ziffel might walk in the door at any moment, ( all meant in a good way). The entrepreneur would make it available online so you could purchase the bread and have it shipped to your door fresh overnight, all while educating the public about the difference they were about to experience with bread baked in an oven that was around prior to some of their grandparent's birth. 
As our tour came to an end, it was somewhat bittersweet, because we were leaving vintage America and stepping back into our modern day life. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for modern conveniences, but life sure is special when things are less complicated. It must have been grand to have opened that bakery up in the 1950s, fire that oven up, start the coffee, mix the dough and start the early day prior to the sound of the neighboring rooster's crow. They were making a living at something they loved, something they had a passion for, which in turn flowed out of the products they made. We know the feeling, it's a daily ritual at VintageFans.com. Its a shame that most of main steam America has lost that since of direction in their products, as that WAS America made at it's finest definition of the term. I tell people all the time, that it's not about the money, that will take care of itself if you are doing what you love, it's about the passion and it's about the people. Passion and People are two words that describe more than our means to make a living while on this Earth, but so very important to achieving the real American dream.
Our host told us that they use to line up out the door waiting to purchase the day's first kolaches, breads, and cinnamon rolls. On the weekend's they still do, coming in as far away as Dallas and Fort Worth, but today the goods are baked in an "efficient" modern oven. The products are excellent but for us, to smell kolaches, bread or cinnamon rolls cooked in that antique oven one more time, now that would be a treat of the tallest order.In fact, I would gladly pay a monthly membership to subscribe, if that is what it took, and I have a very good inclination that others would too, in the Lone Star State and beyond. There is an old saying that goes "You get what you pay for". Remember, not everyone desires box store fans. The same could be said for box store bread.
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