When we were kids, there was something magical about going to "Grandma's" house, at least there was for me. I could see nifty things there that I never saw at home or anywhere else for that matter. Grandma aka "Arlie" aka "Ma" as we kids called her, always had the swellest toys. Even though they were "hand me downs" from our uncles, we didn't care and it sure never diminished our fun. When we visited there, she would always spoil us and never get upset or yelled at us like we were at home. One of the states of Nirvana as kids was when one of us got to stay overnight! This gave "Ma" time to really spoil us, and my brother and younger sister made full use of the time! I remember how excited we got when our parents announced, "Get ready, we're going to "Ma's" house"!

 

One of the neat things that fascinated Tim and I at "Ma's" house was one of the light switches. (It didn't take much to amuse me in those days; in fact, it still doesn't take much to amuse me.) Now this wasn't any ordinary light switch, this was a very unique one we never saw anywhere else, which was one more thing that added the mystique of "Ma's" house.

 

Subsequent to my research, I discovered that the light switch was called a push-button, which stands to reason since it worked by push buttons. It was popular up to the 1930's. The other unique factor about this switch was that it was installed through the woodwork. They operated by pushing one of the buttons in and the other would be pushed out and the opposite for turning the lights on or off. There was no spring so the buttons worked smoothly.

 

The reason Tim and I were fascinated by it was we always played "elevator". The round buttons looked to us like elevator buttons and we constantly pushed the buttons while saying, "Going up, going down". Of course, our parents would always yell at us to cut it out because it would wear out the switch. One of the great things about a grandmother was that she would invariably say, "Oh, that's alright, let them have fun". This is just one example of why we loved going to "Ma's" house, which was a Mecca of letting us do anything we wanted!

 

Once and a great while when I am in Norwalk, I drive by "Ma's" house at 145 Whittlesey Ave. and old memories are rekindled. I'm always tempted to knock on the door and explain my experiences with the house and ask if I could tour it. The first thing I would do is to check by the door and see if that old "elevator" switch is still there. When the present owner is not looking, I would push the buttons while tacitly saying to my self, "Going up, going down"! Indeed, some things never change.

 

While doing research on these light switches, I found a web site that sells replicas! Although they are rather expensive, I'm seriously considering purchasing one to replace one of the kitchen light switches located by the door. After all, at my advancing age, it would be very convenient to have an "elevator" between the kitchen and crawlspace.

 

As a result of this story, I am planning now and then to have a series about some of the other fascinating things we saw at "Ma's" house. I trust you will enjoy them as much as I will writing them.