Small Home Gazette, Summer 2024

Fan the Heat Away

Do you remember the days before omnipresent air conditioning? We do.

If you are a person of a certain age, fans of the type pictured at right were a common sight during July and August. We recall using them while sitting in church pews; in exhibit buildings at the state fair; in concert halls; at high school graduations; and in funeral homes.

They were made of cardboard or stiff posterboard. Sometimes the handle was a wooden stick on which the cardboard was stapled. Others, including the one shown here, had an extra layer of cardboard pasted on the back of the handle portion for structural strength.

These fans always bore a colorful image—a flower bouquet; a pretty woman; Jesus knocking at a door symbolizing your heart or praying in the Garden of Gethsemane; cute kids with kittens or puppies; a scene of domestic bliss. But this is the first we have ever seen with a bungalow!

And, of course, every fan had the name of a sponsor printed on the back, usually a local business. This one reads, “Compliments of Rebersburg National Bank, Rebersburg, Penna.”