Wednesday, January 24, 2018

History in my Closet

We FINALLY got some decent snow here in the Mile High City. It wasn't a big storm, but we got about 5 inches, which is the biggest snowfall we've had in over a year, so yay! There was great rejoicing.



Since winter finally decided to make an appearance, I figured it was time to pull my down jacket out of storage... and to my great disappointment, the broken zipper hadn't magically fixed itself in the year or so that it had been stored away. Harumph! Where are those magic elves when you need them anyway?


I used to think that I had a zipper curse, because they always seem to die on me. Then CatMan pointed out that most people don't keep their clothes around as long as I do, and perhaps that's why my zippers always seem to die. Hmm... At any rate, I can deal with it if the little puller thing falls off, but once the insertion pin starts to separate from the fabric, well, it's all over but the shouting.

Not my photo, but you get the idea

Time to replace the zipper! This is not a terribly big job, and I've done it many times before, but as I was shelling out $10 for a new zipper, I was sorta thinking that I could probably buy a whole new-to-me jacket at the thrift store for that price. But I like this jacket - it's nice and warm, and besides, we've been together for a good long time.

Waaaaay back when I first got out of college in the early 1990s, I was working at a non-profit music school making dirt for pay. The organization operated on a shoestring, and every year we'd have a big fundraising rummage sale to help make ends meet. This jacket was donated for the sale, but nobody wanted it. Hard to blame them. It was definitely a "vintage" item by that point, I figured it had probably been made in the 1970s. Plus, the fabric cuffs & collar were tattered and torn, and it definitely looked like it had seen better days.

But... I was broke, and needed a warm jacket, and since the staff were allowed to take anything that hadn't sold, well, the price was right, so I decided to give it a new home.



I'm not a great seamstress by any stretch of the imagination, but I found a scrap of fabric and covered over the worn collar and cuffs - originally they were an orange plaid, and I liked the new color much better anyway, so I considered it a big win. And after a good cleaning, it looked good as new!

Anyhow, I had a few challenges with the zipper - mostly because getting the old one out was a bit more complicated than usual. The snaps had been put in straight through the fabric of the zipper, so I had to cut it to get it out.



But I persevered... and along the way I noticed this tag - which I'd never really looked at before.



Made in Denver, Colorado?!? I didn't know there were any local companies that actually made outerwear. And the brand name, Gerry, wasn't familiar either.

I asked CatMan if he recognized it, and to my great surprise, his eyes lit up. "Your jacket is a Gerry?" he said excitedly. Apparently Gerry was one of the very first companies to manufacture outdoor gear for hiking, camping, mountaineering and the like, and it was a name he recognized from back in his rock climbing days in the 1960s.

Hmmm... perhaps there was more to my little jacket than I realized.



So I did a bit of research, and what I found sorta amazed me.

Gerry was founded by a fellow named Gerry Cunningham, who was an avid outdoorsman. He served in the 10th mountain division during WWII. I'm not sure if that means much to folks outside of Colorado, but in these parts it's a pretty big deal. They trained outside of the town of Leadville (where my family is from) and fought in some of the toughest terrain of Italy during the war. They are widely credited with turning the tide on that front.



After the war, Gerry and his wife started making backpacks and opened a mail order company which eventually expanded to stores in both Boulder and Denver. He is credited with a long list of amazing innovations, including the first zippered backpack, a redesign of the carabiner, the first drawstring cordlock clamps, the first kiddie carrier, and yes, the first down jackets!

He was even inducted into the National Sporting Goods Hall of Fame! Who knew? I mean, I didn't know there was such a thing as the national sporting goods hall of fame, but I still think it's pretty cool that my jacket was designed by someone who was inducted into it!


So after learning all that, I'm pretty glad I decided to replace the zipper instead of the jacket. In this age of mass produced junk manufactured overseas, there's something pretty cool about owning an item with such a storied provenance. I figure my jacket is probably at least 40 years old by now, and with any luck it will continue to serve me for another 40 years to come.

So tell me, do you own anything with an interesting history? I'd love to hear your stories!




25 comments :

  1. Well, I don't own anything with such an interesting history as your jacket...
    Kudos to you for replacing your zipper. I am a moderate sewer/mender & I wouldn't attempt that zipper. My husband has a winter jacket that he has had since right out of high school, 40 yrs. ago & the zipper needed replacing & we took it to a local seamstress.
    I did look at the label in his jacket, which I couldn't read, but there is a tag "made in Korea."
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I don't have a very good relationship with my sewing machine, so I do repairs like this one by hand. I actually think it's much, much easier that way. I did need to use a thimble to push the needle through so many layers, but that's still easier than fighting with the machine on something like this.

      Delete
  2. I have a Cyclamen persicum that my parents brought back from Israel for me when they went to visit my sister, her husband, and their children when they emigrated there. That was in 1973 and I've kept it alive through moves to 3 different houses in 2 different states (indoors, of course.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK... had to go look that one up! When my grandmother died many years ago I inherited her African violets. Alas, this was in the days before the interwebs, and I had no idea that they required special care. The poor things died within a month or so. Sigh. Kudos to you for keeping it alive through so many moves!

      Delete
  3. I love stories like yours--some history and a personal connection. I have two coats right now that have zipper problems, but I'm still wearing them. However, one day I will get them zipped up, but not down and I won't be able to get out of them. I'll just deal with that when it happens. Right now I'm glad I have more than one choice for a coat. I'm lucky that I have had a couple passed onto me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha! Well, that will be interesting if you get stuck inside a jacket. I'm picturing the 911 call... Actually that happened to me with another coat, and fortunately it was big enough that I was able to wriggle out of it. Replacing a zipper really isn't a big deal though, and if you have 2 coats, you wouldn't have to worry about having one out of commission while you work on it.

      Delete
  4. My sister gave me a bag of quilt scraps which she had found in my parent's attic--they were chewed up by mice and moths and who knows what. She framed the nicer pieces and made a pillow for mom. I think she wanted to clean out her basement since she surprised me with this giant bag. I accidentally (no, really, it was an accident!) called them squilt craps ... unfortunately, that might be a more accurate description as the remaining pieces are in poor condition. I will try to see if there are any pieces nice enough to make a pillow out of (which is the extent of my sewing skills .... ) and call it a day.

    Love the story about Gerry Cunningham. My dad was in the infantry in WWII so I have a special interest in the veterans from that war.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Squilt craps" - I love it! An old friend of mine is a quilter, and she once gave me a bunch of pre-cut pieces... trying to entice me to take it up, I think. Alas, I don't enjoy sitting at a sewing machine, so that wasn't gonna happen, but I did use a bunch of the scraps to make throw pillows. They turned out pretty good.

      Delete
    2. You make me feel better about my dislike of sewing. My 12-year-old daughter is VERY interested and has inherited my mom's machine. That seemed like a good thing, but the instruction book is NOT helpful ... the machine is from the 70s and there is very little info about it online and/or on Youtube ... fortunately, I have a good friend who has come over twice to help us out with it. She seems pleasantly baffled that I hate sewing so much. Anyway, right now I have squilt craps (!) spread across my basement floor to see if I can make anything useful out of them. I'm much happier if I have a pair of knitting needles in my hands. My hope is that my daughter will somehow learn to use the machine by osmosis and I won't have to help her out anymore.

      Delete
    3. Hahah! My sewing machine is even older than that. It was found during a garage clean out of an apartment I used to rent, and they were about to toss it into the dumpster, so I rescued it. I think it's from the '50s or '60s. Anyhow, I probably should try to find some instructions and actually learn how to control the tension and stuff like that, but honestly, I much prefer sitting on the couch doing my mending by hand.

      Delete
    4. Too bad you don't live out here. One of the moms in my son's boy scout troop works at JoAnn Fabrics and is an avid seamstress. She told my husband that she goes to garage sales, purchases old sewing machines, fixes them up, and then resells them. I don't really know her but I feel like we have a mutual connection, so if I need to call on her for help with my machine, I can (and I don't think she's the kind of person who would be scared away by the state of my unfinished basement!). I've been told that the older machines are made better (metal parts, not plastic) so I keep plugging away at trying to figure out our machine. I think it's a good one. It's certainly a heavy machine to lift! But I'm with you on preferring to hand-mend rather than use the machine ...

      Delete
    5. One time when I was complaining about the sewing machine to my quilting friend, she asked how long it had been since the machine had been oiled and tuned? I gave her a blank stare. Oiled and tuned?!? Who knew? Anyhow, there's a store here where I could take it if I ever decide that I want to venture into the pit of cursing and frustration again, but for the moment, I think I'll just stick to the tried and true backstitch!

      Delete
    6. I've actually had the oiling and cleaning done. I think it cost around $65. As I'm hoping my daughter will continue to learn to use the machine, I figured it was a good investment. I have a friend who does that kind of maintenance herself but I would probably ruin the machine if I tried it!

      Delete
    7. Ha! I wouldn't even know where to begin!

      Delete
  5. Hmm, I'll have to think about that, do I own anything historical. I have several items that my mom has sewn for me and my children throughtout the years and seeing that she is 81 years of age and feeling poorly I'm thinking there will be way more sentimental value on those items.

    How interesting, the story of your jacket!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww... hand made stuff is so special, isn't it? I still use some pot holders that my grandmother crocheted - I like being reminded of her when I'm in the kitchen.

      Delete
  6. Most interesting to discover the provenance of your jacket, and the history behind the manufacturer.
    Well done on conserving the jacket for future use :)
    [Valerie]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Valerie, It is really nice to have a functioning zipper again!

      Delete
  7. We have a Goodwill outlet store in my city, if you can imagine. Everything is just thrown in bins and you buy it by the pound. So my friends will often buy things there just for the parts (like buttons and zippers). I bought a shirt there just for the fabric once.

    I have not noticed anything of mine having a cool historical significance. I do have a stereo cabinet my parents built. I put notebooks where the turn table and reel-to-reel player went, shoe boxes of things where the receiver went, and all kinds of things where the records went.

    And a friend of mine noticed that I had the better kind of Girl Scout pin from the old days--I'm not sure what the new ones are like, though.

    Oh, and I just came across an interesting article about my neighborhood. I'll put the link in a separate comment in case it gets zapped. None of the floor plans in the ad match mine exactly, but I did find out that my small living room is called a "den or bedroom" and that all the kitchens used to be tiled so my formica was a remodel. And the houses had central heating, which I never would have guessed. And the banks wouldn't give black people loans to live here, the scumbags--the homes were originally bought mostly by white veterans.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's the article: https://austin.towers.net/you-are-here-windsor-park/

      Delete
    2. There's a Goodwill outlet store here too - I've never been there, though CatMan and I ride past it frequently. I fear I might come home with WAY more than I could reasonably use!

      I like your stereo cabinet story. I have a cabinet that used to be the radio of my great grandparents. My grandmother had the radio taken out and a shelf put in. It looks very much like the one in this photo: http://www.blog.projects.tchad.biz/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/radio-cabinet-fix.jpg

      Anyhow... that's a fascinating article about your neighborhood. The houses actually look quite fancy compared to ours. Ours are mostly 2 bedroom frame houses (no brick) and they're all around 700 square feet. Mine is a bit different. The little old lady who lived across the street when I moved in (who was the original owner of her home) told me that the developer left my lot empty, because it's on a hill, and the floor plan didn't work with the slope of the property. So my house was built a few years later by an independent contractor. I'm guessing that whoever built my home was older, because many of the things I've found (lead drain pipes, tar paper under the floors, etc.) are generally characteristic of homes built in the '20s or '30s rather than the '50s when my house was built.

      So now you've got me wondering if there are any brochures or information from when the neighborhood was first built floating around out there. Hmmm.... I'll have to do some Googling!

      Delete
  8. Okay, that is maybe the coolest jacket origin story I've ever read.

    I kind of want my next jacket to be a Gerry.

    Good on you for repairing instead of replacing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha! Because, you know, the jacket origin story is such a common theme among storytellers. :-) Still, it is sorta neat that it's more than just an old jacket that I picked up for free.

      Delete
  9. That's a great story about your jacket. I really like the fabric you used for the cuffs and collars. I have zero sewing skills, so none of my clothing is that interesting. I do have a fair amount of hand me down furniture, though. Two of the tables that we have at home are from my grandmother's husband's family. I was told they were old even when my grandmother first had them, but they're still going strong and able to hold the Thanksgiving feast.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have some family furniture too... perhaps it's silly, but for some reason it makes me feel grounded to think of it once being in the home of my great grand parents.

      Delete

I welcome your thoughts so please leave me a comment and I promise I will respond.

On older posts I've had to enable comment moderation to prevent spammers, so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away - unless you're just commenting for the sake of embedding a link, in which case I really wish you wouldn't waste your time or mine because I'll just delete it.

Thanks, and have a fabulous day!