Life Without Air Conditioning in Charleston...
Life Without Air Conditioning in Charleston would be, and surely was miserable.... but hey... on the bright side...we did know our neighbors a little better back then....
Long before the advent of air conditionering, life had to be hot and miserable here in the Lowcountry. Southern women were said to have what was known as "the vapors." (Having the vapors was when a woman became dizzy and fainted. Back then, men blamed those Southern Belle fainting spells on the delicate nature of a woman's constitution... but we think it was because they didn't, heaven forbid, have a.c.....
Besides, can you imagine having to wear all those layers and layers of garments without central air?
Even though modern air conditioning was invented in 1902 for industrial purposes, most people in Charleston hadn't even heard of it until the 1930s. Back then, the front porch was the number one alternative to hot homes:
Well... okay, so maybe not the best example..... but...perhaps if these gals had today's version of the vapors.... it might've helped them quit the habit...just sayin'...
The ubiquitous Lowcountry front porch was indeed, up until the mid-fifties and early sixties, the number one way Charleston ladies cooled off on a hot day.... and it was also a vital means of Southern social interaction....
Our homes still have beautiful front and or side porches, but now-a-days when it's really hot out, you just don't see people sitting out of them as much....Air conditioning really changed everything....
Did you know that not so long ago (back in1952) the Francis Marion Hotel on King and Calhoun was the first fully air-conditioned hotel in town?
For a dollar more per night you could enjoy the luxury of sleeping in a nice cool, air-conditioned room...
Less than a decade later, air-conditioned hotels became so common in the South that the extra dollar surcharge was soon-to-be a thing of the past.... That meant you could just keep that extra hard-earned dollar in your pocket.... or maybe spend it on taking the kids out to the local icecream shop....
Now-a-days- air conditioning is practically an inalieable right for most Americans. But it does cost money to run and maintain....Here at Service First Heating and Air Inc, we know how important it is to keep those extra dollars in your own pocket... This is why we, like all heating and air businesses, recommend that you change your air filters on a regular basis and .......(drum roll please) schedule at least one preventative/maintenence service call per year. For the modest cost of an annual HVAC maintenance visit (about $70.00).... you could save yourself a lot of headaches in potential repair costs when you most need your AC.... and those days are fast approaching.......
Until next time....
We're keeing in cool in Charleston...
