have you ever cried over a refrigerator??

I almost did today. And I am not a crying-kind-of-girl.

Did I ever tell you one of my favorite salvage stores here in my town is in a huge old brick warehouse...and in that warehouse they used to manufacture refrigerators waaay back in the day?? Well, I have a deep love for old industrial warehouses, I always have. The architecture, the huge freight elevators...the creaky wood floors, the 25 foot ceilings. They feel so well used and well loved to me. I love wandering through them.

The city of live in was once the manufacturing capital of the US - and yes, I am serious as silly as that may sound. Before everyone pulled up stakes a few years ago and high-tailed it for cheap labor in foreign countries just about everything you used in your home was made here in my city in little ol' Illinois. Every day when you open your kitchen cabinets, chances are your handles came from here...your washers, your dryers, your Rubbermaid totes, even your fine antique furniture. You name it, we made it here.

So, back to the story about my salvage store. It has a home in one of the formerly-abandoned beautiful old brick warehouses that used to manufacturer refrigerators. Today when I was there, I decided to ask more about the building. What used to be made there?...how many years it was open?...I just like to know the history of buildings. I have no idea why.

The story I was told was a short one, as the person telling me didn't seem to care one ounce about this building. So let me get straight to the part that made me want to cry.

When the salvage yard took over the warehouse a few years ago, the basement was still full of retro aqua, pink and yellow fridges.

BRAND-SPANKIN' NEW, and original to the 1950s.

The factory closed before they were ever shipped to a store.

There were over 100 of them down there, frozen in time.

So....guess what they did with them............

Did you guess??

They trashed every last one of them.

Trashed. As in garbage. As in perfectly painted, never used and scrapped out for a landfill.

Uh, HELLO stupid salvage people, did you ever think of putting them in your store and making about a million dollars on them??? Yeah, go ahead and sell scrap wood and broken windows for $2...and throw away the goldmine you had in the basement. Good idea!! (Yes, I said that all with sarcasm. Sorry. I am still a little bitter. I only learned this about 4 hours ago so have yet to get over it.)

Ugh.

Sick. Sick and very sad.

Do you ever get the feeling you need to run the world?

Today was one of those days I wished I could rewind the clock and take over.

(photos # 1& #2 - Coastal Living #3 - unknown)