“Shane, I have a couple closely related phrases (Turning, dialing, cranking and rolling, June 17, 2025). I am not as old with personal experience as these stories may make you think I am.
Ice box — I grew up in Dayton, Ohio. Dayton was a GM (General Motors) as well as a NCR (National Cash Register) town. My dad’s only job I remember was with Frigidaire back when GM owned them. He wasn’t a production worker but in management and worked at Morine City just on the edge of Dayton. That plant was enormous (maybe 3-4 miles long) making all kinds of Frigidaire appliances — stoves, refrigerators, air conditioning, etc. Our household was always GM-dominated with the discounts afforded employees for their products including cars. Needless to say, our wedding presents were Frigidaire. Back then, we always, and I still do today, call refrigerators “the ice box.”
Ring up — With the NCR connection, this phrase is still in my vocabulary. I can remember the hardware stores, Five & Dime stores and the butcher all having manual cash registers that the clerk would “ring up” your purchase with the cash register that would “ring’” when they pushed down on the keys and drawer would open.” – Mike Simpson
The real question is, what was in the ice box? – Shane
