ericjohn
Enlightened
Note:
It could be what your neighbors or relatives currently use, but should be what they used years ago.
The only reason why I didn't list the current ones is either because I don't know or the person has passed away.
If you remember what flashlights your relatives and neighbors use(d), the post on this thread.
So, here goes:
I am attempting to document all of the flashlights that my neighbors and relatives used when I was a child in the late 1980s through the 1990s. I say neighbors and relatives because many of my relatives were also in fact neighbors. This was truly an awesome time for flashlights, as it was the last decade before the personal lighting equipment industry lost its innocence to the LED. Aside from modern flashlights, the three decades of flashlights I enjoy most are the 1960s and the 1980s-90s.
My family did not subscribe to Internet service until the Summer of 2000. Therefore, the only brands I was familiar with were those sold in brick and mortar stores. I knew mostly about your run of the mill Rayovac, Eveready/Energizer, Garrity, Brinkmann, Coleman, Maglite as well as the in house brands. I had no knowledge of Sure Fire or Streamlight. That meant that Maglite was what I and most everyone else who didn't have Internet access thought was the ultimate flashlight available. Also there was no Terralux, Fenix, 4Sevens, Thorfire, Tank007, Olight, etc invented yet. Actually the first time I saw an LED flashlight was in the Fall of 2002 in the C. Crane Catalog, but that's another story.
The only person on my street beside myself who owned Maglites was my great uncle by marriage. He was an ex Marine and a jack of all trades, not to mention an excellent auto parts salesman. Needless to say he purchased top quality equipment. He had a Maglite of some sort in each of his vehicles and the original 1982 Mag Charger in his home. At the time I only had a 4 D sized Maglite which I was quite proud of. We would sit and talk about flashlights quite often. Unfortunately, he passed away in September 2014. God I miss him.
My Paternal Grandfather was a foreman at a sugar factory but also raised cattle and produce during his off hours up until his late 80s. He mostly purchased budget-friendly 6 Volt lanterns, such as the Eveready Commander or Rayovac L295. These were for tending cattle or sowing crops after dark, but probably assisted him when working nights at the sugar factory as well. He also had a Bright Star 575 which kept me entertained while we ran away from Hurricane Andrew (we went to Brookhaven Mississippi.) He had later bought some Ozark Trail 6 Volt lanterns which he still has. Whenever he bought one of these lights, he would always take a knife and scratch either his name or at least his initials on the body of the lantern. Sometimes he also used a paint marker or a Sharpie. I wonder if he picked up this habit at work so no one would take them. However that is only a guess. I do the same thing whenever I buy a 6 Volt lantern.
My Paternal Grandmother carried a red transparent plastic flashlight in her purse for years. Looking back I'll assume that it was some incarnation of the Pelican Mity Lite, but I'm not 100% sure. It was given to her by my great aunt, who was married to the first person mentioned in this piece. It had a magnet on the end, a twist on/off bezel and ran on 2 AAA batteries. I remember her saying that she had it in WDW Hall of Presidents when another tourist had lost a piece to an expensive camera. They were lighting matches to find it under the seats, so my Maw Maw kindly lent them her flashlight to prevent a potentially serious disaster. They were able to locate the piece and she would frequently tell me this story. My Maw Maw would also inspect our throats with this light whenever any of us fell sick. Unfortunately this light had cracked and fell apart and she had replaced it with a cheap LED some time in 2006.
My Maternal Grandmother kept a rechargeable lantern in her kitchen between the refrigerator and stove. I'm guessing it was either a First Alert Ready Lite or one of the Radio Shack Archer flashlights. It was given to her as a gift and I had always admired it whenever I would visit her house. She had passed away in 2003 and life hasn't been the same ever since. I wish I would have asked my mom for that light right after my grandma passed, but I didn't and I don't know what happened to it. One way I remember her is that I keep a rechargeable flashlight plugged in my kitchen wall. Her husband (My Maternal Grandfather) passed away 29 years before I was born so I unfortunately never knew him.
There was a man who lived down the road from me who worked in the chemical plants. One night in August of 1998, he had discovered a nine foot rattlesnake by his pool. Thinking quickly, he retrieved a boat paddle and bludgeoned it to death. He then took it to my grandparents' house in a five gallon bucket to show us. Since it was dark (and about to storm) he had his work flashlight an Eveready 1259 with him and shone the light on the dead snake. I pulled out my Garrity Mini Rugged Lite and also shined it on the dead snake. I was amazed how my light was brighter. I now fully realize why it was brighter and will explain further if anyone asks.
My parents had several Eveready 3251 flashlights (those are the Value models), a Bright Star 575, a Sears All Weather Floating Lantern and eventually my Paw Paw's Eveready Commander. All of these are now gone and have been upgraded. The Sears lantern is probably what sparked my interest in flashlights because my mom would turn off the lights and shine it on the ceiling and walls when I was an infant, to amuse me. Unfortunately for Halloween of 1991 I was insisting that I needed a flashlight for trick or treating and went into the utility room cabinets to retrieve it only to find out that the battery and/or bulb was no good. For whatever reason my mom threw it out that very afternoon. I really wish she wouldn't have. Another story I have was in the Summer of 1990: My brother and sister were newborns and I was three. I was watching them while my dad was at work mom was preparing lunch (home made Popeye's biscuits.) There had been a storm going on and I believe there was a tornado nearby since it became dark as night and the electricity was knocked off. We all went into the hall by the light of that Eveready Commander lantern.
I have an uncle by marriage who also lived next door to me. When I was young he worked in the shipyards as a welder and that meant going to work before the sun came up and coming home many times after the sun went down. So he always had a flashlight with him. He had many over the years, but I never really saw any of them up close. I know he had a Rayovac 6 Volt lantern with a pivoting stand and a Rayovac Workhorse Fluorescent Tube lantern. I remember one time I was about seven years old playing in my backyard after school with a small Eveready In-215 and he was coming in from work and going to his barn. I shined my flashlight at him and he acknowledged with his bigger and brighter flashlight. He and my Aunt also gave me my first flashlight for Christmas of 1988, one of those Playskool 2 C lanterns.
Those are all I can think of at the moment, not to mention my shoulder hurts from sitting here. I hope you the reader have been informed and maybe even entertained...
It could be what your neighbors or relatives currently use, but should be what they used years ago.
The only reason why I didn't list the current ones is either because I don't know or the person has passed away.
If you remember what flashlights your relatives and neighbors use(d), the post on this thread.
So, here goes:
I am attempting to document all of the flashlights that my neighbors and relatives used when I was a child in the late 1980s through the 1990s. I say neighbors and relatives because many of my relatives were also in fact neighbors. This was truly an awesome time for flashlights, as it was the last decade before the personal lighting equipment industry lost its innocence to the LED. Aside from modern flashlights, the three decades of flashlights I enjoy most are the 1960s and the 1980s-90s.
My family did not subscribe to Internet service until the Summer of 2000. Therefore, the only brands I was familiar with were those sold in brick and mortar stores. I knew mostly about your run of the mill Rayovac, Eveready/Energizer, Garrity, Brinkmann, Coleman, Maglite as well as the in house brands. I had no knowledge of Sure Fire or Streamlight. That meant that Maglite was what I and most everyone else who didn't have Internet access thought was the ultimate flashlight available. Also there was no Terralux, Fenix, 4Sevens, Thorfire, Tank007, Olight, etc invented yet. Actually the first time I saw an LED flashlight was in the Fall of 2002 in the C. Crane Catalog, but that's another story.
The only person on my street beside myself who owned Maglites was my great uncle by marriage. He was an ex Marine and a jack of all trades, not to mention an excellent auto parts salesman. Needless to say he purchased top quality equipment. He had a Maglite of some sort in each of his vehicles and the original 1982 Mag Charger in his home. At the time I only had a 4 D sized Maglite which I was quite proud of. We would sit and talk about flashlights quite often. Unfortunately, he passed away in September 2014. God I miss him.
My Paternal Grandfather was a foreman at a sugar factory but also raised cattle and produce during his off hours up until his late 80s. He mostly purchased budget-friendly 6 Volt lanterns, such as the Eveready Commander or Rayovac L295. These were for tending cattle or sowing crops after dark, but probably assisted him when working nights at the sugar factory as well. He also had a Bright Star 575 which kept me entertained while we ran away from Hurricane Andrew (we went to Brookhaven Mississippi.) He had later bought some Ozark Trail 6 Volt lanterns which he still has. Whenever he bought one of these lights, he would always take a knife and scratch either his name or at least his initials on the body of the lantern. Sometimes he also used a paint marker or a Sharpie. I wonder if he picked up this habit at work so no one would take them. However that is only a guess. I do the same thing whenever I buy a 6 Volt lantern.
My Paternal Grandmother carried a red transparent plastic flashlight in her purse for years. Looking back I'll assume that it was some incarnation of the Pelican Mity Lite, but I'm not 100% sure. It was given to her by my great aunt, who was married to the first person mentioned in this piece. It had a magnet on the end, a twist on/off bezel and ran on 2 AAA batteries. I remember her saying that she had it in WDW Hall of Presidents when another tourist had lost a piece to an expensive camera. They were lighting matches to find it under the seats, so my Maw Maw kindly lent them her flashlight to prevent a potentially serious disaster. They were able to locate the piece and she would frequently tell me this story. My Maw Maw would also inspect our throats with this light whenever any of us fell sick. Unfortunately this light had cracked and fell apart and she had replaced it with a cheap LED some time in 2006.
My Maternal Grandmother kept a rechargeable lantern in her kitchen between the refrigerator and stove. I'm guessing it was either a First Alert Ready Lite or one of the Radio Shack Archer flashlights. It was given to her as a gift and I had always admired it whenever I would visit her house. She had passed away in 2003 and life hasn't been the same ever since. I wish I would have asked my mom for that light right after my grandma passed, but I didn't and I don't know what happened to it. One way I remember her is that I keep a rechargeable flashlight plugged in my kitchen wall. Her husband (My Maternal Grandfather) passed away 29 years before I was born so I unfortunately never knew him.
There was a man who lived down the road from me who worked in the chemical plants. One night in August of 1998, he had discovered a nine foot rattlesnake by his pool. Thinking quickly, he retrieved a boat paddle and bludgeoned it to death. He then took it to my grandparents' house in a five gallon bucket to show us. Since it was dark (and about to storm) he had his work flashlight an Eveready 1259 with him and shone the light on the dead snake. I pulled out my Garrity Mini Rugged Lite and also shined it on the dead snake. I was amazed how my light was brighter. I now fully realize why it was brighter and will explain further if anyone asks.
My parents had several Eveready 3251 flashlights (those are the Value models), a Bright Star 575, a Sears All Weather Floating Lantern and eventually my Paw Paw's Eveready Commander. All of these are now gone and have been upgraded. The Sears lantern is probably what sparked my interest in flashlights because my mom would turn off the lights and shine it on the ceiling and walls when I was an infant, to amuse me. Unfortunately for Halloween of 1991 I was insisting that I needed a flashlight for trick or treating and went into the utility room cabinets to retrieve it only to find out that the battery and/or bulb was no good. For whatever reason my mom threw it out that very afternoon. I really wish she wouldn't have. Another story I have was in the Summer of 1990: My brother and sister were newborns and I was three. I was watching them while my dad was at work mom was preparing lunch (home made Popeye's biscuits.) There had been a storm going on and I believe there was a tornado nearby since it became dark as night and the electricity was knocked off. We all went into the hall by the light of that Eveready Commander lantern.
I have an uncle by marriage who also lived next door to me. When I was young he worked in the shipyards as a welder and that meant going to work before the sun came up and coming home many times after the sun went down. So he always had a flashlight with him. He had many over the years, but I never really saw any of them up close. I know he had a Rayovac 6 Volt lantern with a pivoting stand and a Rayovac Workhorse Fluorescent Tube lantern. I remember one time I was about seven years old playing in my backyard after school with a small Eveready In-215 and he was coming in from work and going to his barn. I shined my flashlight at him and he acknowledged with his bigger and brighter flashlight. He and my Aunt also gave me my first flashlight for Christmas of 1988, one of those Playskool 2 C lanterns.
Those are all I can think of at the moment, not to mention my shoulder hurts from sitting here. I hope you the reader have been informed and maybe even entertained...
I was like wth is that!!?? Now I need my own! 
