Oak Brook residents recall life before air-conditioning

BY CHUCK FIELDMAN cfieldman@pioneerlocal.com July 10, 2012 11:39AM Updated: July 12, 2012 3:28AM

OAK BROOK — Tom Sewick has a very simple explanation as to why he doesn’t remember anyone complaining too much about extremely hot summer temperatures many years ago, when nobody had air-conditioning in their homes.

“Well, there really isn’t much to remember because we just dealt with it,” said Sewick, an Oak Brook resident who will celebrate his 90th birthday Aug. 2. “There wasn’t any air-conditioning back then, so we didn’t know better. Our air-conditioning was a fan.”

Prior to the days when air-conditioning became common in homes, one room offered relative comfort during hot spells.