The opening paragraph of the “Laundry” entry on Wikipedia includes this observation: “Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this universal human need are of interest to several branches of scholarship.”

Our laundry method when I was growing up was a Maytag wringer washer whose operation fascinated five-year-old me.  It was interesting to watch the water being squeezed out of the clothes by the rollers.   My mother was far less fascinated because of the time that was required.  She soon switched to a more modern Maytag washer which was less fascinating but more automated than the wringer washer that it replaced. 

Chattanooga’s pre-Urban Renewal Cameron Hill featured two laundries which used different formats.  There was the Johnson Hand Laundry whose staff worked very hard to launder clothes using wash boards, bar soap, and manual labor.  A later arrival was the 30-minute Self-serv Laundry which used coin-operated machines. 

The Johnson laundry first appeared in the 1928 Chattanooga city directory.  Charles H. Johnson was the owner of the enterprise and employed various managers over time.  He lived above his laundry business, according to the 1928 directory

The clothes were washed and air-dried at 221 West Ninth St. near the Read House and near Chattanooga’s former five points intersection of West Ninth, Chestnut, and Carter streets.  It was a busy area of downtown.  Passengers arriving at the Union Depot across Ninth might have their laundry done at Johnson’s.  The Arch L. Fox Furniture Store was an adjacent neighbor on West Ninth.  One could shop for a sofa while laundry was being soaped.

The Oct. 23, 1944 Chattanooga Times reported that 26 Chattanooga businesses were replacing traditional coal boilers with coal stoker boilers.  Johnson Hand Laundry was on the list.  The objective was to reduce air pollution in the Chattanooga area, and was mandated by a July, 1942 city ordinance. 

The Johnson Hand Laundry continued into the late 1950’s before its building was claimed by Urban Renewal razing.   

Max Schleifer was owner of this establishment which began after the end of World War II.  It was located across West 12th Street at 1224 Poplar St.  Mr. Schleifer resided at 520 1/2 Arcadia Avenue on Cameron Hill, several blocks north of his business.

The era of laundromats included automated washers and dryers that did most of the work once done by hand.  After putting some coins into the slot and loading the laundry into the washing machine or dryer, one could shop next door at 1222 Poplar for groceries at Jake’s Food Market.  Jacob Goldstein was proprietor of the small neighborhood grocery, one of several at Cameron Hill.

Mr. Schleifer was active in several business and religious activities in Chattanooga. 

If you have additional information on these businesses and their owners, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.

Casey T. Arrowood, an Assistant United States Attorney, has been nominated by President Joe Biden for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He has served since 2018 as an assistant ... (click for more)

A man was shot in his driveway on Lillian Lane Friday afternoon. Chattanooga Police officers responded and found a man suffering from serious injuries. Police were told that the victim was ... (click for more)

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), along with 21 Republican colleagues, introduced a broad package to clarify and strengthen violent crime laws related to homicide, bank ... (click for more)

Casey T. Arrowood, an Assistant United States Attorney, has been nominated by President Joe Biden for U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He has served since 2018 as an assistant in the Eastern District, which includes Chattanooga. Mr. Arrowood previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina from 2017 to 2018, ... (click for more)

A man was shot in his driveway on Lillian Lane Friday afternoon. Chattanooga Police officers responded and found a man suffering from serious injuries. Police were told that the victim was assaulted by three men while he was in his driveway. As the men started to leave, one of the suspects fired at him, striking him. The victim was taken to a local hospital in stable condition. ... (click for more)

Growing up in the little town of Apison, TN (it was little in the 50’s) and going to the first grade of our small school was special. One of my classmates in elementary school through high school was Aubie Camp. After graduation from Ooltewah High School in 1964, Aubie joined the Marine Corps. In October of 1965, Private First Class Aubie Camp was in action in Vietnam. He served ... (click for more)

I'm a Democrat who voted for Weston Wamp in the last primary. Not because I had any nefarious intent, but because I was impressed that he was a better selection. For me at least, belonging to one political party shouldn't make us beholden to that party alone. I've never voted along party lines and don't intend to start now. I study the person. I listen as well as hear, not only ... (click for more)

I've always been on the progressive side. You know....always willing to accept some change in anything because I think change can be a good thing. However, all the changes coming in college football over the next few years may be a bit too much. Texas and Oklahoma joining the Southeastern Conference....USC and UCLA leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten....and talk of merging other ... (click for more)

The Chattanooga Mocs are looking forward to the looming 2022 football season. Evidently, it is for good reason according to the Southern Conference coaches and media who both selected the Mocs No. 1 in their respective preseason prognostications. The squad received five of eight available first-place votes on the coach’s side with 60 total points (of a possible 64). ETSU was ... (click for more)