US Culture Shock: My First American Garage

Cleaning out a garage and trying to chase down a destructive squirrel makes you more American than any legal document. 😃 Congratulations on the house and the citizenship.

Laurence, those sleds are valuable collector items. I had one very like the flat one when I was a child in the 1950's. The other has got to be exceedingly rare, as I can think having seen one only once. Don't even consider putting them in a "garage sale". Have them appraised. What a lucky find!

Hang onto those sleds, they are in great shape and could easily go for hundreds of dollars! Especially the toddler version; they are very rare on account as the child got older the parents would remove the rails and toss them out. The floor looks good, and I recommend you apply a concrete sealer to keep down the dust. Also, you need to block off the eaves, for ventilation you can install a roof vent. Ask any homeowner and the man will always say the garage is his favorite part of the house! Remember, garages are not for storing cars, they are shops and they are a hang out for all the other male homeowners in your neighborhood.

Also, a little word of advice... when you are cleaning out dusty old sections of any property, like garages, attics, basements, etc., it's always a good idea to wear a Respirator. There could be asbestos or other hazards and it's better not to breathe any of that dust in. ❤

Those sleds are worth a buck! They look to be in great shape. Especially the one with the "small child seat back". My Dad had a couple of "Lightning Guider" sleds made by "The Standard Novelty Works" in Duncannon PA, which was local for us. They were NJ's "Flexable Flyer" main competition. Those sleds of yours, the "Yankee Clippers", were also made in PA, in Philadelphia. Make sure you research the current value before you do anything with them.

My parents bought a house with a separate 3 car garage a few months ago. It's huge because the previous owner was a car guy, and had a lift and stuff. We call it the "Garagemahal."

Fun fact: a huge number of Chicago garages, particularly in older neighborhoods started out life as horse stables! There is actually a podcast that goes into quite a lot of detail regarding the history behind Chicago alleys and "garages" and the purpose they served before automobiles were the preferred method of travel in the US.

Holy smokes!! I gasped when I saw those sleds!! That’s frikken treasure!! Wow!!😮 -you mentioned how most folks don’t park in their garage… I was told this too. My garage is a lot like yours… not finished inside or heated but I’ll tell ya, it feels like pure luxury pulling out of your garage in the winter, driving past neighbours digging out and scraping off their cars. I didn’t plan to also buy a house for my car but I don’t regret for a minute that I did.

I had that exact Yankee Clipper growing up in Iowa in the 1970's. They only really worked well on icy or packed snow hills, so we eventually replaced them with plastic toboggans that would glide better over snow. The dilemma using them was always " do I sit upright and steer this with my feet, thus making them uncontrollable, or do I lay on my stomach and steer them with my hands, thus putting my face in the path of whatever tree/pole/building I hit?"

Here is my suggestion - go to Home Depot or Lowes and get wire rack shelving with wheels - allows you to store stuff and also to move it when cleaning. If you build too much into your walls you will regret it at some point. You can put up some peg board on one wall and use that to hang things like rakes and shovels. Mark off the floor for two cars and keep that space clear - once something goes there it grows roots!

I recommend adding a freezer and shelves that will act as an additional pantry/refrigerator. You can save a lot of money buying in bulk and then freezing it. A small garden in back will help with that too.

Congratulations on your new garage! If you’re able to you should insulate the walls and then put whatever material, plywood or drywall, to make walls. Then paint on top of it, that way your garage won’t be as cold. And it will look really nice and you can hang tools on the wall, bicycles or whatever. Since you only have one car you can use the other side as a workshop.

Having a garage in Chicago is something you guys are probably going to love. Especially in the winter (assuming you don't fill it with junk and thus can't park your car in it).

I grew up using those exact type of sleds, and let me tell you, with the right steel wool and candlewax treatment on the runners, those things would just fly downhill. The memories are a treasure, and so are those sleds. True pieces of Americana and a fortuitous find for your home!

As a Floridian, I find it amazing how good of a condition the wood door, sleds and fencing are in the garage. Unless something is totally protected here in an air conditioned environment, it will get moldy or rust. Be grateful for being able to keep things stored in your garage. - - And Congratulations on your new home and garage!!!

My brothers and I had these EXACT sleds in the 1970s. At that time, leading up to the US Bicentennial, patriotic toys were big. We didn't have the seat one. But we had two of the other. These sleds are antiques and worth a pretty penny. I'm beyond amazed someone left them behind like that.

I still have mine from the 1960's and yes its a Yankee Clipper. I use it as a Christmas decoration along with a pair of Ice skates from my child hood.

The sleds bring back memories of what would now be called child endangerment. My father would attach the sled with a rope to the back of his truck and pull us down the road on snowy days, or even more exciting, nights. It may have even been safer than the only hill we had since at the bottom of that were lots of trees, and if you avoided those, you could land up in water.

As a woodworker in the UK, it makes me laugh out loud every time I see a 'tiny garage workshop' video recorded in America. They go on about how small their woodworking shop is, when it's still 3x the size of my entire garage and I have to use it for woodworking as well as utility room.

Growing up… the garage was a very special place. Dad was always building something there or fixing something for us kids. He put up an excellent speaker system where he would play music that he loved… music that we all love because he loved it so much. It was a place we always knew where to find him. He even parked his truck and motorcycle there… it was as significant as our front door driveway… so many memories. That garage was also a go to for our neighborhood friends because Dad put up a basketball hoop for us and we would play handball against the garage door after school. Our friends always knew where to look for us first before they knocked on the front door to ask if we could come out and play. They would swing by the garage on their bikes and find us there and then we would ride out together on our adventures.