Penelec is looking for the oldest refrigerator in Pennsylvania, and Jif wants our peanut butter recipes. Now these are fun. I grew up in a house that had one of the oldest refrigerators I have ever seen, and I love peanut butter.Hurry — refrigerator recycling can bring in some bucks, and it ends this month!
The refrigerator recycling program from Penelec and FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania utilities, is hunting for the oldest functioning refrigerator in Pennsylvania. According to news releases and the web sites, the contest started in April and has collected more than 7,000 refrigerators to date. It promises that owners of old, inefficient refrigerators and freezers can save up to $150 a year in energy costs and receive a $50 incentive by recycling that old, energy hog fridge. We’ll hear all about these oldies but goodies when when the contest ends.
My parents had a Philco refrigerator circa 1940. I think it went with the house when my dad moved 15 years ago. It had very little room for food, virtually no room for ice or ice cream and had a monstrous drawer type thingie on the bottom for veggies and fruit, but it wasn’t really cold. When we got a new refrigerator when I was a kid, the relic was relegated to the basement where it did a masterful job of keeping beer cold — Koehler beer — for many years. That picture I’ve attached is from eBay of a vintage ad for the vintage refrigerator that kind of looks like our old one.
Recycle your old fridge by the end of August, get $50 and a chance to win $250 from the utility company. The owner of the oldest fridge gets a $1,000 Sears gift card to purchase any Energy Star product. The winner of the contest will be announced in September.
To participate, customers of FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania utilities can schedule a refrigerator or freezer pickup at no cost by calling 1-877-270-3521, or by visiting energysavePA.com. Two units per household is the limit.
Calling all kids who love peanut butter
Kids can win big on this one. Jif is sponsoring its most creative peanut butter sandwich recipe contest, and the prize isn’t peanuts! Check right here. The winner gets a $25,000 college fund — more prizes abound. Check it out. Here’s a hint: The past winning entries taste like chicken. The 2012 winner was a P-nutty BBQ chicken quesadilla. The 2011 winner was a Wushu chicken taco, and the 2010 winner was a chicken peanut butter wrap in lettuce. Parents, kids and families can get in on the fun on this one.
Hurry — contest ends Oct. 11. Ten lucky finalists will hit the web, and the world starts voting Jan. 8, 2013.
Pam Parker is the editor of Lake Erie LifeStyle, Her Times and House to Home at the Erie Times-News in Erie, Pa.
