I'm "only" 65 but I remember those machines; we had one in the local "Mercantile" store; that I guess was a lot like a Woolworth's.......too, I remember the ladies tearing the fabric and still love the sound of fabric being torn ! Years later we had a local shopping center with a real fabric store and they had the machines there also !
Too, at that time my foster mother made all my clothes on a little black Singer and that is the machine I learned to sew on. After her death the machine took missing and I always wished for it. A few months back I was at a yard sale in a rather upscale area of my little town and mentioned to homeowner that I really was looking for old sewing machines; she mentioned that she had her mother's old machine and would sell it to me for $25........I ran to my car to get money and she brought the machine out. LO AND BEHOLD IT WAS A SINGER FEATHERWEIGHT ! I quickly paid that woman the $25 and got the machine and as I was driving away I was crying......finally, I had my little Singer machine ! I love that little buddy like you wouldn't believe. It sews perfectly ! My biggest concern was that I had paid with a check and the seller then knew my address and I was afraid she'd show up for the machine back; one the check cleared I was ok !