My mother didn't have a machine until the 60s, when she got a "portable" zigzag White, with the cams for decorative stitches. I cannot remember the brand of machine we used in Home Ec. Around 1978 I bought a Kenmore zigzag new, in a cabinet. Both my sons learned to sew on the Kenmore. I still have mother's white and my Kenmore, and both still work just fine.