Harmon’s Histories: Thor! The Iron That Saves Your Day

By Jim Harmon

Now and then while perusing old newspapers, I run across something absolutely fascinating. Take, for example, an advertisement in a November 1925 edition of the Missoula Sentinel.

The Missoula Public Service company was promoting something called the Thor Folding Ironing Roller: “In two easy hours, you can finish your whole day’s ironing,” and you can do it sitting in a comfortable chair!

The Thor Power Tool Company (named after the mythical god of thunder) was founded in 1893 by John, Edward and Neil Hurley with Roger Sullivan. Shortly thereafter, it was renamed the Independent Pneumatic Tool company.

The company manufactured a pneumatic hammer designed to “rivet the firebox of a locomotive to its boiler.” Railroad companies soon made Thor their “go to” factory for pneumatic products.

But it also manufactured all sorts of useful household appliances like washing machines and vacuum cleaners. It invented the first “electrically powered washing machine” in 1907.

The Folding Ironing Roller, originally developed for industrial use, soon found its way into the household market – at least wealthy households.

The housewife would feed the fabric onto the roller and close the top. Then she would use a series of knobs on the handle to press the fabric against the electric-powered roller and rotate the cylinder.

Meantime back to the story. From the 1900s to the 1950s, the Thor company became one of the most recognizable names in America.

According to company history, Thor acquired the Aurora Automatic Machinery company around the turn of the century.

That company manufactured parts for bicycles and motorcycles, “including Sears and Indian motorcycles.” Thor is credited for making the first motorcycle sidecar.

It also made the Thor automobile, described as a “giant six-cylinder touring car,” but it was too expensive to make, and was discontinued.

Another short-lived acquisition was the “Juvenator exercise belt.” While most of us don’t remember that, there was a much later version advertised on TV, that replicated the idea.

You would hook the belt to any door, slip the belt around your waist and it would “vibrate your pounds away.” Unfortunately it was invented in 1929, and in the following depression years, the Juvenator wasn’t exactly a necessity of life.

By the 1950s, aircraft companies and auto manufacturers had become Thor’s main customers. Their power tool division, in 1959, had annual sales over $30 million. The company was sold in the 1960s.

Believe it or not, there are similar machines still available today – in 2025!

But they have the same limited market as the Thor Folding Ironing Roller: They’re incredibly expensive, ranging from $1,800 to $3,900.

Still, just as it was one hundred years ago, you can sit in a comfortable chair and “in two easy hours you can finish your whole day’s ironing!”