An antique fan collector is making these Kansas City artifacts cool again

In the days before air conditioning, electric fans were how Midwesterners beat the heat. One local collector is restoring a rare set of antique fans that once cooled travelers in Kansas City’s Union Station.
Brett Vaughn couldn’t believe his luck last year when he heard about the impending sale of two antique fans that used to cool visitors at Kansas City's Union Station.

Vaughn is a member of the American Fan Collectors Association, and for weeks before the fans became available, collectors were lighting up online discussion boards with talk and photos of the rare machines.

“It's a once in a lifetime find,” he said.