THE KITCHEN STOVE

When I was growing up the gathering place in our home was usually the kitchen. We did spend quite a bit of time in what we called the "front room", especially if visitors came. However the kitchen was the place to play games, to wash clothes, prepare school lessons or just sit around the table and talk. Although it was the table where we spent most of our time, it was the kitchen stove that always seemed to intrigue me.

It was a monstrous thing. I think ours was a Monarch Brand but at this point in my life I am not sure I remember that correctly. Most of the kitchen stoves in that day were all black, however some of them had colored trim on them. It was usually green or yellow or cream colored and some trim was even white. Of course no matter what color the trim was the top was a big sheet of iron. There were usually 4 or 6 round holes in the top for various uses and each one of the round plates had a rectangular hole it it where you could insert the "lifter" to removes it from the hole.A lot of the stoves had a tank built on the side where you could keep water warm. Ours was a little different and I think a lot if them at that time were built like ours. There was a hot water jacket in the firebox and there were pipes from it to a water tank on the corner behind the stove. When there was a fire in the firebox there was always hot water in the tank. And conversely if there was not a fire there was not hot water. If you just needed a little bit of water you would just use the trusty old tea pot, but if you needed a lot, a fire would be built in the firebox.

You could burn wood or coal in the old kitchen stove but of course as we lived in a coal mining town we always burned coal.

Even with its few draw backs the kitchen stove was a wondrous thing. It was used for a lot more than just cooking. I was amazed how my Mother could cook a big meal, cooking everything at once on that old stove.

When cooking a big dinner she could make it seem like magic. She would have frying pans and kettles cooking or staying warm on top of the stove. It would depend on how hot you wanted them as to where they were placed on the stove top. There were two warming ovens above the stove top and they kept rolls or biscuits or bread warm until it was ready to be served. The oven( emergency hair dryer) would have a roast, bread, veggies, potatoes or any number of pies cakes or "goodies." The tea pot was always sitting on the back of the stove, full of water in case it was needed. If it was not needed it could always be used to wash the dishes in later.

As I mentioned earlier the iron top of the stove had 2 or 4 (and sometimes 6) round holes in it that were for various uses. They were used to keep the firebox full of coal or if not full, just the right amount to keep it at the temperature Mom wanted. The other holes were to clean out the soot or warm a "flat iron" or numerous other things

The front looked like a control panel for a mysterious piece of machinery. In addition to the oven door there was a door for the water tank,  a door with a window so you could watch the firebox. There was an adjustable damper to control the air, and thus the heat. There was a door to open and remove the "clinkers." I recall our stove produced a LOT of ashes and clinkers. It also produced a lot of soot and there were several places it could be removed from the stove.

There was also a grate inside the fire box and a shaker tool that you could attach to the grate and shake the ashes into the ashbox.

As I said earlier the stove was used for much more than cooking and heating.--I recall my sister sitting on a chair in front of the oven, with the door down and brushing her hair until it was dry--To sit in front of the oven with the door down was a great place to warm your feel or dry your pants, after an evening of sleigh riding, or a long walk home after visiting a friend.--- If you wanted warm socks to put on in the morning, you put them in the oven just before going to bed and they were usually still warm in the morning.-- It was a great place to "snuggle up" and read a book or a comic book on a cold winter day. ---It also was a favorite place for my dog to warm up, if I could sneak him in past my Mom. As soon as we were in he would head for the corner behind the stove and curl up. There was usually a rug back there so I suspect my Mom always knew when he was there.

I do remember you had to "Bank" the stove in the evening and if it was not done properly you had to pay the price in the morning. (If you have ever "banked" a stove you will know what I mean?)

Now as I said an old kitchen stove was a wondrous thing and it was just taken for granted in my day just like the wonders we have now.

Now in order to cook a meal, I use an electric Range, or electric Crock Pot, or electric grill. There are "electric gadgets" that cook two hamburgers at a time. (I don't think to many people want to cook only two at a time. I use an electric mixer (instead of a spoon.) to mix bread and an electric oven to cook it in, I SURE HOPE THE ELECTRICITY DOES NOT GO OFF
WALLY

BACK HOME

Well I cleaned out another box and run across this so I thought I would post it. 
When I see all the stuff I have written and saved, it seems I am obsessed with old small towns and occasions that happened in a one on one situation. I wonder if that means I have been an old timer (even when I was young) and I love small towns--Perhaps?                 

             









                   BACK HOME ?

He was returning home on that bright spring day

To that small coal town where he used to play.

Stories he had heard of its slow demise,

But what he found was a shock to his eyes!

As he drove up the road the houses were gone.

There were now tumble weeds where there used to be lawn.

The trees, mostly dead, stood stark and bare.

That the town was gone just did not seem fair.

The few buildings that were left were stark and alone

The wind whistling through did cause them to moan.

The windows were broken and doors hung askew.

He almost wept in anguish at the dastardly view.

The town was Hiawatha, where he had spent his youth,

What he would call it now would be something uncouth.

He thought to himself, as up the road he did drive

This place now dead was once very much alive.

The kids used to run and play on Silk-Stocking Row

Now on the dead grass stood a buck and a doe.

String Town he traveled in his car much to fast

He had wonderful memories of things from the past.

He drove by the store, post office and hall

They were about to fall down—everything—all.

He traveled down Main Street to see the demise

Went by the bathhouse with tears in his eyes.

He drove to West Hiawatha, on up to the mine

The year etched on the portal was 1909.

The gate hung askew on hinges of rust

Because of the condition he almost cussed.

He thought to himself as down the canyon he ran,

This trip for me, brought childhood memories to a man.

This town makes me ill, it is gone, it is dead.

He loved so much the past that was in the back of his head!

It all looks so decrepit, and worn out and so small

It was not what he remembered, no, not even at all.

He hurriedly went by where the school used to stand.

Where he learned many things and he played in the band.

He passed the spot where the tipple once ground

The black “King Coal” that was dug from the ground.

The tipple was gone now and its place looked bleak

He stepped on the gas and left like a streak.

As he drove through the cedars, his mind wandered back

To the tipple, the school, mine office and track.

He thought as he traveled the road from the town

He could never, no never, go back to his hometown.

Written by:

Wallace R, Baldwin

After a trip to Hiawatha, Utah

25 April 2002

"Carl's questions"

"And just why can't I go to the store like this? For crying out loud I put a tie on?"

THE VISIT

THE VISIT

   As I sit here tonight looking out the window and watching the rain come down I started thinking about how important visiting was in my life when I was younger. In the 1930’s, 1940’s and even into the 1950’s visiting was a large part of the social activity in “small town America.”

   I suppose kid’s do not call it visiting. I think to them it was just going to play at some friend’s home, or going for a hike or spending an afternoon at the “shack”. The exception to this was when the kids went with Mom & Dad to a specific home and you went with them. On those visits you were expected to act a certain way and if you were not “good” so to speak you were told once to mind your manners and you knew you had better do it!

   If there were kids your age in the home that was not a problem because you were sent outside or to another room to play, while the Adults visited. Most of the time you were not asked to go outside or to another room; we just knew that was expected.

   The word”visit” in itself means to go to another place, or leave your home for another place. Sometimes it was for several days, but usually just a few hours.

   Visits were made for many reasons. Sometimes a neighbor just dropped in to talk. Sometimes they had been to the post office and got your mail while they were there and just dropped by to give it to you.

   It seems the ladies visited a lot more than the men. It also seems that they always had a sewing bag with them that had cross stitch, knitting, darning (another blog subject?) or something to keep their hands busy while they talked. My memory also tells me that the lady, of the house they were visiting, always had some cake, pie or cookies to snack on while they visited.

   I do not recall if my Dad told me the following story or if I read it somewhere—but it seems there were some unwritten etiquette about front yard swings and visiting. If someone was walking up the street and another person was sitting in their porch swing and waved to them- they should wave back and keep going up the street. If they stood up and waved, that meant come on in a minute. However if he did not sit down it meant you should stay a few minutes and leave. If he sit down and invites you to also then you should sit and visit a while- however if he stands up that means the conversation was over and the visitor should leave. I don’t know if this is true or not but it sounds very effective to me.

   The men seemed to visit more in a group up town. They may meet at the post office, the pool hall, the store or just standing as a group leaning on a fence.

   It seems there was always plenty to talk about. They seemed to jump from one conversation to another very easily. One would ask—“what do you think about old Jim getting a ticket for-----“ and then they could discuss the pros and cons about that for a while. Then someone would comment about some safety factor in the mine, or someone’s kids, or someone who just got a brand spanking new car, and for each subject they could go on and on or maybe just make a comment.

   As I said visiting was an important part of small town America in my younger years. Most of us did not have cars and almost none of us had a telephone in our home. Of course there was no TV, Cell Phone or cable. So what did we do? ---We visited and gossiped. And of course a good visit usually included a fair amount of gossip—Ha Ha.

               WALLY  7 August 2014

Angels & Kids

                                                   ANGELS & KIDS               

Real Question's answered by real kids. 

I did not note were I got this from but I

 thought it was a fun little thing. I have 

learned over the years to date everything

and indicate where I got it. Sorry about this one

Wally

   I only know the names of two angels, Hark and Harold. 
~~~Gregory, 5
   Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget why, but scientists are working on it.
~~~Olive, 9
   It's not easy to become an angel First, you die. Then you go to Heaven, and then there's still the flight training to go through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes. 
~~~Matthew, 9
   Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something else.
~~~Mitchell, 7
   My guardian angel helps me with math, but he's not much good for science.
~~~Henry, 8
   Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from Holy Cows!!!
~~~Jack, 6
   Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. The main subject is where you went wrong before you got dead.
~~~Daniel, 9 
   When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten. And when he lets out his breath, somewhere there's a tornado.
~~~Reagan, 10
   Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow.. Then when it gets cold, angels go south for the winter. 
~~~Sara, 6
   Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who's a very good carpenter.
~~~Jared, 8
   All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn't go for it.
~~~Antonio, 9 

   "My angel is my grandma who died last year. She got a big head start on helping me while she was still down here on earth."
~~~Lynn , 9

Some of the angels are in charge of helping heal sick animals and pets. And if they don't make the animals get better, they help the child get over it. 
~~~Vicki, 8

What I don't get about angels is why, when someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them.
~~~ Sarah, 7