beyond. We’d point out events of past years as we
looked at the older ones. Copper-toned gelatin molds
hung on the wall in between uses for making Jell-O
salads. Flyswatters were used
mostly to threaten spankings,
but sometimes for a stinging
swat needed on little behinds.
Jelly jars were drinking
glasses, some with brightly
colored cartoon characters
or flowers on them. Canning
jars were also used for iced
lemonade containers on
picnics, button jars, or round
cutters for biscuits or cookies.
A wooden spoon and a pot
were noisy toys for babies.
In our kitchen, an AM
radio sat high on the cookbook shelf. Children were
not allowed to change the tuning knob until they
were tall enough to reach it. However, some devious
youngsters sometimes climbed up on kitchen chairs
to change it over to a rock and roll station.
There were some strange things in our kitchens.
Plates from
tourist destinations
adorned the walls.
Vacations were
remembered through
plates; the Smoky
Mountains, Myrtle
Beach, and Rock
City were all on
wall plates. They
provided lessons
about heroes, too.
John F. Kennedy,
Martin Luther
King, Richard
Petty, and Jesus
could all be found on
neighborhood kitchen walls.
At our house, a string holder hung on the wall.
It was made from a shortened oatmeal cylinder. A
ball of string was put inside, the lid was put back
on and a piece of muslin covered the front. On it, a
surprised lady’s face was embroidered and the string
came out a little hole shaped like an “O” for her
mouth.
Another oddity was
a toothpick holder in my
Aunt Mildred’s kitchen.
It was a brown metal log
full of toothpicks with a
spring-loaded redheaded
woodpecker attached. When
you pressed the bird forward,
a sharp pointed beak speared
a toothpick and raised it up
for the user. It was moved
to the top shelf after one
visit as it became dangerous.
Someone coaxed little brother
to put his finger in the log and
push the bird down to “peck” him.
Aside from puncture wounds from the
toothpick holder, the variety of items, textures, and
colors are remembered as welcoming and happy.
Maybe the surroundings helped our appetites. We
were surely more interested in reading the back of
Wheaties boxes for information about the featured
athlete than the nutritional breakdown.
Come to think of it,
today’s diets
seem as bland
as today’s
kitchens. Oh,
to trade today’s
lunch of salad and
broiled vegetables
for yesterday’s
chicken and
dumplings, wilted
lettuce with bacon
grease, cornbread,
buttermilk, and
homemade banana
pudding!
At any rate, our kitchens are perhaps neater and
more tastefully decorated these days, but those of the
past are a bright cornucopia of wonderful memories.
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 21