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Thread Number: 77869
/ Tag: Ranges, Stoves, Ovens
Why were larger ranges more common? |
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Post# 1019061 , Reply# 1 12/25/2018 at 16:56 (1,948 days old) by DaveAMKrayoGuy  (Oak Park, MI) |
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Maybe you had to cook everything more faster and all in a day’s work, if fridges back then were smaller...
But there were a lot of housewives dedicated to their kitchens who did love to cook, cooked everything well, and with whatever the latest convenience gadgets that they could get in these big stoves, and even could for the most part, afterwards get that kitchen (especially with help from a dishwasher) clean as a whistle! — Dave | ||
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Post# 1019066 , Reply# 3 12/25/2018 at 18:14 (1,948 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine) |
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When I was a kid, people still needed the extra heat in that kitchen so many of the big solid fuel stoves were replaced with kerosene on the left and mostly gas on the right. They were all mostly 40". Eventually better furnaces were developed and that additional heat was not needed so the smaller stoves replaced them, extra cabinets put in and the chimney was wallpapered over. Nobody in my neighborhood had a dishwasher back then.
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| Post# 1019074 , Reply# 4 12/25/2018 at 19:48 (1,948 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c ) | ||
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30 inch Ranges were not introduced until 1950 by Frigidaire, this size quickly took over as most popular, | ||
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Post# 1019091 , Reply# 5 12/25/2018 at 22:54 (1,948 days old) by LowEfficiency (Iowa) |
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Don't forget about the impact of the introduction of microwave ovens. In a modern kitchen, the microwave does all kinds of jobs that would have traditionally required more stove burners or oven space to accomplish. So in a way, stoves/ovens don't *need* to be that large anymore to support the way the typically family eats.
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Post# 1019092 , Reply# 6 12/25/2018 at 22:55 (1,948 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Simple
Larger families, many women still at home as FT wives/mothers cooking three or more meals per day. Many housewives also still did their own baking as well. Then you had those massive Sunday and or holiday dinners where entire (large) families showed up. All this piled onto the relative new wealth that came to middle classes and even some lower during the post war era.
You also had plenty of wives/or households that came from the "old country" who kept up the old ways. Canning, making large amounts of stock, gravy or whatever that was stored away. Those large ranges went hand in hand with larger refrigerators and or chest freezers. Growing up homes that didn't have large ranges in main kitchen usually had a second (if not entire kitchen) in the basement. On holidays or special events both would be put into service to provide for the large numbers of guests. Prior to being introduced for "middle class" homes, you found these large ranges by Chambers and others in same places on both sides of the pond; estates or large homes of the wealthy who did lots of entertaining. Well into the 1960's women like Mrs. Minnie Kalikak needed "big" appliances (washing machines, ranges, refrigerators, to cope with their equally large families. www.automaticwasher.org/c... Later when the kids married and had families of their own it would be all hands on deck for Thanksgiving, Christmas and other big meals at grandma's house. Of course by the 1970's and onwards to today things have changed. More women work outside of the home, and thanks to the vast and bewildering array of ready made, frozen, take away or whatever foods they also cook less. This past holiday season (Christmas and Thanksgiving) heard more and more about same trend; people either catering in the food or going out. Even women who lived through the 1950's and so forth era of big family means have said "enough", "I'm not cooking all that food anymore". As many of us have noticed those huge ranges aren't exactly selling points for houses. Often they are ripped out in a kitchen remodel and sold or scrapped. | ||
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Post# 1019136 , Reply# 8 12/26/2018 at 14:28 (1,947 days old) by dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA)) |
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Post# 1019154 , Reply# 9 12/26/2018 at 19:56 (1,947 days old) by joeekaitis (Rialto, California, USA) |
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Because the Missus had to cook for all the farmhands . . . 
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Post# 1019246 , Reply# 12 12/27/2018 at 18:58 (1,946 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD) |
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Monel countertops! Very pricey and TOL; would last forever unless the house was flipped or otherwise desecrated. How many of the 40" ranges that went to farms had the divided cooktops with the workspace in the middle? They're best for food preservation whether canning or freezing. | ||
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Post# 1019249 , Reply# 13 12/27/2018 at 19:05 (1,946 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Built in kitchen cabinets
We've had this discussion before.....
Generally trend in built in cabinetry began just before or after WWI. It was prompted by studies, research and in aid of promoting household efficiency. Husband and wife efficiency expert team of Frank Bunker Gilbreth Sr. and Lillian Moller Gilbreth were main contributors to these efforts, but there were others. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Mo... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_ca... Early part of last century on both sides of pond there was an explosion of science and "scientific methods" being applied to industry. The Gilbreths and others also saw a need to bring such efforts to the housewife/household in order to lighten work loads. Book and later film "Cheaper By The Dozen" was from work done by the Gilbreths. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheaper_by... Keep in mind also various social trends were also coming into play post WWI. For one the "servant problem" was becoming acute. Middle class and even some wealthy households were having to learn how to get on without an army of servants. Even a daily or maid of all work was becoming difficult to find, especially one the household could afford. So Madame found herself working along side the "help" or doing much of the work herself. Happily mod cons were coming on board (thanks to our friend Mr. Electricity), that took some of the work off. As you can see from this vintage GE film (circa 1930's)built in cabinetry has certainly become common enough. | ||
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Post# 1019250 , Reply# 14 12/27/2018 at 19:11 (1,946 days old) by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area) |
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I remember a couple of them having the divided top, as did one on display in the store. I think the others had SC ovens, so had the units at the left side. As for the Monel tops, when we sold the house in '90 after Uncle Fred's death, they still looked nearly new - 54 years later. | ||
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Post# 1019251 , Reply# 15 12/27/2018 at 19:27 (1,946 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Monel metal
Was everywhere in the home for awhile; from countertops to water heaters. And yes, you can't kill the stuff.
Sadly due to expense it has largely been long since phased out and replaced by stainless steel. retrorenovation.com/2013/07/01/m... www.thebalance.com/monel-... Vitrolite was another product used for countertops, table tops, along with kitchen and bath tiles. www.duluthnewstribune.com... | ||
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Post# 1019252 , Reply# 16 12/27/2018 at 20:11 (1,946 days old) by joelippard (Hickory) |
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 My dear late Grandmother who loved the kitchen and could always be found there insisted on the 40 inch range. When they first built the house it was outfitted with those Monel counter tops that Tom mentioned. She kept those until 1980 and did a full kitchen remodel at that time. She purchased a new 40" Frigidaire and it's still in place and working today. | ||
| Post# 1019254 , Reply# 17 12/27/2018 at 21:22 (1,946 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c ) | ||
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re divided top ranges I loathe divided tops, I want the units clustered with a workspace on one side. | ||
| Post# 1019272 , Reply# 18 12/28/2018 at 06:20 (1,945 days old) by Xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania ) | ||
I’m with Hans here, I hate the split cooktop. My 1946 kitchen has a slot for a 40” range, not much counter space, so having the few extra inches on the stove is very valueable, and I find it to be wasted space on the split cooktop.
I personally find no issue using the clustered burners for canning, and neither did Grandma in her decades of canning on a 40” P*7 GE with sensi-temp. | ||
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