by pam kueber on August 28, 2009
Finishing up my Youngstown Kitchens 1957 mini-series, here is their Monterey line. The unique selling proposition of this line: Sandalwood-colored steel base cabinets and doors…. with wall cabinets with Sandalwood-stained wooden doors on steel bases. Reading through this marketing material I see: Industry concern about color fatigue, oh no! “Give us a color we can live with for years” and “that goes with everything,” consumers asked, Youngstown explained. Again…as we’ve discussed before…the move away from enamel-painted steel, which was difficult to repaint (and likely getting more expensive), to wood cabinetry (which was easier to re-paint and also had the “furniture look” of adjoining spaces”, was under way. Heck yeah there is more…
by pam kueber on July 12, 2009
I’m traveling, and have brought my newest book — “America’s Kitchens” — along as bedtime reading. It’s a keeper, really nicely done. Some tidbits:
- Introduced at the turn of the 20th century, the Hoosier cabinet was a huge step forward for homemakers and the first move toward “fitted kitchens.” Not only did it bring commonly used tools into one cabinet, it included containers and a table surface of porcelain enamel steel — much easier to keep food fresh and clean. 2 million Hoosier cabinets were in action by 1920.
- In the first half of the 20th century, efficiency experts promoted small, step-saving kitchens. But as domestic servants left for factory jobs and mom moved definitively into the kitchen nearly fulltime, the kitchen got bigger. This reflected her desire for a pleasant work space and the fact that everyone wanted to gather there.
- By 1940 only a third of farm households were electrified.
- As late as 1945, three out of five farm households did not have a sink with a drain, and any water carried in had to be carried out.
- In 1942 sugar became the first rationed food item…followed by coffee, meat and canned foods (to save tin.) A year later, ration books were issued to every man, woman and child….Hence our Victory Gardens.
- The percentage of American families who owned a mechanical refrigerator jumped from 44 to 80 percent between 1940 and 1950.
“America’s Kitchens” is available via Pamazon 
