Thanks Sunny Boy Randy Steve Zee

yOU GUYS WOKE UP A CHILDHOOD MEMORY .Welivedin aLehigh company house .3 rooms 2 bedrooms no insulation back in late 1950s .Mornings ran to the kitchen removed a lid from the coal kitchen stove an removed alid an put a grill across the red glowing coals an made toast .Butter molasses on thev toast ohh heaven .Summers me an dad picked coal off a culm bank .Mom had baked a fresh huckleberry pie as we came home .Served hot with a dip of ice cream .Somehow mom regulated the kitchen stove to make chicken soup stew roasts .The kitchen was busy un canning season .Mom canned veggies beans carrots tomatoes .Lord the kitchen was like 150 dr degrees .We had no central heat so the kitchen range kept the house nice early spring an fall .Come winter the heatrola was lit in the back room .Remember how crisp crackers kept nice in the warming oven .The coal kitchen stove brought familys together .we had no television so we talked played checkers Parcheesi went over each others days happenings .Listened to the radio gunsmoke the shadow. The kitchen stove was the gathering place I believe it bonded familys not like today .I was proud to know that bucket of coal by the range I picked by myself last summer as dads asthma was slowing him down .Lastl;y a passing thought .rememberafter all day sleighriding you came home dog tire wet socks wet shoes an generally soaked .Mom pulled off your wet things an she pulled up a chair by the stove Opened The Oven Door an you put Your Tootsies in the Oven .Try that with an oil burner .jack

Nice Jack. Damn now ya got me reminiscing! Used to pick up coal that fell off the coal cars w/ my old PF Flyer on the way home from school.

Real nice Jack, I can't relate to a coal house but I can relate to a mom!

Your very welcome, Jack.

I've only had the range 11 winters now, but I feel very lucky to have it. In that time it has kept us warm, dried tons of wet clothes, cooked wonderful meals, and given us many fond memories.

Like you, Melissa grew up with a coal kitchen range and has many warm, wonderful memories of it, too. She learned to cook on an early 1900's coal range like mine and she still loves every chance she gets to cook on this one.

I love Spring and Summer and use to dred the cold of Fall and Winter. Now I look forward to those colder times knowing the range will be running and bringing steady warmth. I understand why it used to be said that the old kitchen range was the heart of the kitchen.

Paul

What a great post! I could just imagine all of that happening now that I have experienced a lot of that myself, having one of these stoves. Sometimes I wish I had a time machine so I could go back to see for myself how things were back in the early 1900's

Thank you for this post!
Randy

Because I grew up with an oil fired furnace in the house, was wondering if people complained about the work needed to keep the stoves running, back in the day? Or was it just a part of life, that no-one knew differently? I can definitely see it bringing/keeping the family together. Now with modern appliances and ducting, people just "go to their rooms" and shut their doors.

Jack,as always,Thank You ! The times were tough,yet You little guys didn't realize it 'cause Mom and Dad were keeping The Family in the game ! Thanx again,Jack. Thanx for the Heartwarmer !

You guys thanks for response .To add a little bit more when we picked coal off Lehighs refuse bank If You Were Caught By The Coal an Iron Police They Cut Your Bag Of Coal Open On The Ground .Or you went to Jail .There were about 6 twin company house all alike built around 1860 when number 8 colliery was opened .Every one helped each other /. If a miner was hurt at work the wives cooked an brought food to your house tell thr the husband went back to work .Neighbors some had a cow an sold milk to each family .Every one had chickens an a Polish family would buy a pig in late fall an butcher the pig .Kielbassi hams bacon was available on the barter system .My pop had extra firewood that was swapped for bacon or duck eggs .Sonday you visited people in the patch of miners houses an of course you went to the kitchen where the stove was .If there was a widow all my pops buddys supplied her with coal .The patch was a melting pot .Italians Russians an Slovaks so ethnic food was swapped .Mom made Slovak Pizza simply a dough with cheddar cheese on it Baked In The Coal Stove .Winters centered around the stove as no insulation you spent time there listening to radio .My sisters baked sticky buns an poppy seed an nut rolls called Kolachki in Slovak language .When we bought a electris stove mom just did not like it but adapted .Damn if there only was a time machine , jack

Nice Jack. Yes, a time machine indeed! Ya threw me off with that other thread.