MEMORIES OF YESTERDAY #1

Electricity was adapted for cooking in 1914; but electric stoves did not become popular until the twenties. Even then, most families got by with a wood-burning cookstove. The teakettle, thus, was a fixture in the American kitchen, and its whistle the most reliable signal that the fire was hot enough for cooking.

In the old days, a singing teakettle made home more cheery and inviting. It was there to let us know that there was a good, warm fire going, and that a cup of hot tea was only moments away. A singing teakettle purring happily on a stove made things merry and bright; with every puff of steam from its spout a busy teakettle sent out messages of good things to come. For the housewife who prepared her dinners on a wood-burning cookstove, the teakettle signaled when the fire was hot enough for cooking. Its magical sound soothed ill or fretting children and convinced restless cats and dogs to snuggle down into sleep. A singing teakettle was a friendly companion; coming home to its humming refrain was sweetly inviting.

The homes of my yesterdays always had a teakettle humming contentedly on the back of the stove. And today, my favorite teakettle remains with me; for a new house is never truly a "home" until the teakettle has begun to hum its familiar, happy tune--I dare say, it is almost like one of the family!

Taken from REMEMBER WHEN Ideals Publishing Corporation, Nashville, Tn 1991, pgs 5-7.