WHO
KNEW THEY HAD THESE “MODERN CONVENIENCES” A HUNDRED YEARS AGO?
All four of my maternal great-grandparents were born
into Mennonite families in Russia before migrating back through Europe and
finally settling in America. My grandmother’s parents are pictured above. I’m
not sure when my great-grandmother came to America, but my great-grandfather
was only two year old when he came. I know they married in 1889 in Kansas
(Ancestry.com is such a wonderful resource).
All that was said to show what changes they lived
through—from peasants to immigrants to farmers in the America. They would have
been married for 27 years when the book, 1000
Shorter Ways Around the House, was published 100 years ago. I wonder what
they thought about the modern conveniences they saw about them—either in the
mercantile stores or in the catalogues. Below are a few of those modern
conveniences from the book listed above:
An electric sewing
machine motor is not expensive in comparison to
its service for one who has much sewing to do. One is made which needs no
adjustments requiring mechanical ability. The motor is placed on the machine
next to the wheel and the plug attached to any electric light socket. With the
pedal placed on the floor and a slight pressure of the toe the wheel starts.
For rapid work the pressure should be a bit harder. The motor costs one half
cent per hour to operate on high speed when the current rate is ten cents per
kilowatt hour.
An electric hot-pad for
warming the bed on cold nights. These are
absolutely safe and sanitary as they are covered with a pad that can be washed.
A vacuum cleaner,
which sucks up
the dust and prevents it from flying all over the room, comes in many makes and
care should be used in selecting one to see that it fits the needs of the
owner, and that it is a good strong cleaner.
An
ordinary electric hot-plate
on which can be
placed pots in cooking, an ordinary flatiron for heating, and to be used for
any purpose requiring a flat hot surface.
An
electric toaster
is a most handy little device, and if the
kind selected permits the toast to be held at any desired distance from the
heat—by the use of hinged toast-holders—toast can be made hard or soft, brown
or tan, with no trouble whatever. Also, if the top of the toaster is a level
top instead of having a handle attached, a coffeepot can be set on it and kept
warm. There are many makes and they can be purchased from two dollars upward.
An electric coffee
percolator permits coffee always to taste the
same. It is an easy way and a wholesome way to make coffee. The percolator is valuable for other purposes than making coffee, as soup can be heated in it,
water boiled, or it can be used for any other purpose for which any pot would
be used.
A tubular flashlight
as a substitute for the lamp light, and
for use in traveling. It can be placed under the pillow at night and used at a
second's notice.
An
electric tungsten
lamp of two
candle-power which can be burned all night at a very low cost. It is very
useful for sick-rooms, nurseries, and for the bathroom when a light is desired
throughout the night. It can be adjusted to any electric light bulb.
While we still use the items from 100 years ago—nightlight,
flashlight, coffee percolator (although I have Keurig now), toaster (for Pop
Tarts), and vacuum cleaner (so my husband can keep the rugs clean), I have no
use whatsoever for this last item.
A knife for curling
ostrich feathers can be purchased for a small sum
and one can be one's own milliner as far as this art is concerned.
Which of the modern conveniences from 100 years ago
are you happiest about having today?
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