THE KITCHEN STOVE

The old wood cook stove was really the heart of the home as so many activities took place in the farm kitchen. The stove was large and stood off the floor on curved iron legs, had a black cast iron top with four or six burners, a reservoir to heat water and a warming oven above the burners, as well as the baking oven. There were dampers, drafts and little doors that one had to learn to operate and it was fastened to the system of stovepipes that ran through the house. Some stoves were ornate with lots of shiny nickel to polish and porcelain behind the burners and on the front of the oven door. These stoves bore trademark names such as McLary, Renfrew, Findlay or Home Comfort.
There were cast iron griddles made that fit right over the two front burners and many pancakes could be cooked at once. A lid could be removed and a pot or kettle put right over the open flame to hurry things up. Most teakettles had a well blackened bottom. A kettle could be boiling furiously on a front burner and another simmering gently on a back burner. Have you ever kept a project "on the back burner?'
The stove was so versatile. Food that was cooked could be kept warm in the warming oven until ready for the table. The oven door could stand ajar to put the bread to rise when the house was chilly. Sometimes a pail of some mash for an animal or water warming for the chickens would stand on the back of the stove. Water for the week's washing was carried and heated in the boiler. The irons were heated on the stove and wiped on a cloth to remove any soot before doing the ironing. The stove was one of the most essential of all household equipment.
In winter a clothesline was often strung in the kitchen and baby's diapers or wet socks and mitts dangled over the stove to dry for morning. Wet boots dried out under the stove. The dog slept behind the stove on an old coat and sometimes the cat curled up in the wood box that stood beside the stove.. Sometimes a weak lamb or calf was brought in to be babied and baby chicks sometimes spent their first day or two near the warmth of the stove. Also in the winter the snow barrel stood near the stove providing nice, soft water from the melted snow. Stoves were useful as garbage disposals. Garbage did not build up to any extent as so much of it was just popped into the kitchen range.
Coming home from an evening out it was pleasant to sit around the stove and warm up. Toast made over the open fire was a wonderful snack at these times. Some may remember bathing around the old stove in the kitchen. A sheet or two could be draped over some chairs for privacy. Towels were warmed by draping them over the open oven door.
Skill was needed to operate these stoves and certain things had to be done to keep the stove in prime condition as so much depended on it for heat and cooking. On winter nights the fire was "banked'" so embers were there to stir up and kindle the fire in the morning. The ashes had to be emptied. A little chamber near the bottom of the stove was opened to scrape out the soot. The reservoir on the side held quite a few gallons and another chore was carrying the water to keep it filled. To the children it may have seemed as if the wood box was always empty as the stove could consume in wood at an alarming rate. On Saturdays the stovetop was cleaned and rubbed with stove blacking. The porcelain parts were polished and the nickel polished with Bon Ami. With its coat clean and shiny it was ready for another week's service. Several times a year the stovepipes had to be taken down and outside to clear them of soot. Stovepipe cleaning days are not among my favourite memories of the "good old days."
Stoves could be temperamental and were fussy about what kind of wood they liked to burn. They did not like damp, soggy poplar or wood that was too green. This would cause the stove to sulk and smoulder and not give out the heat needed to bake the bread. Mother would send out for some dry wood to see "if we couldn't get some heat out of this stove." The stove also preferred certain kinds of weather and a wind from the wrong direction would have Mother adjusting the dampers and drafts while brushing smoke from her eyes.
On a clear bright day with the right wind and some dry tamarack or birch the stove could be depended on to cooperate to heat the oven for a good baking day or ironing day. Those old stoves were such a source of warmth and comfort and had much more personality than the white sterile appliances we use now. Replicas of these beautiful old kitchens stoves are still being made and used by people with a yen for the past. However, they are generally used as a backup source of heat or cooking. They are not the centre of the home's comfort and food supply as in days gone by.