The Year of the Kitchen
This year has been dubbed “The Year of the Kitchen.” Historic New England, Inc. has planned many program events centered around this topic, including some programs in New Hampshire.
Oddly-shaped apron from the Lewis Collection from South Sutton, NH.
Kitchens have been the center of the home, with guests often entertained there. In the past, aprons were important commodities. Joyce Cheney who wrote Aprons: Icons of the American Home recently donated 200 of her aprons to the American Textile History Museum, a generous donation, indeed. I guess that my article about the Lewis Collection aprons, in a recent issue of The Quilter magazine was quite timely.
Kitchen utensils are many and varied, although that was not always true. There are two favorite historic spots in New England that feature hearths and ironware, and sometimes, cooking demonstrations. Those are found at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, and the President Franklin Pierce Homestead in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.
The Remick Museum in Tamworth features “live” cooking programs that are participatory: workshops on baking sourdough bread, and other foods; and a special Thanksgiving Dinner, as well as a special “tea” party. Virginia Taylor is their food interpreter, and she has been compiling a cookbook of old time recipes, that was promised to be ready “soon,” a while ago. We’ll have to check on that!
The Wright Museum in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire has a wonderful display of how a kitchen would have looked during World War II, as well as how a parlor might have been set up. I am sure there are similar historic set-ups that show how people lived and worked. I would love to hear of any other local, New England locations. Write to: pat@quiltersmuse.com Thanks!
See the latest article posted today about our antique home!
Happy Home and Hearth to You!
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
