Our house was built in 1941. If you know your history you'd know that it was one of the most depressing decades of the 20th century. People weren't completely recovered from the Great Depression when the world was at war in '41.
I borrowed a book from the library titled Grandma's Wartime Kitchen. It's mostly recipes from the era of food rationing and Rosie the Riveter but there's a little bit of history in there too. Care packages of homemade food were sent overseas to soldiers, as well as to Britain during food shortages. There were inventive recipes to make rationed foods like butter, eggs, sugar, milk and prime meat cuts, stretch as far as they could or clever substitutes in place of costly ingredients.
The book is filled with stories of women who were mothers or children at the time; in particular, a little girl, now a grandma herself, remembered having to knead yellow food colouring into the margarine to make it look like butter. It is silly to think of doing something as trivial as that nowadays but from the research I've done, I get the idea that people had a strong sense of pride. Of course, this was the IDEAL. I doubt anyone ever lived up to it. Women were recruited into the workforce for the first time and expected to keep the household running as smoothly as it was before the war, all the while looking flawless with a smile on her face. You've seen those old images before, of women vacuuming in high heels with her hair in an up-do and lipstick on. The magazines of the past were just as apt to make women into raving perfectionists as the ones you see at the supermarket check-out today. The difference is the old ones were filled with knitting and sewing patterns.
Victory gardens were also popular during the forties. It was a way to ease the stress on food supplies and to save money during tough times. They cleverly named them "victory" gardens as a moral booster.
One great thing came out of 1941 though. My favourite Disney movie Dumbo. Considered the "Golden Age of Animation," the 30's and 40's cannot be beat! I remember watching the classics at Great Grandma's house when we went for a visit. I love Tex Avery in particular. The kids of today are really missing out. Click the video to see it in full.
And so, we took our first step towards our "house of tomorrow." We removed all the cupboards except the sink base. I think I found a little fragment of original wallpaper near where the baseboards would have been, in one of the dirty corners. It's burgundy with a darker burgundy and grey. It's a tiny sample, about the size of my fingernail but it made me giddy.....and a bit angry that someone destroyed my kitchen and turned it into a repulsive tan and beige outhouse. Actually, I've seen Porta-Potties that looked nicer than my kitchen.
I'm going to start taking out the tile back splash tonight. So here's what things look like now.
Stay tuned for part two. I've written enough for the day and dinner is waiting!
What a great post, it made me smile. I love that you are restoring the kitchen and I agree about the tan and beige deal. Why people, why? When we bought our house the daughter of the original owners asked "so how are you going to redo the kitchen?" I was appalled. Yah, maybe a few tweaks here and there but to suggest a total renovation? Some things should not be messed with :) Can't wait to see your finished kitchen, I can't even imagine how great it's going to look!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Mad, a few tweaks but I would disown you if you renovated your kitchen. Hahaha! My neighbour is renovating her 50's kitchen. She showed me the grey tiles, dark grey cupboards, grey back splash and grey marble countertop. All shades of grey or neutral colours. So bland and so cold for a kitchen. A kitchen should have life, not look like an embalming room. I showed her my flooring choices and I knew exactly what she was thinking (that I was nuts) without her saying a word. Too funny.
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