Submitted by Leona Baker, Historical Society of Salisbury Township

In March's "From the Attic" column, Faye Mummau related stories about her mother's household activities. This month, the Historical Society of Salisbury Township highlights the kitchen tools in its collection.

Some kitchen tools go back to the early 1900s and were still in popular use in the 1950s. As new tools gradually entered the kitchen, those from grandmother's era were hung on the walls, sold or thrown away.

Many utensils such as potato mashers and cheese graters would have been used almost daily in the early 20th-century kitchen. When electricity in the home became more common, the new time-saving equipment was fast replacing the old, labor-intensive ways. Not all items, in fact, were at first considered a real improvement. The electric mixer may have mashed potatoes with a flick of the switch, but using that old hand-held potato masher was quieter and much quicker to clean. A busy mother often found that mashing potatoes was an opportunity to vent frustrations of the day when toddlers and their siblings clamored for attention while she tried to have dinner ready by 6 o'clock. And, yes, most households sat down to dinner together at that hour.

The old scales may not have shown the weight down to the 0.001th degree, but it was close enough for the average cook. All you had to do was place the object on the flat plate on top and the weight was instantly viewable.

Vitamins had been discovered in 1913 and well researched in the next 25 years. The importance of Vitamin C for a healthy immune system was stressed by scientists in the 1930s and 1940s. The tomato was found to have high levels of Vitamin C.

One item in the historical society's collection is a bushel basket, meant for carrying large amounts of fresh food at one time, including tomatoes. The frugal cook could buy vegetables by the bushel and preserve them for winter months.

The "modern" homemaker made sure that her preserved tomato supply offered at least three servings a week for each member of her family from November to June. For a family of four, that meant canning over 100 quart jars of tomatoes in some form, whether they were whole, cubed or made into sauce. Adding beans, peas, limas, corn and carrots provided enough of those vegetables that could be served once or twice a week. That's a lot of preserving! And all this was done in the heat of summer, with no air conditioning.

As electricity became more common in the home, electric refrigerators replaced ice boxes. "Freezer lockers" were often available at the local store and prepared vegetables or fruits could be stored in the rented boxes, which were usually 24 by 30 by 15 inches in size. The homemaker prepared her winter supply of fruits and vegetables and then trundled them to the freezer building. As winter progressed, a family member would make a trip to the locker for a week's menu supply.

In Salisbury Township, Byler's Market in Gap had freezer lockers rooms well into the 1970s. By that time, enough homes in the township had home freezer chests that the community one was no longer necessary.

Those who have their grandmother's kitchen utensils in their home, whether they use them or just display them, should take a moment to remember the many hands that prepared meals for loved ones using those utensils down through the generations.