American Kitchens Musings:

[mikael3]

The countertop seams always bugged my in my great-aunt's Youngstown kitchen. Even as a small child, my thoughts of hidden dirt in them really concerned me. Later in life, I didn't like that I didn't have maximum space for rolling out pastry--and the dirt still bugged me. My aunt kept a very clean kitchen, so I'm sure those seams were clean, too. But the thought was always there.

By the way, the stainless (or is it chrome) seams between each surface are attached in a strangely complex way, at least on the Youngstowns. It's like a booby trap--they go on somehow but they don't readily come off.

 

[circlew]

Sandy, I'm thinking the porcelain sink tops on American Kitchens were enameled steel, rather than cast iron. I know Youngstown was steel, and usually got chipped in a short time. They usually don't look near as good after a few years as Kohler, Crane and American-Standard, which are cast iron.

As for the countertop seams, I would think that most people who installed the complete kitchen at one time, would have had continuous tops. I never personally saw the separate sections in any house I was in. When my parents had the Youngstown set installed in '53, it had regular Formica tops in the Gray Cracked Ice pattern. The sink-drainboard unit had the enamel top. Mom said she would have liked a nice Elkay stainless sink top, but that cost too much.

As for wood cabinets, they had actually began to become popular in the early 50's around here. One neighbor's home had the kitchen remodeled sometime in '54, with birch cabinets, and GE built-in oven and cooktop (all still in place). Tops were linoleum in a dark Green color (replaced). The house next door to it, built in '50, also had wood. My friend Marilynn at the corner, whose house was constructed in '56, had Scheirich birch cabinets, but those were replaced by Kraft Maid Cherry ones about 12 years ago.

As for vinyl, I've seen Armstrong Corlon and similiar used on tops in place of linoleum, but I wouldn't want it next to a range due to heat damage potential. Have seen it coved up the backsplash as Hans mentioned.

 

[danemodsandy]

Tom (CircleW):

I can't speak to all sizes and years of AK sink tops, but the one my sister had in the starter installation I mentioned was definitely cast iron.

 

[danemodsandy]

The Seam Issue:

I would be the very first to agree that the "modular" AK countertops with the seams between each unit would be dirt-catchers in the hands of the average '50s housewife, who was not nearly as much of a perfectionist as she wanted you to believe.

However, we need to look at the seamed countertops in the context of their time, and at that time, a reasonably impervious countertop surface of any description was a fairly new luxury in most peoples' lives. Formica was a new, expensive "wonder" material. Tile was for the rich. Marble was pretty much unheard-of for countertops. Linoleum was fairly common, but it was not usually very long-lived; it was vulnerable to cutting, rotting from moisture exposure, denting from dropped objects or heavy ones, and grease staining. Grease could actually start dissolving linoleum if left on it long enough in sufficient quantity.

What did most people have? In a word, oilcloth. It was not a particularly long-lived counter covering, and not an especially sanitary one in most housewives' hands, but it was cheap, and any householder could rip off the old and tack on some new. In 1930, etiquette doyenne Emily Post published her book on decorating, The Personality of a House. Many of the photos in the book were of Emily's own beautiful house in Martha's Vineyard; one shot showed her kitchen. In this kitchen - the kitchen of a wealthy woman whose house incorporated three maid's rooms - the counters were covered in oilcloth.

So, vinyl bonded to steel would have been a Godsend to homeowners who grew up with these unsatisfactory, less-than-sanitary surfaces. A few seams were not going to bother most people; the miracle of an affordable sanitary surface was enough.

Different time. *EDIT* I should point out that some people also had porcelain worktops on Hoosier cabinets and worktables. Of course, this was not the same as having a large countertop. [this post was last edited: 9/9/2014-20:12]

 

[mikael3]

My aunt had her whole Youngstown kitchen installed all at one time, so now I really am puzzled by the seams. If it's true that complete purchases had continuous cabinets, then I have no idea why she didn't.

Her countertops were the gray cracked ice, if I know what you're talking about.

I remember her telling me the story of how the Youngstown salesman made a little model of their completed kitchen, and I've been amused to see those kits for sale on eBay from time to time.

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

My grandmother's first owned house, built in '48, had the Youngstown cabinets with the seamed "modular" countertops in marbleized red, so I've seen what you're talking about.

I do not know if Youngstown had seamless countertops available at the time. AK did in '53, because I have the '53 catalog downloaded from Automatic Ephemera, but I don't know if AK had them earlier than that, or if Youngstown had them available at all.

That Youngstown kitchen of my grandmother's is the kitchen I always return to in memory. It was not large, and it sure as Hell wasn't fancy, but some of the best food I've ever eaten in my life came from it. Mama Mac was a great down-home cook, serving up delicious vegetables and desserts made from fruit grown in her own garden. But she was also a great experimenter, always eager to try new things she found in magazines and cookbooks. The first tacos I ever had in my life were at her house - in '59 or '60, I think it was. She once sampled a new food craze, corn dogs, at the Southeastern Fair, and marched herself right home and started experimenting until she found the secret - lots of egg in a very stiff batter. You gotta love a grandmother who makes you corn dogs, right? Of course right!

White metal cabinets, red marbleized counters, black-and-white vinyl-asbestos tile, and red-and-white gingham curtains. Someday. Someday. Except that asbestos part.

 

[mikael3]

Like you, Sandy, I remember my aunt's old kitchen as a place of great happiness. I stayed with her a couple of weeks or more every summer, and a couple of weeks with my grandmother; and I alternated Thanksgiving and Christmas between them. Those were fantastic times, with all the family and friends coming in and out, maybe just to visit, maybe for dinner.

My grandmother's kitchen was a tiny little disaster--how she cranked out meals for her own kids and her 7 siblings and 12 nieces and nephews who spent most of the summer at the home place, I'll never know! But my great-aunt's Youngtown kitchen was just dreamy. I learned to cook on those countertops and on her old Frigidaire RD-39-63. Up to year 2000, I cooked almost every holiday meal there. And one of the happiest memories for me is that my partner, now husband, got to spend six holidays there himself, to be with my family, and to see what all the fuss of a country Christmas was really about.

I'm not so terribly old yet, but I'm not young either. People ask me sometimes what I think about getting old. I always have the same answer. I've never been cute or fashionable or trendy or cool, so age hasn't taken away those superficial things that matter so much to other people. But the one truly terrible thing about growing old is that we lose all the people who loved us more than we could ever love them in return. Memories of all those past times are hard, sometimes; but they strengthen me, too.

 

[danemodsandy]

John:

Your last paragraph hit quite a few nails right on the head!

My grandmother's Youngstown Kitchen was, I think, a builder's special. The kitchen was tiny (as was the entire house), with the entire Youngstown installation on one wall. There was a 36" gas range whose brand I cannot remember, a sink base, a couple more base cabinets and a semicircular shelf unit beside the door. Wall cabinets were above, extending the entire length of the room.

The other side of the room had a Philco fridge next to the door. With the exception of the table, that was it. Very basic early-'50s kitchen that very few homeowners would tolerate today.

Mama Mac cooked three square meals a day in it, plus baking, blanching for the freezer (a mammoth Coldspot chest model in the basement), canning, jam- and jelly-making, company dinners and Sunday breakfasts for extended family. No microwave, no self-cleaning oven, no frost-free fridge, no dishwasher, not even a vent fan or vent hood. Just talent and determination.

I really miss that lady.

 

[magic_clean]

Here is

a well preserved / refreshed Youngstown kitchen in the Buffalo area. See the Zillow link and scroll to the kitchen pics:

948 Woodstock Ave, Tonawanda, NY 14150 | Zillow

948 Woodstock Ave, Tonawanda NY, is a Single Family home that contains 1056 sq ft and was built in 1956.It contains 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom.This home last sold for $165,000 in December 2019. The Zestimate for this Single Family is $261,500, which has increased by $8,229 in the last 30...

www.zillow.com

 

[danemodsandy]

Leslie:

The kitchen is the only desirable thing left in that house. The rest of it looks like Morticia Addams decorated it.

 

[twintubdexter]

It's those window coverings. Sheets and your Singer are no replacement for the Drapery & Window Treatment Department at JCP.

 

[danemodsandy]

Joe:

The dark colors and the shrouded windows are what I'm tawkin' about. I have rarely seen the point of a '50s ranch so thoroughly missed by its owners.

Those houses were designed to be light and bring views of the outdoors to the indoors. Turning one into a DIY funeral home says to me, "I don't understand the least thing about the house I live in."

If you want to live in a dark, gloomy house, there are plenty of old Victorians to choose from. And come to think of it, the Victorians appreciated more light and color than I see here.

 

[circlew]

Thanks, Sandy. Wasn't sure what they used.

I should also point out that the countertops in the '53 Youngstown kitchen I mentioned, were not sold as part of the Youngstown set; they were custom made by the local dealer who installed everything.

My dad's uncle and aunt's kitchen, original to their 1936 home, had Whitehead steel cabinets with continuous Monel tops with large double sinks of Monel. Still looked great when the house was sold in '91. Their house (Cape Cod style) was of course nicer than average for the time, but not a palatial mansion by any means.

 

[tolivac]

Window covering in the master bedroom-not sheets or JCP curtains--but those look like RAGS I just wiped out a transmitter with!UGLY!!!

 

[circlew]

Oilcloth

Sandy, I'd forgotten that some people used that to cover countertops. While I don't know of anyone around here that did so, I remember my grandfather and some other relatives of my mom in Mississippi, had counters or tables that had it tacked to them. It gave the kitchen a distinct smell that I can still remember.

The only oilcloth we had was an old tablecloth, and a pillow my sister made at Girl Scouts.

 

[sel8207]

what's oilcloth look like?

Is it porous?
Can you cut on it, (to make pickle cubes)?
Do you just replace it or wash and dry it out, then re-use it
What color is it? Does anyone have a pic of it? Les

 

[danemodsandy]

Les:

Genuine oilcloth is hard to find in stores, though you can get it online. Since at least the 1960's, it has been largely replaced by a vinyl lookalike (on a fabric backing) which is available at any decent fabric store.

Oilcloth came in many colors and patterns. The classic ones were red-and-white gingham checks, and blue-and-white gingham checks.

If you have a Hancock's Fabrics anywhere in your vicinity, you should be able to find vinyl oilcloth in the vinyl fabrics section.

Oilcoloth - genuine or vinyl - is not a very hard-wearing surface. It is especially vulnerable to cuts. If you have anything to chop on a surface covered with oilcloth, you need to use a cutting board. Oilcloth generally lasts a year or so and then needs to be replaced due to wear and tear.

Here's a Wikipedia link explaining about genuine oilcloth:

Oilcloth - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[tolivac]

At one time real oilcloth was available from sign shops-was used to make low cost banners.Then it was replaced by the vinyl "oilcloth"for banner use.Now the low cost banners are made from heavy paper or poly.Haven't seen or heard about real oilcloth in many years-just heard about it in an older book I have about signmaking-banners.And the vinyl "oilcloth" is also used as light duty upholstery material-like for kitchen table chair seats.

 

[NYCWriter]

Formica ...

"I remember my mother specifying Formica for the counters. Other kitchens had linoleum countertops. Maybe these were similar. They certainly would be cushioned and far kinder to things than granite has shown itself to be in today's kitchens."

We have a quartz countertop in the kitchen at work, and when I wash my teacup and glass lunch dish, I'm constantly finding myself having to be extra careful in setting them down on the counter. After 45 years of being able to plop all manner of glassware and china on Formica countertops growing up (and in my own homes), I'm finding the stone surfaces rather jarring. I'm glad I don't have stone surfaces at home; I bustle around the kitchen fairly quickly and I'm sure by now I would have chipped or broken quite a few items on stone countertops.

 

[tolivac]

The picture of the vinyl oilcloth rolls reminds me of those you used to find in five & dime shops.Read the Wikipedia article about the real oilcloth-some of the linseed oil used to treat the fabric contained lead-additional waterproofing-coloring agent.So to some folks the lead may be a concern.