Anyone Collect Oneida Twin Star?

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

danemodsandy

danemodsandy

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
8,180
Location
The Bramford, Apt. 7-E
I'm wondering if we have any Oneida Twin Star owners here; this was an Oneida stainless pattern available as a premium by sending in Betty Crocker points. General Mills promoted the Twin Star giveaway from 1959 up into the '70s.

Anyway, I'm wanting vintage everyday flatware (cutlery to our British friends), and I'm wondering if anyone owns Twin Star, and if so, how they like it. Does it hold up well? Is the weight halfway decent (I'm aware this is a stamped pattern)? Is the stainless decent quality?

I think Twin Star would look well with my everyday Corelle, which is Snowflake Blue, and since it's a Betty Crocker pattern, it would have something in common with my "good" silver, which is Oneida's Queen Bess, also a Betty Crocker premium.

Any owner's lore would be welcome. P.S.: Those of who you suspect Hans (norgeway) already owns a ton of this, place your bets now! :)

danemodsandy++10-11-2013-20-48-41.jpg
 
We have a couple mismatched pieces of Twin Star (didn't know the pattern name until now), I think a couple teaspoons and a fork or two. They seem to hold up just fine with everyday use and abuse and regular trips through the dishwasher. Our second set of flatware is the pattern to the right of the Twin Star, the My Rose collection.They are also holding up very well to daily use and the dishwasher. If you like them, I say go for it.
 
Hi Sandy, my parents had the twin star pattern back in the 1960's. It held up very well, and I still have a couple pieces of it around here. Don't know how it even got over here, but it did. Perhaps with a side dish she made, and brought over for a holiday party I guess.

I just looked in our every day drawer, and there is a large twin star straining spoon, with a couple stars and moons/shooting stars?? cut into it. It is VERY 1960's looking.
 
Hi Rick!

We don't see you half often enough around here these days - good to see your handle on a post!

One of these days, I'd love to see you post about the house you rescued and renovated as a rental - how is it working out after some use?

I've seen photos of that slotted spoon you have - you're right, it's very 1960s. I have never seen that slot design before - Oneida usually used only a few slot patterns, and they were very traditional.
 
We have a few pieces that my MIL somehow acquired.  It has held up great over the years.  I use a couple of the forks for when I take a cake or whatever somewhere outside of the home.  Our everyday flatware (cutlery)  is Riviera's Cordova pattern.  Yes it's very 70's looking, but it's extremely hefty and we love it.  Several years ago we purchased over 100+pcs for about $75 off of Ebay to add to what we already had.  Everything we have has the plain back.  I think Robert & Fred have the Twin Star pattern also.

[this post was last edited: 10/12/2013-09:34]

 
Tim:

I had to giggle when I took a look at your Riviera Cordova!

The reason is that I had a set of Sears stainless back in the early '70s that was obviously based on your pattern, which was a lot heavier and more upscale than the Sears I had.

The Sears pattern was called "Kashmir," and I bought it from the 1972 Wish Book; a 55-piece service for eight (eight 6-piece place settings plus seven serving pieces) was all of $12.48.

Even in '72, that was a screaming deal!

danemodsandy++10-12-2013-16-57-38.jpg
 
Mich:

That spoon cost someone 10 cents and 35 Betty Crocker points under the Thrift Plan, or 25 cents and 2 points under the Speed Plan. Postage included.

Considering that a package of Bisquick might have a 2-point coupon printed on it, it makes the large services of Betty Crocker flatware (Queen Bess, Winsome, Twin Star, My Rose, Enchantment and more) that turn up today very impressive.

People had to be determined and organized to save the points, and they had to use a fair amount of General Mills products, from Gold Medal Flour to Cheerios, to obtain them in the first place. To put together a complete service for 12 with lots of serving pieces (and they're out there) was a massive undertaking, spanning years.

There was a time in this country when hard work and determination paid off.
 
Couldn't...

They have just looked in recycling bins, or trash dumps, and collected points from discarded packages? ;)

I hate to say it, but, I would have asked fellow neighbors, looked into other means, to obtain such silverware. I couldn't imagine buying so much General Mills stuff... to obtain silverware, unless, I was already purchasing such brands, or I was able to score a great deal on such needed points laden products.

Could you imagine, purchasing 14 products, just to get a tea spoon?
 
Well....

....General Mills made a lot of products that were found in most every midcentury household, from flour to cereals to dog food to cake mixes. In family settings, it could mount up fast, and the larger the package size, the more points per package.

That doesn't mean people didn't give unwanted points to their friends, or that people didn't pool points - they did. Betty Crocker's Queen Bess silverplate was advertised as the most widely owned silverplate in America, and I can believe it - there's a ton of it out there. It was a very popular working-class wedding gift - women who worked in a factory or office would pool their points to obtain a nice service of Queen Bess as a gift for a co-worker who was getting married. It cost very little, but it was a handsome and much-appreciated present. General Mills even had silverware chests available with Betty Crocker points, so the silverware could be presented in a chest, just like a service purchased in a department store for a lot more money.

So far as trash and Dumpsters are concerned, people back then didn't throw away stuff they or their friends could use. My mother - the most disorganized person you could possibly imagine - didn't save Betty Crocker points for herself, because she didn't have the discipline. But when she had a few and she remembered, she gave hers to my grandmother, who saved them like a fiend.

Here's a Betty Crocker ad from a brochure showing how to order both Queen Bess and Twin Star; notice that extensive list of products:

danemodsandy++10-15-2013-21-48-45.jpg
 
My Mom gave any Betty Crocker coupons she had to her friend Eileen.  Over the span of 30yrs or so, Eileen acquired a service for 8 of flatware for each of her 3 children including all the extra serving pieces to go with them.
 
Think my parents' silverware is an ONIEDA set my mom said something about "Onieda", referring to her silverware... The top of the utensils are flared out & they have a "good silver" set, that I recall practically NEVER being used in a red velvet-lined wooden box that might be still in the top of the cupboard...

As for my house, we easily might not have an Onieda (or ANY) design... In place of us being any family having Regular/Good silverware, we just have two sets we regularly use no matter what (one dairy, one meat)...!

-- Dave
 
Dave:

If your mom got it with Betty Crocker points, I'd be willing to bet that "good set" is Queen Bess, shown below.

According to General Mills/Betty Crocker advertising, the floral motif depicts "the Garden Rose of China."

I have complete service for eight in this pattern, with all the rare stuff like demitasse spoons and cocktail forks, plus a boatload of serving pieces.

It's actually good quality plate; it's made on a copper alloy, and the bottoms of the spoon bowls (where the bowl rests on the table or a dish) and the backs of forks have been dipped in extra molten silver to increase the silver's thickness at that wear point.

However, not all Oneida was Betty Crocker flatware; the company was the largest silver company in the world for many, many years. They specialized in mass-market flatware, with a lot of stainless patterns and silverplate patterns. However, they did also make holloware (stuff like tea and coffee services), china, glassware and, occasionally, sterling silver flatware. They're still very much in business, though the products all seem to be made overseas now. [this post was last edited: 10/16/2013-08:35]

danemodsandy++10-16-2013-08-05-16.jpg
 
Sandy, I think you'll like Twin Star. This was my grandparents pattern and as a kid I really liked it, so much so that over the years I've collected enough that it's the pattern that Cara and I use today. For what it's worth, my grandma still uses hers and they look like new. I'm pretty sure hers were obtained with Betty Crocker points. -Cory
 
Cory:

Unless I'm missing something, your grandmother had to have gotten her Twin Star via Betty Crocker points. It's my understanding that the Betty Crocker patterns were exclusive to General Mills.

Which makes sense, because Queen Bess was one of the largest premium orders ever booked. I'm fairly sure Twin Star wasn't far behind. That's a lot of buying clout.

Fun to know that you and Cara have the same flatware I'm getting!
 
Well-----

Oneida made at least one pattern for Betty Crocker that was similar to one of their own patterns, Patrick Henry and Paul Revere. Maybe not an exact match, but very similar.

My sister and I have complete sets of Patrick Henry, thanks to Ma and her friends. It has held up very well.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 

Similar threads

danemodsandy
Done Collecting Corelle - but NOT PYREX
Replies
9
Views
21
danemodsandy
danemodsandy

Latest posts

Back
Top