Childhood Kitchens

[jakeseacrest]

Not really sure if this is the right forum for this, but does anyone have any memories of their childhood kitchens? From 75-89 I remember having a harvest gold GE stove and fridge, Kenmore washer and dryer, no dishwasher or disposal,and a Litton microwave that my dad bought in 87. When we moved to our new house in 89 we had Kenmore stove, Coldspot fridge with bottom mount freezer, Whirlpool washer and dryer from the early 80s, and an Amana stand up freezer in a closet off of the kichen. My parents eventually got an Amana side by side fridge, a new Kenmore stove, GE washer and dryer,and an ISE Badger 5 in 1991. The Badger only lasted 4 years until it was replaced with a Sinkmaster disposal. Can't believe that I remember all of this.

 

[wayupnorth]

All Kenmore

Our entire kitchen growing up was all Sears. Kenmore washer, gas dryer, gas range and Coldspot refrigerator. All in white. My parents shopped at Sears for everything because a good friend of the family was a manager and gave them good deals.

 

[davy1063]

Right out of the Dick Van Dyke Show

My parent's house was built in 1961, and the kitchen appliances were Caloric. We had the exact wall oven and gas cooktop that was on the Dick Van Dyke show. They also had a 1959 GE fridge with the swing-out shelves the lower freezer (from their previous house). In 1966, they bought the TOL built-in GE dishwasher and garbage disposal. The fridge has been relocated to the laundry room when the kitchen was remodeled in 1981 and is still keeping beverages cold, and hasn't skipped a beat since it was built.

 

[akronman]

GE Kitchen

In 73, my folks bought a 1960 ranch, still original appliances, GE Wall oven, in pink, with a thermometer probe and rotisserie. The counter top 4 units was brushed stainless, matching the sink. The controls were mounted on the wall behind it, kind of difficult, and I replaced a burner about annually. The Dishwasher was GE, pulled out instead of front door, and a bowtie blade propeller, lasted until about 75. Also, an undercounter 50 gallon hot water tank at the end of the kitchen, don't know the brand, but I've never seen one again. I think the fridge was our own from our old house, and very likely did not match. There was a GE vent/light/fan, something tells me brown/bronze, not pink. We had moved from an un-remodeled 1929 home, I was extremely impressed with a built-in dishwasher, a fan/light, and the disposal. Our 1960 home also had a built-in vacuuum system, frankly I don't think it worked as well as most vacuums, and the 25 foot hose was really a pain. But, our folks left a portable dishwasher in the old home, maybe GE? I do remember the top-opening lid and the very rounded corners, wish I had it now. One knob, no buttons, pretty simple. I don't remember where the hoses came out, front or rear or top.

 

[firedome]

1953 brick Cape Cod in Towson MD

lived in from when built new in '53 until 1968:
1952 Frigidaire 12cu ft , replaced in 1964 by Frigidaire Custom Imperial 15 cu ft.
1952 Magic Chef 40" gas double oven range... used until we moved in '68
1952 no d/w, later a KDS-15 built-in w/ stainless panel, added in 1965.

 

[bajaespuma]

I've posted this before, but since you asked. East side of galley:

 

[bajaespuma]

Mom was into Delft-ware those years.

West side of galley:

 

[mixfinder]

Poor

We had a Majestic wood range, a Philco single door fridge, no running water, but an old Gray Ghost Maytag that had been converted from gas to electric. In 1963 we moved and had running water. We got a BOL Sears range and fridge and finally used the Maytag. In my teens I worked everywhere I could and saved my money to bring my family into reality. I bought a new Frigidaire CI 40 inch double oven range in 1967 which my mom still has. The same year I bought a used 1959 GE Keyboard washer and dryer and a 1960 Frigidaire Spin Tube dishwasher. Moved out in 1969, the happiest day and year of my life.

 

[mtn1584]

1974.............................

All brand new
Frigidaire Avocado Green Frost Free 21 cu ft Elite Refrigerator
Kitchen Aid Imperial Dishwasher, avocado green
"Custom crafted by Hotpoint" electric coil self cleaning range
General Electric 2speed 16lb. cap. washer white
Frigidaire BOL electric dryer white

The only appliance I liked was the GE washer.
MIKE

 

[turquoisedude]

Ah, the kitchen that I remember best was in the house we moved into in spring of 1970. The house was originally built in 1957 and I swear that when we first looked at the house, it had a Youngstown Kitchens 30-inch dishwasher! I guess it was not part of the sale, because when we moved in, there was a honking big gap next to the sink! They left the busted YK disposer, though!
From 1970 to 1974 our major appliances were a 1957 white GE single-door refrigerator (it had the swing-out shelves, which I still miss) and a 1957 Frigidaire range (not a high-end one). We also had a coppertone Viking (Westinghouse) top-load portable dishwasher. This slipped under a counter my father rigged up between the sink and range. We had a Tappan microwave that ate most of the counter near the fridge.
In 1974 my mother got fed up with defrosting the GE fridge and the increasingly unreliable range (two burners were shot and the oven control was off by 50 degrees - yet the timer still worked - go figure!) She went out and bought a harvest gold Baycrest range and refrigerator set (made by Westinghouse in those days).
The big changes came in 1978 - the kitchen got a facelift - new cupboard doors and counters and a brand-new GE Potscrubber dishwasher. We gotten a GE trash compactor in 1976, but it lived in the back porch until then. In 1978, my father added a shelf in the corner of the kitchen opposite the range with the compactor underneath and the microwave on top. The Tappan microwave got replaced with a Moffat one in 1980.
I actually have a couple of pictures, too!
This one was taken in GASP... 1982

 

[parunner58]

This was the kitchen from when I grew up in the late 70's. My mom had a Roper double oven gas range, Ge Potscrubber DW, and a Frigidaire Gemini 2000 Side by Side. All in beautiful avacado. In the Laundry we had a GE Filter flo with the dispensal lid and a Sears Kenmore Model 60 gas dryer.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Childhood kitchen

I can remember. Tappan electric range, Frigidaire 18 CU.Ft. top freezer fridge. Hobart/KA KDP-20 dishwasher. Litton Microwave and Waste king disposal.

 

[toploader55]

Earliest Memories,

Circa 1948 Tappan 4 Burner Range, Hotpoint Refridgerator with the Big Brushed Chrome Front, Boomerang Grey Formica Countertops and a 24" Princess Pullout GE BowTie Dishwasher. Sunbeam MixMaster with Juicer attachment and a Sunbeam Self Lowering Toaster.
Basement : 1955 GE Washer and a GE Single Dial Dryer.

 

[xraytech]

In our first house we lived in until 1993 the Kitchen had formica wood pattern cabinets, a beige brick pattern vinyl floor, a 36" or 40" avacado green GE gas range, and matching top freezer frost free fridge, and on the counter was the Sears Frog Family canister set and the TOL 1984 JCPenney solid state microwave which was a wedding shower gift of mothers.

 

In 1993 we built a new house, we have a medium finish all wood cabinets, cream formica couners with some color flecks, a 1993 Frigidaire 30" range with encapsulated steel burners(I bought a new Kenmore smooth top in 2007), and a white Sears Kenmore 18 top freezer fridge(which is still in service, and the TOL 1984 JCPenney microwave came along(I bought a new 2.0 cu ft Kenmore Elite in 2008), we started off with no dishwasher as mother didnt want one, then in 2000 we got a Kenmore Elite that has been replaced twice each time with a slightly lower end Kenmore

 

[lordkenmore]

The house I remember the most (the last one we lived in) was built in the 50s, and probably had most of the original kitchen intact. The only probable change was one wall had been taken out between the kitchen and the room next to it. That meant the wall, and probably cabinets. My parents added that wall back again.

Cooking appliances were electric, and made by Thermador. There was a separate cooktop/oven arrangement. Plus there was an electric griddle. I don't know if the griddle worked--as far as I know, it was never used. In fact, it was hidden under a particle board cover that increased counter space. (Probably not the safest idea--but it was that way when we moved in. Since the griddle was never used, and actually had switches that would turn off, one might argue it was safer in some ways than today's appliances using voodoo electronics.) Our refrigerator was Kelvinator with freezer on the bottom that probably dated to the 60s (it mentioned Rambler cars on some label). There was a portable Sears dishwasher--with Roto-Rack!--but it was never used. I'm not entirely sure why--I know my mother worried about dishwashers breaking dishes. Plus I suspect my parents might have taken the attitude it wasn't worth it for the volume of dishes we'd use.

Before that house, we lived in an older house. I don't remember much about that kitchen, but it did have a white electric range.

Before that, we lived in an even older house (early 20th century). I can't remember anything except a shadowy memory of a round top refrigerator. I remember my parents taking the door off it when they got the Kelvinator mentioned above. (The door was removed for safety since it was taken out of service, and there was the fear of a child--specifically me--climbing in and shutting the door.) That house apparently had a gas range. I don't remember it, but I do remember my mother talking about it years later. It slightly terrified her--I think when it was lighting burners (either no pilot light, or dealing with pilot lights that had gone out).

 

[lordkenmore]

I might add this to my comments above. The Thermador oven was, my mother said, the best regular oven she ever used. Unfortunately, it broke by 1980, and couldn't be fixed by the repairman my parents called in. The stove also developed lots of "quirks." One burner didn't work when we moved in, and I think I heard a story about someone getting an electric shock when it was on. I can't remember for sure--it was always in my memory the burner you never, ever use. Other burners lost temperature settings as the years went by. Still, those appliances were at least 20 years old when we moved into that house, and probably had seen heavy use during those years.

The refrigerator was amazingly reliable. The only problem we had were with fan switches for the freezer compartment. It was funny, because my mother commented in the early 80s that she expected us to need a new refrigerator within a year...and yet it soldiered on at least ten more years. It may still be in that house running to this day for all I know.

 

[qualin]

Growing up, the house was built in 1945. It had the same appliances when my parents moved in, back in 1974. It had an incredibly deep tub sink, gas stove and a fridge I can't remember, but I do barely recall it had a chrome handle on it.

In 1984, my father completely renovated the entire kitchen by himself and replaced all of the appliances with Inglis ones, except for the fridge and trash compator, which I seem to recall were Kenmores... I believe my father went Kenmore because the fridge had the "Micro-Freezer", Mostly fridge, very little freezer. It quit on my father last year..

The Inglis range packed it in sometime around 1998 or so, but only because it saw extremely heavy use while I was growing up. It was always cooking a meal of some kind. I'm sure as teenagers growing up, we didn't help lengthen it's lifespan any.

The dishwasher packed it in sometime around 2009, but it was on its way out way before that, it sounded like something howling whenever it washed. I gave my father my old 1998 vintage Roper dishwasher. (It works and it's quieter. What a great son I am. )

I also fondly recall the Kenmore Trash Compactor, which my father still uses, but he doesn't really use the compacting part much anymore because bags for it are expensive. (Not to mention, who uses a trash compactor in a modern kitchen anymore?)

I distinctly remember loving the sounds it would make if we filled it full of bottles and turned it on. Cans also made neat noises too, but it wasn't nearly as dramatic.

Part of me wishes we had a trash compactor, but my wife is an avid recycling freak so that idea went out the window really fast.

The stove at my parents place has been replaced with a mid-1980's vintage Kenmore which my father picked up for a song because the house next door was getting demolished.

 

[frigilux]

The first house I lived in was built by my father in 1955, four years before I was born. It is a very small place--only about 550 square feet. To maximize use of space, the kitchen and dining room were located in the finished basement, along with a bedroom, a bathroom, and laundry room.

The kitchen had Westinghouse appliances. There was a built-in dishwasher (the pull-out kind), a wall oven, a refrigerator, a cooktop and a garbage disposer. The laundry room had both a 1959 Kenmore wringer washer and the 1960 Model 80 automatic pair which were purchased when I was a year old.

My parents bought the automatics because I kept crawling/walking into the laundry room to plug in and unplug the wringer on washdays. They thought I'd leave the automatics alone. Ha! Little did they know that pair would mark the beginning of a lifelong interest in washers.

 

[norgeway]

1950!

Westinghouse fridge, 1954 Hotpoint 30 inch range....that I would love to find one like!!, and a 55 Frigidaire Pulsamatic washer, early 50s hand me down Slant Front westinghouse dryer that my aunt and uncle let Mother have in 67 when they bought their new 606 Maytag set, Dormeyer Dormey hand mixer and a Sunbeam waffle iron.