"Michael" > wrote:
> I was wondering if you folks have any kitchen items
> with a history that brings back memories.

I've got a fair number of things, some of which go back to the "survival
kit" my mother gave me when I moved out on my own after college 30 years
ago. In that kit were some kitchen knives, a big serving platter, bowls,
glasses, silverware, etc. The silverware includes spoons that used to be in
boxes of powdered laundry detergent, the glasses include free glasses that
gas stations used to give away.

A "prime" piece is a depression era green glass bowl by Anchor Hocking. When
we were kids we used to go scavenging in the neighborhood trash, and this
was one thing we found and proudly presented to Mom. It became known in the
family as "the tuna fish bowl" because our Mom always made tuna fish with
mayonnaise in it... it was just the right size for one can's worth. I guess
my Mom didn't like it as much as I thought, because she did part with it
when she put it in that survival kit years ago.

I've got an old nickel plated brass kettle for boiling water that my Dad
gave me over 20 years ago. It belonged to my Grandmom, and my Dad said he
remembered her using it when he was a little kid in Flourtown, PA in the
1930s. My Dad passed away last year, and one of the things I came across in
his possessions was a class photo from when he was in 3rd grade in
Flourtown, dated 1937. My Dad had said for all he knew, my Grandmom might
have brought the kettle over from Germany when they emigrated here a few
years before that.