Wood Stoves

In the course of creating the furniture for the Cambell Cottage dollhouse, I checked back to my notes from Pauline D. whose family bought the cottage from Ed & Kay Campbell.  Pauline wrote: We had a wood stove in the kitchen that my mum would use all the time.  In speaking with Babe R., I was told: We also had a wood stove. All the cottages did. My mother could gauge the temperature just by sticking her arm in the oven door, but I prefer the accuracy of my electric stove.  So the dollhouse cottage has been built with a wood stove.

Wood Stove - template, underconstruction and completed

While the Campbell and Grover families used the woods stoves well into the 1960s, electicity arrived at the Point from Fenelon Falls in 1925 at a cost of $9,918.48. Council had sought an estimate from the Hydro Power Commission in 1924 and by the spring of 1925, it had been installed. The electrical rates for that first season were "3 lights cost $5.00 and additional lights cost $1.00 each...; an upright toaster cost $2.00 and flat toasters were prohibited; electric iron cost $2.00; and an electric stove cost $5.00 per month. In 1927, meters were installed to each cottage that was using a stove or heating water.  The service charge on the meter was 42.00 per month for three months and 5c for the first sicty watts and 2c after that.  In 1930, the meter rate rose to 6c for the first 100 kilo-watt hour and 2c after that, with a minimum charge of $10.00."

Source:  The Village of Sturgeon Point from Incorporation to Amalgamation 1899-2000 by Patricia Aspinwall, p20

I was really intrigued at the comment about the acceptability of one toaster over another.  So here as some samples of each.  The first is the most common one, the General Electric Hotpoint from about 1923 - there is still one of these in my cupboard - does anyone throw anything away around here?!? and a fancy one also from the 1920s.

General Electric's Hotpoint Electric Toaster and Landers, Frary & Clark's Universal "Sweetheart" Toaster

Advertisment for General Electric's Hotpoint Electric Toaster

Source: www.toaster.org

And here is the 1920s Sunbeam Model B Flat Toaster - their advertisment claimed that it would cook toast 50% faster...

from the Saturday Evening Post - February 12, 1922

Source: www.toaster.org

I have no idea why one would be acceptable and the other not, except perhaps it drew more electricity...

So, today's question is: When was the woodstove taken out of your kitchen?