They don't build them like that anymore

Written by Ellen Beveridge
Tuesday, 13 October 2009 13:58

The stove I cook on in my house is an old stove, a really old stove.

How old? You might ask. Well, it was installed when the house was built in the mid-1950s. I know this to be a fact because the previous and first-time owner I purchased the house from told me so. Also, it’s obvious by the way the adjoining counter was built to fit next to, and accommodate, the stove.

Accommodate is the key because of the size of this General Electric stove. Behemoth (dictionary: “a huge creature or thing”) would be a fitting description. That’s because it is 40 inches wide, really wide by today’s standards for a normal stove, be it either electric or gas. Half of the surface provides a large working area, which is just fine with me because counter space in my Cape Cod-style home is rather limited.

There are four burners and two ovens. I confess that I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve used the larger oven since I purchased the house 30 years ago. But again, because of limited cabinet space, I use this oven to store things.

The stove may possibly fall into the category of an antique. Upon seeing it for the first time, I have heard exclamations like, “What an extraordinary stove!” “Does this thing still work?” “I’ve never seen a stove like this, how old is it?”

Truly, the stove is something to behold with its while enamel (with nary a scratch, I’m proud to say) and lots of chrome that gives it a gleaming and majestic appearance — that’s if I’m conscientious with my cleaning and polishing.

To work the burners, there are six push buttons with a range of “Off, “Warm, Low, 3, 2 Hi.” There are two dials for each oven; one dial sets the desired temperature, the other sets “Broil, Bake, Time.” Thereby, hangs a problem.

The stove clock has not worked since the day I moved in, so I’ve never been able to set the times to have the oven go on and off when I’m not at home. But I guess what you’ve never had you don’t miss.

In all the years the stove has only failed me once, and that was of my own doing. I had a luncheon guest and put the tea kettle (unfortunately, the non-whistling type) on to boil water for tea. Then I joined my guest in the living room, completely forgetting the tea kettle. When I did realize my neglect, the burner, not to mention the kettle, was red hot, too hot, and it literally burned itself to death.

I managed to get a repair man to install a new burner, but he was not able to provide new push buttons that had gone the way of the burner; they didn’t work either. In desperation, I contacted the G. E. plant in Tennessee, and a new set of buttons was mailed to me. When I opened the package I was dismayed to find the set only included five buttons. I called the plant, but sadly was informed the six-button model was out of manufacture, and I had been sent all they had in stock.

What to do? The burned out burner was the one I used the most, and I was lost without it. I decided to go to a local appliance and repair store with my problem. The man was none too encouraging. “I haven’t seen a stove like that in years,” he said, which came as no surprise to hear, of course.

I waited anxiously for the outcome of my one last hope as the man rummaged around in his back room. Suddenly, he emerged with the solution to my problem. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. The six buttons were opaque and did not match the old Lucite ones for the other burners, but that certainly was the least of my concerns.

Through the years, I’ve replaced every appliance I have — refrigerator, washing machine, vacuum cleaner, microwave oven, etc. — but not my stove. If this should happen, heaven forbid, it would undoubtedly necessitate major carpentry to fill the space of a new, smaller stove.

One time, when the new refrigerator was delivered, the man spied my stove. He walked over, gazed at it, shook his head in amazement and said, “They don’t build them like that anymore.”

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