Wood stoves are still being sold
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 (WEDNESDAY) – The good old pot belly wood stove heated many homes for many years. I lived with my grandparents as a preschooler when they heated their home with a stove like this. It sat in the middle room, usually serving as the dining room in homes of that style, and took the chill off the living room next to it. The room on the other side was the kitchen, which had a stove of its own, either wood or kerosene.
The bedrooms on the other side of the house were unheated. They piled on the quilts and blankets. I always liked flannel blankets next to me, rather than sheets, because they didn’t feel as cold when I first went to bed. Funny how the body itself generates the heat that keeps the sleeper warm through the night.
The pot belly stove was fueled with wood, and when the live coals formed, the metal of the stove turned red. Sometimes the fire was so hot for so long the metal turned white. People had to be very careful around those stoves, to avoid being burned.
Many people today remember the fireplaces and wood stoves of their childhoods long ago. Many others, however, have never known anything but central heating and airconditioning.
The wood stoves are still being sold these days, because they are still the most practical means of heating under some circumstances.
We heated the old Oletha church house with such a stove. When winter got serious with us, the crowd dwindled, and those who showed up for church sat around the stove. I have those memories. God has been so very good to me, in giving me experiences worth remembering.