Hand Crank Coffee Grinder
It was used for grinding coffee. First you put coffee beans in
an upside down bottle. Then you would turn a crank. Out would
come ground coffee. By Zevy
Chamber Pot
It was used for going to the bathroom. When it was about full,
you would have to take it to the outhouse and then empty it. It
had a lid, and you would keep it under the bed. By Sydney
Old Wash Basin
It was used for washing your hands after you went to the outhouse
or went to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The pitchers
were for putting the water in. The big pitcher was for cold water,
and the little pitcher was for hot or warm water. The bowl was
blue and white and so were the pitchers. By Jessie
Old Fashion Washing Machine
It was used for washing clothes. If the kids were bad, they would
have to pull and push the handle. It was very hard because
there was lots of water in there. There was a roller that
you could turn, and it would squeeze out the water. It was interesting
because it was a lot more complicated than the machines we have
today. You had to do all the stuff by yourself. By Sean
On the back side of the washing machine there was a drying spinner.
Then they would take the clothes in the basket and hang them on
the clothesline outside. If kids were bad, they would have to
spin the handle on the washing machine. By Joe
Record Player
It was used for playing old fashioned music. The only problem
was you couldn't bounce on the floor because it would make the
music stop. It's a good thing they had record players because
you could listen to music. They didn't have TV either. By Lindsey
Colorful Carpet
It was used for covering the floor in the babies' room. It was
interesting because somebody in the Stow family made it. The carpet
was very colorful. By Ramin
Broken Cane Chair
It was used for Horace, the youngest child, to sit on during meals.
Horace Stow was the eleventh child born out of twelve children.
His father came to the table and said in a stern voice, "Who
stomped through the tomato garden?" Horace's brothers and
sisters all pointed at him. Horace stood up and said to his father,"No
I did not." Horace's father said, "Yes you did,"
which made Horace so mad that he smashed his foot right through
his chair. His father said, "It doesn't pay to be angry."
So from this day on, the chair was never fixed. They made him
sit on the broken chair.
Vieja Valley School
Santa Barbara, CA 93110