Junk and Howe's Housewares

Junk and Howe’s Housewares

When I think about being in a kitchen, I think about my grandmothers or my mom. Just as I marveled at my dad’s indestructible Craftsman tools in the garage, I remember the women in my family using quality tools in the kitchen. Unfortunately, Pyrex isn’t made like it used to be. Fire King has been cheapened as well (along with just everything else, right?). Federal Glass or Glasbake (by McKee) – these were affordable products in their day, and they lasted. They’re still lasting.

Even melamine products, like the Texas Ware mixing bowls my grandma used to mix concoctions in. Or watching her using her turn of the century Universal Food Chopper No. 1 to grind up ham for ham salad – we called it a “grinder.”

My dad had his Stanley Aladdin green thermos with him every day, working as a mason. That stainless steel thermos got beat up pretty good over the years, but it always kept the coffee hot the entire day in its vacuumed-sealed canister.

As I grew older, I was lucky enough to get some durable housewares passed down to me. I know they’ll last, and on top of it, the design of a lot of products from the last 50-plus years have become classic. They might have been trendy in their day, but now they’re timeless. I use Pyrex when I’m cooking. I bust out the antique grinder every so often to make my grandma’s specialty, “Hillbilly Tacos,” and I plan on utilizing a resurgence of the back to basics butcher shop here in Chicago to get myself some meat to grind up for hamburger patties to grill come springtime.

With times being tight on everyone, it’s nice to cook something at home – for the health benefits as well as the monetary aspect. And I get to use the coolest, most resilient stuff to make it all happen. Luckily, we have extras, so take a look and grab what you need.

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Same story - the grand opening is coming soon!

Here's a little Waylon Jennings. He was a staple down at my grandma's...

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