November 7, 2002
HOUSE PROUD
The Vikings Retreat in the Face of a Classic
By BRADFORD McKEE
The backlash against extreme appliances started with me — or so I believe. In the
past year or so, several friends have renovated their kitchens with
sport-utility ranges, those slick, stainless, six-burner models made by Viking,
KitchenAid and Jenn-Air and formerly found only in finer restaurants. I've
looked at them, even admired them, but wondered if all that cooking capacity,
all those B.T.U.'s, were really necessary...
...But all that kept me from taking charge of a vintage 1940 Chambers
Model B cookstove was an otherwise lovely couple, tenants, who didn't move out
of the first floor of my house in Washington until July...
(To read the rest of the story go
to... The
New York Times - November 7, 2002)
..."The Old Appliance Club, in Ventura, Calif. (805-643-3532;
www.theoldapplianceclub.net), offers free consultations; publishes a magazine,
The Old Road Home; and sells door handles, griddle tops, timer replacements and
operating manuals"...
Read about /
subscribe to the magazine... The Old Appliance Club.
Or order
feature magazines of... The Old Road Home.
... "The stovetop has a set of three slightly degraded cast-iron burners
and something called a thermowell, a 13-inch-deep covered hold that acts as a
second oven for "waist-high baking" in the original Wearever pots.
(Alas, they are gone.)" ...
To see a picture of the NEW DEEPWELL POTS with Snap on
Lid - click on CHAMBERS in the PARTS
section of The Old Appliance Club Shop.
"A full-fledged Chambers convert, I began to pant over Internet sites
that said things like "Order the Old Road Home fall 1997 issue featuring
the fascinating history of the Chambers range plus don't miss the new upcoming
Chambers feature in the Old Road Home winter 2001 edition." I became
dangerous to sit next to at a dinner party.
The Chambers is a gas-burning range, of course, and requires a match to
light. And because it came with the house, I don't have to bring it up to code
with electronic ignition and other retrofits — as long as I don't move it. I
approach my Chambers with humility, stick match in hand, fearing I will blow up
the house if I don't get the hang of those shiny, heavy knobs and safety
switches."
Click to read about the CHAMBERS SAFETY
SYSTEM.
..."Luckily, my neighbor Steve had rented the first floor of this house
before I bought it. He has already given me one stove tutorial, and I'll
probably need another before I try to bake a soufflé. "I absolutely love
that stove," Steve says whenever I get him going on the subject"...
The rest of the story...
...can
be read in the archives section of The New York Times - November 7,
2002
--------
Partial
In The News listing of other publications, TV, and radio website interviews:
Wall
Street Journal-1995, Natural Gas Dailies, LA Times, Antique Trader,
BrandWise, Good Housekeeping magazine, Independent Business magazine,
Business '99, Renovation Style, The New Yorker, Frontier House PBS series, The
Old House Journal magazine, syndicated columnists, Ann and Nan, Mr.
Handyperson - Mark Hett, This Old House, Collectors Magazine and Price Guide,
Cabin Life, libraries and museums throughout the country including The
Smithsonian Library.
For stove and appliance parts, information, free consultation, estimates,
thermostats, electrical elements, safeties... see
The Old Appliance
Club Shop
