In the photo on the left, taken in 1938 or '39, Dad's the man on the right. Wearing an apron. Like many men of his day he just didn't do much in the kitchen except eat. Only once, when I was 5 or 6, do I remember him making a meal: it was tomato soup which he made for lunch while my mom was at an appointment or a meeting. It was a bit of an ordeal but we didn't go hungry. And I remember him washing dishes occasionally. But cooking was not one of his areas of expertise or interest. So I find it funny to see him and Tux (Earl Tuxford) in aprons. You can see that they were teasing, joking around with their wives with their sleeves rolled up. My mom probably snapped the photo with her camera that was a graduation-from-nursing-school gift.
In the photo on the right, taken about 25 years later, Dad was really cooking the steak on the grill. But the apron and hat were a joke. We bought them as a joke and he wore them to please us, just for the photo. The steak was probably delicious. He didn't/couldn't cook inside but he did a great job cooking on the grill.
Head over to Sepia Saturday and see what everyone else is cooking up this week.
Love the photos!!
ReplyDeleteThe Happy Eaters!
ReplyDeleteActually Nancy, It makes me wonder if Men & Cooking is a territory-thing.Men exluded themselves from The Kitchen.however BBQs outdoors liberated them?
I think the first photo was just for the photo op. I do not see any food stains to indicate that they really had been cooking. On the grill photo it seems he really had been cooking.
ReplyDeleteNancy - these pics are awesome! I don't ever remember my dad in an apron but, like most women of those days, mom always wore one. Hubs never wears one either...except maybe if bar-be-queing, and then it would have to be a 'macho' one.
ReplyDeleteFantastic shots! I love old photos that are kind of goofy, as they're not so common... unless they feature my father, who was a total dork.
ReplyDeleteTony, I believe you're right about the territory thing. Before about the 1960s or '70s, women (generally speaking) probably didn't want men in the kitchen and men probably didn't want to be there. And then bar-b-queing became popular and men had a wide open place to be to do the cooking. Who knows.... Thanks for visiting and commenting.
ReplyDeleteClaudia, I absolutely agree that the first photo was just for the joke of it. I can almost imagine my mom and her friend, Leona, teasing the guys into putting on the aprons and having their pictures taken -- and the obliged bigtime (but didn't cook a thing). Yes, he really was cooking in the grill photo. I think he did the cooking outside but I don't ever remember my mom cooking on the grill. Thanks for visiting and adding your comments.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo! Looks like your dad had a great sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteHello Nancy, your dad was a very handsome man and looks like a joker..great to get another one of him older and in an apron again. Its wonderful to have men cook on the grill. My hubby loves doing it and does a great job too. He also wears an apron. Love Crystal xx
ReplyDeleteWhat great photos! I really like the hat your dad is sporting in the photo on the right.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad was able to feed himself & us, in an emergency, but usually with something inappropriate, which was fine by us kids :-)
ReplyDelete