Photo by Stephen Hill
EARLY AMERICAN kitchens were empty, save for the odd table. Preparing family meals was not easy. Then came the Hoosier Cabinet in 1898, with top and bottom sections that included a work surface, a flour bin, and storage. It was embraced so enthusiastically that 130 different companies eventually came to produce it. Most were in Indiana, hence its name. The Coppes Napanee company was the last survivor. (Nappanee is intentionally misspelled; at the time, it was illegal for a business to appropriate a town’s name.) In 2007, the original factory was transformed into Coppes Commons, with a grocery store, a coffee shop, an ice cream parlor, and a museum. The latter is the home of this honey-hued Model A Dutch Kitchenet, tricked out with a meat grinder, bread box, and porcelain sliding table. Advertisements for the Kitchenet introduced the brand’s Dutch girl character, which proved popular. Who she was based on remains a mystery.
