1970s Coffee-to-Go: Percolator And A Thermos
That’s how it worked “back in my day,” as they say.
Our version of coffee-to-go in the 1970s was a percolator and a thermos.
And, I still have mine. Thermos, that is. Surprising, maybe?
But not really, to those who know me.
July 9, 2021
That little relic of the past …
holds special memories, that go all the way back to my early working days. The little blue-striped thermos went everywhere with me. It was part of my On-the-Go Work Kit, which also included clear nail polish and a sewing set for stopping runs in your nylons and snags in your hems.
But it’s the thermos …
I’m thinking about, today, as I take mine off my coffee-pot display for a good cleaning. This little “friend,” yes, friend, went off with me to my first job, as assistant manager at Helzberg Diamonds in Des Moines, Iowa. It was just so nice to have along for grabbing a quick sip in the stock room. That’s how it worked in those days. There was no “break room.” Companies didn’t provide coffee. Many times, you didn’t even get a break. So, it was more like grabbing a gulp-to-go before waiting on the next customer.
And that’s all forgotten, now, with the one-cup home coffee makers and drive-through coffee shops. But that’s how it was, for me and many others, back in the ‘70s Midwest. Not really a bad idea, comparatively speaking. We saved a lot of money and time. We didn’t need to plan-in extra minutes for coffee stops or extra money for gas.
We didn’t know any better …
of course. Like I said, that’s all we had. We didn’t even have on-the-go mugs with screw-on no-drip tops. Boy, don’t-cha wish you’d come up with that idea? I mean, whoever did is making a bundle. Really. Who doesn’t have at least one of those in their kitchen cupboard? Very few, I’d venture to say.
So, like I said, the duo of the thermos and the percolator was the standard fare of the day. And, the “perk” truly was — there’s no better tasting coffee than that which is “perked.” In fact, it’s so good you don’t even need sugar or milk. Yes, I said, milk. There was, no such thing as little coffee creamer cups back then, in all different flavors, for Pete’s Sake. Hard to imagine? I know. Yet, somehow, we managed.
There’s my coffee shelf complete with stove-top percolator, camp kettle and espresso maker that’s nearly the shape of the Kofy Pot house in the picture.
Yes, we did survive …
it seems, and amazingly well, as I ponder the thought. And through the process of perking created wonderful memories by simply sitting around the kitchen table waiting for the coffee to brew. We laughed, we cried, made plans and solved problems. And sometimes, we just gossiped. Yes, (I’m whispering, now) we gossiped, about who was doing what with who and what were they doing now. That was our “reality” TV. We didn’t watch, we lived it. And, I’m lucky enough to say I’m still doing that, sitting around the kitchen table making memories while waiting for the coffee to brew, every time I visit my step-mom Lila.
“Coffee’s on,” she says, with a hug at the front door.
“Can’t wait!” I say, inhaling the wonderful aroma.
That’s it …
It’s that wonderful “perking” smell of the coffee that permeates your brain and attaches the memory. Yes, all the memories. They do drift back for me at the smell of coffee in the air. Of all the lovely visits I’ve had through the years sitting around someone’s kitchen table waiting for the coffee to “Perk.”
Laughing, crying, making plans and solving problems over a good cup of coffee. It, just doesn’t get any better than that.
There she is. My little blue-striped thermos, alongside my percolator and companion thermos, inherited from mother-in-law, Lois.
This wonderful drawing of a coffee pot house that I included in my display was actually a real place in my hometown of Fort Dodge, Iowa, where you could go for a cup of coffee and a spin on the dance floor. I just thought it so cool that my husband had the picture in his art collection when we got together because I’d featured it in the Fort Dodge Today magazine when I was editor. So that clipping is taped to the back. (photo below) And, I’m so glad artist, Sumner Heman, had the foresight to capture the historic house for posterity. Sadly, it was torn down in the 1970s.
Here’s the photo and history of the wonderful little coffee-pot shaped house that used to stand in my hometown of Fort Dodge, Iowa. It’s remembered as having a restaurant on the first floor and dance floor on the second with room enough in the spout for a three-piece band.
