Wood Stove Heating
In contrast to my post of yesterday I will write about the opposite problem of temperatures. When I was a kid many years ago we didn't have central heating in our home. Most people didn't in the South. We had a wood stove that was in one room and that is where we spent most of our time during the day. Of course at night we would let the fire go out because we were in bed and the covers kept us warm.Whoever was up first in the morning built the fire in the stove to get the house warmed up, or at least the room the stove was in. There was also a wood burning stove in the kitchen to cook on and it helped to warm the rest of the house.
Most of the time my Dad would be the one who made the fire in the morning and he would make it and then get back in bed for a few minutes until the room warmed up. I remember one time, to make it easier in the morning my Dad put all of the kindling and wood to make the fire in the stove that night before he went to bed. Apparently he did not notice a small ember of fire in the bottom of the stove. Sometime during the night that ember caught fire and all the kindling and wood burned up and when he got up in the morning all that was left in the stove were the ashes from the fire he had laid! What a bummer!
I remember hating it if I had to get up before the house was warmed up. Sometimes I would read the Sunday newspaper in bed and my arms would freeze holding the paper. I often thought that if I could I would have the whole house warm all the time.
My Mom lived to 101 years old and until the day she left her own home and entered a nursing home, at 93, she would let the fire die out-- or turn her heat off when she later got a gas heating stove --at night and sleep in a cold house. She liked that!
Now most people down South do have central heating. But I am sure there are a few who may still use wood heating and do not heat the house at night-- mainly to save money. I hated the cold back then and I still do. We arranged to do our visiting to my Mother's place during the summer or at least when it was not extremely cold because we did not like sleeping in a cold place..
Not only did my parents have to contend with a cold house much of the time, they also had to make sure they had wood on hand all the time for burning in the wood stove. I say contend, but I don't think they considered it contending with a problem, they liked it that way. I also must add that the winters are not as long or as cold as they are here in Indiana. But it was cold and uncomfortable to sleep in an unheated house even in the south!
Now, my furnace keeps my whole house the same temperature 24 hours a day and I really appreciate my comfortable, warm home. I often remember those cold nights I spent when I was a child.
posted by kyra lafain @ 5/31/2008 12:30:00 PM
5 Comments:
Wood heating is still pretty popular in the south. Our next door neighbors use wood -- they have a circulating system hooked up to their wood heater, and it keeps the whole house warm. Wouldn't Grandma and Grandpa have felt rich with something like that!
I remember how comforting Grandma's wood stove was. I always stayed in bed till Grandma or Grandpa got the fire going. Then I'd jump out of bed and race to the room where the stove was. When I had a chest cold or sore throat, Grandma would rub my chest with Vicks Vaporub, warm a cloth on the stove, and put it on my chest. Those "poor" rich kids who didn't have a wood stove don't know what a wonderful cure they missed out on! When I was little, I gauged the change of the seasons by when Grandpa either brought the stove in and connected it to the flue or took it down and stored it for the summer.
You are right on the ball with those comments! I used to love the warm Vicks cloths too. However. I don't think I would like to live like that now! I have become spoiled with the new way of life. Thanks for the comments!
I can't tell you why but after I got older I hated those wood stoves! I was kind of ashamed of them because some of the kids I knew had gas and didn't burn wood. I remember I was very happy after we got gas. Guess what! I still do not have any desire for a wood stove!
Well, I guess we are old fashioned! We have a wood burning stove in our living room and I wouldn't take anything for it. There is nothing like a roaring fire on a cold day! We even have a central heat and air vent right above it so we can circulate it to other parts of the house. Sometimes it's enough to heat the whole house, which helps with our electric bill. nh
nh, I have seen your wood stove and it looks great. I didn't even think about your stove when I wrote that! Besides, yours looks and burns a little different than the ones Mama and Daddy had! I was just remembering how when I was a kid I didn't like our wood stove. When I get a few electric bills this summer (which I have heard are going to be high) I may change my mind about wood stoves!
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