Forks, Knives, and Spoons

This Christmas I put stainless steel flatware on my list. We have the most eclectic assortment you've ever seen that we use daily. I am going to change all of that and have everything match from now on! It was fun looking through our assortment and remembering where they came from. Would you believe that we are still using some flatware we bought in Germany in 1953. It was very inexpensive but heavy and we've misplaced a lot of it. Then once I bought some samples at a store in Paris, TX - all good quality and some even had monograms on the handles - but they were not "G". With 3 active boys in and out of the kitchen, borrowing flatware to take camping, furnishing school aparatments, etc. the utensils have been moved around.


 Early in December I started looking for some good quality stainless steel that "matched" and learned a lot in the process. I finally settled on Oneida "Julliard", 18/10. It is expensive so I asked for a couple of 5-piece place settings and ended up with 4 under the tree. It was on sale at Belk's, 50% off, and no shipping charges, so Jim ordered 3 sets and Bill gave me a set. Yesterday I got an email from Macy's and they had this flatware on sale plus a bonus set for each set that you buy. So I ordered 2 more sets immediately . Someday I will have all I need - 8 sets, to use every day, for the 3 of us.


Today I was thinking of the Rogers Bros. silverplate I bought many years ago and have enjoyed using on special occasions. When we got married, I was in college and Jim was in the army, and we didn't pick out silver, china, crystal, etc., back in 1953 like brides do today. So it wasn't until the mid 1960's, when we bought a new home in Atlanta and had a dining room, that I wanted some nice silverware. Our 3 boys were in elementary school and we didn't have a lot of money left over to spend on luxuries such as this. I noticed on a box of Sunshine Krispy crackers (which they loved to eat) an ad about Rogers Bros silverware. You could complete a set by saving coupons from the box tops and sending a check along with the coupons to order individual pieces of the silver. This was quite a project and I kept at it (having friends and family save coupons for me) until I got twelve 5-piece place settings. It is reinforced silverplate International Sterling and heavy and shiny. I have no idea what pattern it is; it's been too long ago to remember that. I did try looking it up on the internet but couldn't find it. I even looked for the 1960's Sunshine Krispy Cracker ad but never did find that either. I read that Rogers Bros made hundreds of designs from 1888 to 1950, so I will probably never learn the name of my pattern. It really doesn't matter that much. I treasure this much more than people do who have all this given to them when they get married. I worked for mine! I polish it often and we take it out and use it on special occasions or when we have company. When the granddaughters visit, they like to set the table and use the pretty china dishes and silver, along with my pretty placemats, tablecloths and cloth napkins.