I'm over at Mom's this morning, waiting for her new refrigerator to be delivered. As I sit here in her kitchen, I'm reminded of all the wonderful winter meals made on top this old wooden burning stove, and the countless newborn baby goats that were warmed and dried in a box beside the great old stove.
I absolutely love this old stove, and have already made it abundantly clear I have dibs on it whenever Mom decides she no longer wants it.
Growing up, the power often went out during winter storms, and this woodburner not only kept us warm, but also fed us great meals like biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs, hamburgers, soup, or anything else that could be made on a baking sheet, or in a cook pot, or skillet.
Up until 7 years ago when Dad passed away, this old cast iron woodburner was the main source of heat for this 3 bedroom ranch house. Mom, and my disabled brother who lives with her, uses it as emergency heat. Mom is afraid of chimney fires, so she doesn't feel comfortable using the old stove anymore. Dad was a professional, career firefighter for the nearby town, so while he was still here, she was fine using the old stove, but now it is just here in case the power goes out.
I remember keeping my bedroom window open all winter long to cool my room off so I could sleep at might, lol. I don't know what it is about wood heat, but it warms everything in the house from the inside out. Even the walls feel warm. It’s soooo different from propane or electric furnace heat.
I have plans one day to put this stove in my dinning room and vent it up my fireplace chimney. Our fireplace never puts out much heat. I suspect the majority of the heat goes up the chimney. With this old stove, most of the heat would stay in the center of the house, keeping us very comfortable.
