Photo courtesy Fairhope Single Tax Corporation Archives, Ruffles Collection
The 1950s-era photo above depicts a crowd of eager customers who are admiring a new range on display outside the Ruffles Company store in Fairhope. The Ruffles Company was started by W. R. Ruffles Sr. in 1922. He and his wife originally moved to Fairhope to farm, but eventually began a plumbing and sewerage business instead, which quickly became successful. By the 1950s, the company had expanded to encompass electrical, heating and air conditioning; it was also a butane gas supplier, and sold gas and electrical appliances. The Ruffles Company was originally located at 15 North Section Street. It would later move to Fairhope Avenue and the Section Street location served as a showroom after the move. After W. R. Ruffles Sr. retired, his son, W. R. Ruffles Jr., took over the business.Â
There will be no more matches in the kitchen and no constantly burning oven pilots, forever wasting gas, in the home of women who become owners of the new Norge Gas Range now on display at Ruffles Company in Fairhope, Ala.
An excerpt from the May 25, 1950, edition of the Fairhope Courier
1948
The year the Ruffles Company bought Fairhope Hardware & Supply Company. The Fairhope Courier called it “one of the biggest business deals to take place in Fairhope.”
#EED8D2
The hex code for First Lady Mamie Eisenhower’s favorite shade of pink. Eisenhower started a color trend in the 1950s with “Mamie pink,” and kitchens across America soon sported many pastel colors.
1950s
Before this decade, stoves had not been reliably mass produced. It was after the soldiers returned home from World War II that ranges began to be more widely available.
Slow Oven
A term for an oven set between 300-325 degrees. 1950s’ ovens didn’t always have thermostats to set the baking temperatures, so a set of phrases was developed to guide cooking instruction.
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