We bought a Hawthorne Camp Kitchen yesterday! We're trying to find out more info also. Did you ever find out anything? Carl
We have the same one. Ours is missing the pot and utensils. It has a Montgomery wards price tag, $29.95! I haven't figured out how to post pics yet. Carl
I don't have info on the hawthorne camp box per se, but in my curiosity, I found this page of pics. Wards, Studebaker and John Deere all made chuck wagons. The kitchen on the back end being the "chuck box" I am guessing. http://www.prospectwagonworks.com/html/chuckwagons.html
In the world of the cowboy, "chuck" is the slang for food. The chuck wagon was the wagon which traveled with the cattle drive from wherever to the "railhead" in Dodge, or Abiline, or whereever they caught up to the rails. The "chuck wagon" carried all the food used by the cook except the meat. The meat was usually deer, or buffalo, or some other game animal, but not beef. The beef was too valvuable at the rail to waste feeding the cowboys. They would eat an old cow if one died in a stampede but usually they would not kill one for food. The box on the back of the wagon opened to allow the cook access to his kitchen. Pots, pans and the necessary ingredients added to the food. A major staple was beans, of one sort or another, flapacks and coffee. All cooking was done over an open fire with a tripod hanging pot and grill on rocks. Fuel was what was at hand but in the high plains ( North Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Eastern Colorado ) most fuel was buffalo chips. IE. dried buffalo dung. Honestly this did not add flavour to the meal but some think it did. If you complained about the fare it was not uncommon for the trail boss have you attend the chuck wagon. Usually the wagon set out ahead of the herd after the cowboys had been fed breakfast and had set up at the bedding ground and had dinner either cooked or cooking and almost done by the time the herd was bedded down, and the Cowboys had tended to their horses. Four to five miles was a good day for the herd as the trailboss didn't want to walk off the weight. Fat cows earned more at the railhead. Herds left out of Texas in the early spring so they could get the freshest grass of spring during the trip north, and it was a sorry crew that didn't leave out soon enough. I know it's hard to believe but the time of the Cowboy riding the big trails from Texas north to the rails only lasted about 20 years. There were some drives later than the mid 1880's but none before the start, which began in the years following the American Civil War. And there were some mini drives from west and central Texas to the market auctions in the east ( Dallas and Fort Worth ) into the 1890's. lance
Yeah, I think that was at one of the Usha Gap Meets last year! Just add Spam and Marmite into the mix...
Bringing this one back from the dead! Davisio, any updates on the Hawthorne? That thing is great! I've got a couple of the Nuttle Inc. Kamp Kitchn's (correct spelling) as pictured earlier in your thread. It looks as if they shared some similar components. I've converted mine to run on the standard 1lb propane bottles as they came equipped to run on a propane canister that has been obsolete for many years. Any other Nuttle owners out there?
Sorry for the newbie questions... How would one get ahold of Jerry Engbring? I would love to know if he still has his Kamp Kitchen. Thanks in advance!
Morning, Cruiseroutfit, Welcome to CCS! My wife and I have quite a few friends from Sandy, UT, and I visit there at least once each year on my way to a Living History event at Fort BuenaVentura, to the North of you! As to your kitchen setup, it's a nice one, and you may be able to seek out further information on sites which devotees of teardrop trailers, and other such camping outfits, frequent. I seem to remember that outfits like yours are very popular with that crowd. Also, check with the Coleman Collectors bunch; though I do not know how to find them, exactly, they should not be too hard to find. I'll tip my hat next time I'm passing through Sandy! Good luck on finding more info about your neat outfit, and have fun here at CCS! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. Oops! I see I'd already offered my opinion on your camp kitchen, a little earlier in this thread! Sorry about that! 8-[ BUT, I still think that might be a good way to track down further info on your stove. Also, look for old Monkey Wards...., er, I mean Montgomery Wards catalogs, and see what info might come to hand. Just a thought....
Thanks for the welcome and leads Doc! I dabble a little bit in Coleman stuff too but despite having a dozen misc vintage Coleman stoves I never use them in favor of the Nuttle. With my work I'm fortunate enough to camp 50-75 days a year, the Nuttle goes everywhere with me. We hold a 4x4 event each year called the Relic Run (relicrun.com). All 70's & older vehicles, camping gear, etc. Each year 20+ participants bring out their old camping gear and the entire year becomes a hunt for neat old gear. To my wife's disliking I've not got a decent collection of stoves, lanterns, clothes, packs, tent, that get used but one weekend a year.
cruiseroutfit, Congrats and Welcome. And hats off to you on that camp kitchen you have. That is awsome, neat, cool, etc. I would give my other leg to find one of those. And they are used to the newbie questions, I have not been on here very long. And may be asking for years to come ??? Best to ya, God Bless
Proving that the PM system email works..... I still have the Hawthorne. Haven't really used it, but it's still all there, packed, ready. I never was able to find out much information about it.
