A few years back I mentioned to my dad that if they were going to get rid of this kettle I would be interested in buying it from them myself. Last Saturday he asked me if I was still interested and I replied "Of course!" I asked him how much he wanted for it and he thought for a while. The conversation went on around us for a while until he finally shut everybody up and said "Do you like surprises?" I replied that I did and he asked me how I would feel if he gave me that kettle. I said that would be great, and he said if none of the other children object I can have it. Over the weekend I called my 7 siblings and asked them all and none objected so today we brought it to it's new home at my house.

I found out my dad bought it before he married my mom back when he owned and operated a small butcher shop. We brought the kettle with us when we moved from Ohio to Indiana in 1969 and then moved it to my parent's current home in 1974. So it has resided at the same place the past 38 years. We used it to can stuff from the garden and fruit we bought. We had a wooden platform with large holes drilled in it that set in the kettle and we could put about 30 or so 2 quart jars in it I think. We set it up on blocks, hanging off the two ears, put water in over the top of the cans and then built a fire underneath to boil the water which took a long time. A while back it set upright outside and got a bunch of rain water in it which then froze in the winter cracking the kettle so it is no good for use anymore. I plan on building a tripod and hanging the kettle from it, filling it with dirt and flowers. I guess technically these are the retirement years for the kettle. Who knows how many years it worked for a living.