Advertisement from the 1933 Longmeadow Sesquicentennial Program Book
The Official Souvenir Program Book of Longmeadow’s 1933 sesquicentennial year features articles covering a variety of topics related to the town’s history. It also features pages and pages of advertisements for local businesses: life insurance, printing companies, furniture stores, banks, contractors, etc. It really is a fascinating time capsule in and of itself.
One particularly striking advertisement is a three-page ad for Springfield Gas Light Co. which features the only page printed in color in the whole book. It’s an advertisement for “A Typical Modern Automatic All-Gas Kitchen” and gives a charming look into an ideal 1930s Longmeadow Kitchen.
“Life today in the modern Longmeadow all-gas kitchen is easy, comfortable, and convenient,” boasts the ad.
Clad in dresses far more formal than seen in today’s kitchens on any given day, two women stand in front of an open refrigerator door discussing the wonders of the appliance and the “gobs” of perfect ice cubes it can make, the remarkable quiet, and the fact that it can be run on less than a nickel of gas a day.
Renovating a kitchen? Perhaps you’ll take inspiration from this walk down memory lane. Bon Appetit!
Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member
Originally Published May 5, 2022