This Cooking Gadget Was Available In Atlantic City, NJ In 1938

When you think about the year 1938, you probably think about a time when things that were being engineered and produced were made in big, bulky sizes.

Did you know that there was a very small kitchen cooking gadget that was introduced by The Atlantic City Electric Company?

They called it a “One-Unit Universal Oven.”

Think of it like The George Forman Grill, The Ron Popeil rotisserie chicken oven… “You Set it and forget it” … or, any of the smaller convection ovens, and other kitchen gadgets similar to this.

85 years ago, this tiny cooking machine existed and they boasted how it can be “plugged in on your electric light circuit.”

The woman pictured above and below is Mrs. Alvin Gaskill.

Kenneth McIntyre photo.

In 1938 print coverage in the Press-Union newspaper, they described it like this:

COOKS FULL MEAL Compact as it can be and oh, so handy.
Mrs. Alvin Gaskill, of Ventnor, prepares full meal in her new one-unit Universal oven.
This efficient and convenient appliance, which can be plugged in on your electric light circuit, is being introduced here by the Atlantic City Electric Company.

I just love this type of study from a much simpler time versus the hustle, bustle era that exists today.

It’s not to say that life wasn’t tough then … it was.

In fact, The Great Depression was ongoing at this very time.

The Great Depression was from 1929-1939.

The Great Depression is considered to be the most significant economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.

By 1932, 1 out of every 4 American workers was unemployed.

The banks failed and life savings were wiped out.

Yet, the unbreakable American spirit endured and even during The Great Depression … American ingenuity was not deterred and cool, modern gadgets like the small one-unit cooking stove was invented.

Below, please enjoy two wonderful photo galleries consisting of reader and listener cell phone photos of their favorite meals and another gallery of the best meals available in Atlantic County, New Jersey area.