Cooking for Thanksgiving in the 1950’s

Woman putting turkey in the oven.

This photograph of a woman putting her Thanksgiving turkey in the oven was taken November 21, 1959, and comes from The Daily Reflector negative collection housed in Special Collections at the Joyner Library. Cooking in the 1950’s was very different than from the earlier years of the 20th century. Post-World War II households embraced convenience and modern appliances like the all electric oven that can be seen in the photo. There was probably an electric refrigerator in this modern kitchen and in the right hand corner, you can see an electric washing machine. Due to technological advancements, popularity, and mass production, these items became more affordable for the middle class household.