I just ate breakfast using a fork, looked at the fork and began thinking about when and how it joined our family. When I was a kid too many years ago some of the first package mixes for cakes and biscuits came out under the Betty Crocker brand, produced by General Mills. Each box had a coupon printed on it which indicated the number of points it was worth. My frugal mother collected these, and saved Green Stamps too.
When you accumulated enough points, those coupons and a modest amount of money would bring Twin Star-patterned stainless knives, forks, and spoons mailed to your home. The tableware was sturdy, well made, and close to indestructible. I’m certain the fork I used this a.m. is 60-70 years old and looks brand new.
It has lived in homes, apartments, motorhomes, travel trailers, and vacation homes. It isn’t scratched, worn-down, or discolored in any way. It entirely as functional as the day it was made. For all I know it may outlive the pyramids of Egypt and the Yucatán.
Unearthed by an archeologist 1000 years from now I expect it will look much the same. They will read the lettering on the recessed underside and see “ONEIDA COMMUNITY STAINLESS” all in caps and wonder what that meant. And what its ceremonial purpose or function might have been.
