Magic in the Kitchen - Josephine Cochrane and Her Miracle Machine

"I have to admit that I'm one of those people who think the dishwasher is a miracle."

                                                                                                                 Clarence Thomas

Each evening in our house, the ritual of cleaning the kitchen and setting it to rights after supper follows the same pattern. While my husband puts away the food and leftovers, I scrape the plates, rinse the flatware, and stack the dishwasher. The sameness of this routine got me thinking about and giving thanks to the inventor of the dishwasher, even though I did them by hand the first twenty-five years of our married life.

 Appropriately enough, it was a woman who pioneered doing them automatically.

Before the dishwasher became a standard appliance, cleaning up after meals was a labor-intensive chore. But in the late 19th century, Josephine Garis Cochrane had an idea that would change kitchen cleanup forever. Frustrated with the damage the kitchen workers were doing to her heirloom dishes by handwashing, she designed and built the first automatic dishwasher. Her invention not only solved a household problem but also became a commercial success, making its way into hotels, restaurants, and eventually homes across America.

Cochrane, born in 1839, had no formal engineering training, but she came from a family of inventors. After her husband passed away in 1883, leaving her with mounting debts, she became determined to turn her idea into a working product. She sketched out a design, hired mechanics to help build it, and eventually patented the first practical dishwashing machine in 1886. Her model used water pressure instead of scrub brushes, making it more effective and gentler on delicate dishware.

The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893--also known as the Chicago World's Fair--presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain publicity and new sales for her dishwashing machine, and it worked like a charm. Orders spiked from restaurants and hotels throughout Illinois and neighboring states, and Josephine later found willing customers in hospitals and colleges due to their strict sanitation requirements.

Called the Garis-Cochran Dishwashing Machine, it was the only invention on display invented by a woman, and there were nine others just like it being used in the exposition’s many restaurants, from the Big Kitchen to the New England Clam Bake. Into this strange-looking contraption of gears, belts, and pulleys would vanish a cage full of over 200 dirty dishes, only to reappear two minutes later as clean as if they had been hand-washed, freeing staff from dishwashing duty and saving businesses vast amounts of money as a result. 

The exposition's judges were so impressed with the dishwashing machine that they awarded it the highest prize for "best mechanical construction, durability, and adaptation to its line of work."

This Victorian-era invention is not just a must-have appliance in almost every home today, but it’s also at the foundation of the venerable KitchenAid brand.

Despite her success in commercial kitchens, it took decades for dishwashers to become common in American homes. Early models were expensive and required a large hot water supply, making them impractical for most households. It wasn’t until the mid-20th century that dishwashers became more affordable and widely adopted. Today, her invention is an essential part of modern kitchens, saving time and effort for millions. 

However, one unintended consequence remains...the continuous debate in households across the country over how to properly load the thing.

1893-A Year of Highs and Lows by Zina Abbott

At one point in my book, Phoebe, part of the Christmas Quilt Brides series, the following conversation takes place:

(Phoebe): “Do you remember the World’s Columbian Exhibition held in 1893? Did you have the opportunity to view it?”

          “The Chicago World’s Fair?   I was aware of it taking place. Unfortunately, my sister and I were busy with preparing for and participating in the Land Run at that same time, so I was unable to attend.” Her tone slightly acerbic, Marigold kept her gaze on her stitching.

          “Oh.” Wondering if she had said something wrong, Phoebe swallowed. Then again, 1893 had been the year the great financial panic they were still experiencing had started. Perhaps the two Calloway sisters had been negatively affected to the point that the expense of visiting the exhibition was prohibitive.

Although the above snippet is from a scene that takes place in 1896, my grouping of four books from two multi-author projects set in New Ponca, Oklahoma Territory, starts by featuring the Cherokee Strip and Cherokee Outlet Land Run of 1893 (Joshua’s Bride). I decided to feature 1893, since for many Americans, it was a year of highs and lows.

On March 4 – The presidential term for Benjamin Harrison ended. At that point, Grover Cleveland took office as U.S. President.   

On May 1 – the 1893 World’s Fair, better known at the time as the World’s Columbian Exposition, opened to the public in Chicago, Illinois. The fair remained open through October. The first U.S. commemorative postage stamps and coins were issued for this exposition.

 The 1896 Broadway melodrama The War of Wealth was inspired by the panic of 1893

On May 5 – A crash on the New York Stock Exchange started a depression. A precursor to this financial downturn was the passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1890. This law required the U.S. Treasury to buy silver with a special issue of Treasury Notes (Coin) that could that could be redeemed for either silver or gold. This created a substantial expansion in the volume of circulating dollars without a proportionate growth in the gold stock. The crash in the silver dollar's bullion value in the 1890s from 80 cents to approximately 50 cents increased public anxiety on their continued ability to convert silver dollars and banknotes into gold. The result was a run on the Treasury's gold stock.

Although the country had experienced economic depressions on a regular basis every decade or two, the Panic of 1893, as it came to be known, was particularly intense. It continued through 1896.

On July 22 – After having admired the view from the top of Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado, Katharine Lee Bates wrote the patriotic song, “America the Beautiful,” still frequently sung today.

On August 7 – the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was repealed.

On August 19 – President Cleveland finally issues the proclamation for the Cherokee Strip Land Run.

On August 27 – The Sea Islands Hurricane struck Savanah, Charleston, and the Sea Islands, killing between 1,000 and 2,000 people.

On September 19 – The 1893 Cherokee Strip Land Run began.

The change in presidential administrations in March became a significant factor for many low-income Americans desperate for land. The previous Harrison administration had approved earlier land runs in what had been Indian Territory, and which was intended to become part of the new Oklahoma Territory, formed after the first large run on 1889. This administration also started the process of acquiring the land in what was known as the Cherokee Strip and Cherokee Outlet for an additional land run. The Cherokee Outlet was not part of the Cherokee reservation, but it was west of their reservation land and controlled by the Cherokee tribe, who leased it out to cattlemen, many of them white Americans. The land was vacated, but the process stalled once Cleveland came into office. Many land-starved Americans waited impatiently for the opportunity to claim farm land.

On September 21 – Brothers Charles and Frank Duryea drive the first gasoline-powered motorcar in America on public roads in Springfield, Massachusetts. The following is another excerpt from my upcoming book. The scene is between my hero, Graham, and his father:

          “Automobiles? You mean those glorified velocipedes that bounce around on bicycle tires and are powered by a one-cylinder engine? I’ve seen a few around the city, and I’m not favorably impressed. Especially with their tendency to backfire, they make too much noise, which scares the horses and creates havoc in the streets. They break down too often, too.” Richard shook his head. “They are a temporary novelty, Son. Before long, the phase will pass.”

          “I don’t believe so, Father. They have their good points. They do not need daily feeding and maintenance, like horses or mules. No mucking out stalls, and no animal droppings on the street.” Graham had raised his eyebrows with a knowing look.

          “Perhaps not, but that engine exhaust can be almost as noxious as a street full of horse apples. As for going any distance, the tires do not hold up while traveling the rough roads, especially between towns. Automobiles will end up being nothing more than aggrandized toys.” Richard dismissed the topic with a fling of his hand through the air.

On December 8 – The National Education Association releases the final report from the “Committee of Ten” at the Columbia University conference recommending standardization of the high school curriculum.         

This is a partial list of events for 1893. More can be found on Wikipedia by CLICKING HERE

 

Although not all of the above events of 1893 played a role in my next historical romance, Phoebe, several did. This book is now on pre-order and scheduled for release on November 15, 2024. 

To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE