The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-03-20
A noUsEKrrpEns, TRUST.
Cooperative Cooking and Table Service
in Successful Operation.


There is nothing so perplexing in the
whole round of housekeeping, saws the
| New York Herald, as the question of
food. ! he lord of the manor must have
food well prepared and we'll served, but
| the scarcity of good cooks at reasonable
wages precudes such condition in most
families of moderate circumstances. 1t
would seem, therefore, that plan which
would close the kitchen entirely, reduce
the force of servants, and lessen the cost
of living, while at the same time bring
ing better service at meals. would
be something Utopian-an "iridescent
dream.
But the dream after all is not dream.
The problem is solved. and its solution
is so simple and satisfactory that the
wonder is it was not made clear before.
Some weeks since the heads of five
Utica, n. Y, families entered into an
agreement after mature delibcration un.
der which provision was made for leas-
ing and furnishing house, employing
cook and servants, and making arrange
ments for trial Of cooperative house
keeping in so far as the dining room and
kitchen were concerned. The gentle
men interested are all business men in
moderate circumstances who had come
to the conclusion that better service at
less cost could he obtained in this way
than by the usual individual housekeeI-
ing method. Choosing president.
secretary, and a treasury and "board
of governors" the gentlemen set them
selves to work. The first thing to he
done was TO draft compact by which
all were bound to give the plan trial
of three months All are SO well satis-
fled that there will he no changes ut the
end of that time. three weeks hence. In
the original number 22 persons were in
cluded, which number has been aug
mented to nearly so, as many as can be
accommodated in the present quarters
In the beginning it was necessary to
purchase an entire new outfit of kitchen
and dining room furniture, rs well Us
the conveniences for the cook and five
walters. who, in addition to their regu-
lar duties look after the house which
they occupy, rented by the club. a
competent cook of many years ex-
rerience was employed, into whose
charge the full management of affairs
was given, with the exception If the
purchase of food, which duty dcvolves
upon one Of the club, designated 10y the
resident at the beginning of each
month. Books are kept in which is
entered every cent f expenditure, AMI
they are balanced at the end Of the
month. when an assessment is levied
upon each member, and all accounts
are 'quared. During the first few
weeks of the life of the club the ASSESS
ments were necessarily somewhat
heavier than they are at present As
regards the table. the very best Of
everything is provided, with all the
delicacies i'll season. while no extrava-
gance is countrnanced hy any member.
If any member brings visitors they
II ust ic paid for mt the rate of % cents
per meal, and notice must he given
beforehand of their conil < The
system has been rought so far on the
road to perfection that it would be il-
deed difficult TO make it better in any
way.
At present the amount levied uron
each person is a trtle lie = than So " eek,
and those in charge confidently expect
to reduce this to $3.50, when greater
knowledge is acquired by experience.
This assessment is very small indeed,
" hen the quality of the service is con-
sidered. The bill Of fare can not be dup
Heated in any first class boarding house
for twice or three times S3. Besides
this, wives and daughters are released
from the care Of kitchens and dining
rooms, and the worry incident to the
supervision of cooks and other servants,
too often incompetent, is a thing of the
past. The only Inconvenience, which is
slight by comparison, is the nee ssity of
leaving homes to take meals in the CO.
operative club house. All those in
terested, however, live near by and
count this as nothing.