The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-02-01
Electricity Beats Biscuit.

As ideal as were tne Gays DeIOTc Cnc
war, when our grandmothers and their
mothers wore short-waisted gowns and
high heeled shoes and slaves obeyed
their slightest wish, there was not the
half Of the comforts Of life as we en-
joy to-day.
Electricity was an almost unknown
quantity, so to speak. To-day, how
ever, right here in Atlanta, lives a
brave little woman who has perhaps
put the most practical application of
electricity to test that is on record
for she's beating biscuit with it !!
What think you, oh housekeepers, Of
that?
Mrs. Martha Butler Lapsley is the
clever woman inventor of the electric
motor that serves as biscuit beater.
She lives at II Clifford street and has
a biscuit factory in her kitchen, which
has grown from the use Of one barrel
Of -four week to five or six barrels
per month.
When northern visitors stop at the
large hotels in Atlanta they are often
surprised and more often delighted
with hot beaten biscuit served them
for Mrs. Lapsley furnishes her deli
cious little biscuit to the large hotels
of the city.
Two years ago she began making
biscuit for the Womans Exchange,
but at first it seemed with no success,
for time and again her samples were
returned marked failures. She kept
up her courage, however, and sent in
her biscuit until, day by day. they be-
came more perfect in the making, and
little by little the demand for them
grew.
At first they were all beaten by
hand then, as the trade grew, the old
Athens model biscuit beater was used.
Now this has been supplanted By the
electric motor which Mrs. Lapsley has
invented.
\ glimpse into her kitchen shows
an unusually interior. for here are the
electric motor and two large gas stoves.
Tie guardian angel of this province is
the yellow cook, on whom Mrs Lapsley
relies.
II found was obliged to improve
or all known methods of beating bis
cult, said Mrs. Lapsley when asked
how she came to invent the beater
which has been such success $50
/ set to work to peffec. the old athens
model. You viii see that my machine
has no wooden screws as the old model
had. for these would split VI and get
the dough full OF spl:ntcrs: SO that
was the first improvement to make.
The screws and bearings of my ma
chine are all OF iron and two adjustable
pins permit Of large or small guam
tity of dough being placed beneath the
beating pins as desired.
GA large wheel run by electricity
brought by wires under the kitchen
floor from the generator in the cellar,
keeps the pins in motion. j crank
starts the wheel aud a touch stops it
instantly. had to pay so for the
privilege OF tie electricity necessary
to DO my work
"The greatest charm Of my work, .
went on Mrs. Aapsley, is the fact
that it is right here where do not 20
beyond my own door to manage it.
Christmas Eve | filed an order for
2,090 biscuit, and my orders nave av-
eragcd daily since then 1000 biscuit
\ barrel Of -four lasts just about
one week with careful management.
Mrs. Lapslcy generally makes one
hundred biscuit at time. Her trade
is now with the large groceries and
the Woman's Exchange, the restau-
rants and hotels, and the dining cars
which pass through Atlanta. She las
had made TO order moulds of different
shapes = rabbits, butterflies, clubs,
spades, etc.
Her biscuit have been shipped to
nearly all parts Of the country. Du-
ring the yellow fever scare, summer
before last, some were shipped to New
Orleans. but to the horror Of the send
er, were fumieated Ell route.
The inventor of this biscuit machine
is little woman, scarce i've feet tall.
She has the brightest dark eyes aud
soft blacl. hair that wares prcttily
over a beautifully shaped brow, while
tightly closing lips Dcspcak the deter
mination with which she has worked.
Besides her biscuit trade Mrs Laps
ley finds herself kept pretty busy
caring for four fine children as we'll as
keeping house. Her father was an