Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-08-12

arise from the other cook pots. On
Il long table are pyramids of bread,
cut into cubes three or four inches
or so square. usually rye or black
bread. such as the natives of Norway
prefer Along the walls are deep
cupboards containing the linens. the
culinary supplies and utensils. In an
adjoining but detached buildings is a
furnace and boiler room whict fur.
nishes the steam, and. besides. laun-
dry and a dish-washing establishment
| larger than an ordinary hJuse. 1t
requires a good many dishes 70 serve
5000 people, even in simple way.
In an annex the finer qualities of the
| beef. mutton and other meats are
cut off and sold to the public from an
ordinary butcher shop. which in Nor
way is called IA bazaar" Here also
all kinds OF sausages and force meats
are made and sold to the general pub
lie. thus utilizing all the supplies pur-
chased by the company in large guam
lities. the beef by the carcass and the
vegetables by the carload The sau-
sage from the Steam Kitchen' is
said to be the best to be found in
Christiana. During the fruit sea.
son the company runs a canning fac
tory upstairs. preserving all kinds
of fruits, jellies. pickles and that sort
of thing. At the baking department
bread is sold to the general public by
the wholesale or retail and small re-
tail establishments are supplied with
all sorts of groceries as well as meats
and other edibles. Thus the restau-
rant is only part of large bust
ness from which the company de-
rives its profits. There is naturally
a great deal of jealousy among com
peting small dealers against the
Steam Kitchen" but it serves be
nevolent purpose and there is no dis
position among its customers to ques-
ton its business methods or reduce
its profits. 1t has succeeded in do
ing away with the cheap restaurants
such as are found in all large cities,
at which wretched food generally
the scraping from the high class ho-
tells, is worked over and sold to the
poor
1t was an interesting sight-uhe
bucket brigade that stood in line and
passed slowly by the serving win
dows. which were attended by half
dozen --brawny Norwegian woman
with bare arms. big breasts and broad
faces. They wore neat white aprons
and caps and handled the food with
a dexterity that showed long expert
ence, They seemed to know most of
the customers and carried on n famll-
liar conversation with them while AL
ing their orders. When bucket an
a ticket We're passed up, blue for a g.
cent and red for a 7-cent dinner.
into the soup pot and empty its con
tents into the bucket; then passing
along the row of kettles she would
harpoon at hunks of meat with a long
two-pronged fork. scoop up quart
of rice with a wooden shovel. and
then, adding portion of potatoes.
would slam on the cover and grab
bing a cube of bread. would pass 1t
over to the customer with joke or a
few pleasant words.
Many of the customers seemed to
be well dressed, according to the
Norway standard, but no people in
the world seem to care so little for
their personal appearance. except on
Sundays, when you can scarcely rec
ogniZe men and women you have been
familiar with during the week. No
matter how poor or humble, every
Norwegian, man, woman or child has
a Sunday suit. carefully kept. spong-
ed and brushed. and worn only on i'm
portant occasions. Fashions do not
change except among the upper class
es. where both men and women are
as particular about their attire as in
other countries. Among the com
mon people with their homemade and
often homespun garments. the same
gown, the same coat and trousers and
hat will outlast the vanity of its
owner. and with good care may be
kept to be worn by the owner in his
coffin The women of the working
classes do not wear hats or bonnets.
The maidens go bareheadcd; the mar
ried women wear little shawl of fig
ured or embroidered stuff over their
heads.
In the restaurant my cicerone
pointed out at the dinner table two
professors of the university faculty.
a lawyer of good standing, pho
tographer and a sub-editor of one of
the daily papers, who were his per
sonal acquaintance. The remain
der of the customers appeared to be
professional men, clerks. book keep
ers and good many laborers, many
of them coming to their dinner with
out removing the evidences of their
toll from their hands and faces At
one of the tables was a group OF stu.
dents who We're inclined to be bOis.
trous and were evidently enjoying
themselves. The Steam Kitchen" Is
the favorite eating place for the IN
dergraduates of the university. and
the manager told me that during the
term time he usually served from t0l
to 500 daily. They have apart ments
throughout the city. asthey are allow.