Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 299, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1916 — Wayside Tea Rooms [ARTICLE]

Wayside Tea Rooms

Conducting a wayside tea room 1* a practical and pleasant method of moneymaking which often appeal* to ■college girls, teachers and other •elfsupporting women who have summer leisure without an income Such an enterprise is likely to be successful privided the location is well chosen, the is kept at the minmum and thd’few simple dishes ser ved are such as to give anlform satis faction. The location, if possible should combine the evident advantages of a pop* 'ar automobile route and a rural trol,ey line, for accessibility goes a long way toward insuring success. An at tractive sign is a necessity, for a new business and a catchy name are valuable assets-. An arrangement can often be made for the summer only, whereby one or two rooms can be rented for tea room purposes and when the season is over the equipment packed away and stored in the barn until another year. By keeping the same stand from year to year in this way a tea room gains a clientele without the expense of paying an all year rental. Two young women who are making a success of such a venture secured the first floor of a country home for their enterprise, the original occupants taking up summer quarters on the second floor and retaining only the kitchen downstairs. This enables the summer tenants to pay only rent for living accolnodations and tea room, while the meal question is settled by arranging to pay- the country housewife for a noonday dinner. Breakfasts and suppers are easily prepared over the small gas equipment in the pantry which has been fitted up a* a kitchenette in connection with the tea room. Even* in rural districts gas, electric lights and telephone are often found, all of which contribute to the comfort of the city woman starting in business in the country. The question of supplies has been carefully worked out so that a variety of dishes can be prepared with the fewest number of ingredients. Lettuce, salad dressing, hard boiled eggs, cold boiled potatoes, smoked beef ano a few varities of canned goods are always kept on hand so that a satis tying lunch can be prepared at short notice should a patron want something more than the sandwiches, cake and tea usually called for. One of the best methods of obtaining good results with the minimum of effort is to have a specialty on which to base the tea room’s reputation. Waffles and honey make a strong drawing card for a popular New Eng land tea room, while people come from niles around to enjoy the hot biscuits snd quince marmalade served at another wayside establishment. Where the business does not warrant giving up the entire day to the work, it Is a good idea to serve during certain hours in the afternoon only. A portala:- tea room on the Maine coast t? open only from 4 to 6 o'clock, but during those hours as much money is taken in as the average tea room receives all day. This quaint establishment is the objective point for walking and trolley parties, as well as motorists, and the little tables on the wide piazza are filled with tea drinkers every pleasant afternoon. Forty cents is the price asked for a plate of tiny assorted sandwiches and a small piece of cake, with t?a, coffee or chocolate. Nothing else is serVed, but variety is given In the way of different sandwich fillings and cakes. Several young girls from the village act as waitresses and are paid .only for the hours they are needed. Women tourists are so appreciative of a well equipped dressing room that this feature of the wayside tea room should not be forgotten. A good sized mirror, hand glass, clothes brush and the usual toilet articles should always be available for the\use of guests.— N. Y. Sun. H

Wire Shelve* Dusty shelve® are one of the troubles of the good housekeeper. To keep shelves from becoming dusty takes constant vigilance and hard work. An enterprising woman has devised shelves for her home that catch so little dust that it can almost be said that they catch no dust at all. The shelves are not made of wood out of wide meshed nickelled wire netting. The size of the mesh’d* half an inch or more. The woman uses these wire shelves m all her clothes closets, her linen closet, and the china and kitchen cupboards. She recommends them especially for the shelves that are to hold rhe hats of the men of the family. "Underbrims have a way of getting pretty rusty looking, 5 she says, "from the dust that gathers on the usual wooden shelf.”—N Y. Sun.

For the Housewife All bacon is improved by having boiling water poured over It before frying. Kerosene oil is one of the beet things to remove finger marks on var nished wood. Just rub with cloth on which oil is poured and then use dry, •lean cloth to polish. When the mayonnaise separates, be.omes clotted, and seemingly hopeless, add the white of an egg, putting in slowly half a teaspoonful at a time until the mixture is smooth again. In almost every instance the separation will be overcome.