H70.142.63

• california gold rush

Spooner. Description: Spooner, pressed glass, goblet-shaped. From the History Information Station: Object: Spoon holder, or spooner, glass. For holding teaspoons, and sometimes other flatware, on the table during meals. History: Spooners were originally for dispensing teaspoons at tea parties, where tea was served from a side table and people helped themselves. Not many early California settlers had tea parties, but housewives used spooners at the table when many people were eating, so people would help themselves to flatware and not use more than they needed. Housewives were happy to save some time from setting the table and washing dishes. In Gold Rush towns many families rented rooms to unmarried mners, and some settlers hired men to help clear land or build barns, so there were often extra people to feed and piles of extra dishes to clean.