Appliances keep collector percolating

October 10, 2008 12:01 am

— By Debby Woodin
dwoodin@joplinglobe.com
DIAMOND, Mo. — Zapping a hot dog used to have a whole different meaning.
Just ask Richard Larrison, the owner of a couple of devices designed to “electrocute” hot dogs.
“Electrocuted hot dogs are delicious” declares the slogan bolted to an appliance that was once promoted by Oscar Mayer. It, and another hot dog “electrocuter,” are among the more than 3,500 kitchen gadgets housed at Larrison’s World’s Largest Small Appliance Museum, north of Diamond.
The museum, which is open to visitors free of charge, has its grand opening today through Sunday, along with a sale and show by small-appliance collectors from around the country. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The museum is on the north side of JR’s Western Store at the intersection of Missouri Highway 59 and Route FF. Richard Larrison is the “R” in JR’s; his wife is the “J,” he explains.
Exhibitors are coming to the museum this week from South Carolina, Pennsylvania, California, Florida, Michigan and Ohio. They are some of the members of a national toaster collecting club to which Larrison belongs.
Larrison caught the collector bug nearly three decades ago with old electric fans. Soon, though, those became hard to find and expensive. He said he asked a family member what was hot to collect and was told toasters. That led him on a 26-year quest to own all the toasters, waffle makers, coffee pots, razors and other small appliances he can buy.
“I’m what you call a preservationist,” he said. “I want to save this for future generations to see yesteryear.”
He has some of the oldest wire bread toasters sold, dating to around 1908. They were made by GE, and the model number is D-12.
He has several 1960s toasters that are advertised by Magic Maid as being made from “triple jewel chrome.” Even back then, they were so solidly built that they sold for $24.95. While the bodies of the toasters are bright chrome, the handles and bases were finished in decorative copper or pink colors.
Today’s home-decor trends include having small appliances of matching colors, and Larrison’s collection shows that trend has been popular before. He owns several Kenmore toasters that are accented in bright colors: red, green and yellow, which were popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
He even has the Cadillac of kitchen appliances: a toaster/hot plate combo made by Cadillac Manufacturing Co. in Cadillac, Mich. There’s a matching mixer, too.
Several sets of kitchen appliances with decorated porcelain exteriors are part of his collection. These sets of Porcelier include waffle makers, coffee pots, toasters, teapots, and sugar and cream servers as well as other pieces.
“It’s beautiful stuff,” Larrison said. “You don’t find that kind of stuff anymore. Now, it’s all plastic.”
Coffee makers have kept Larrison’s passion for collecting percolating over the years, too. Some coffee makers, percolators and urns in the collection date to 1898.
Larrison appreciates the old pieces because of the ornate decoration and ingenuity that went into designing them.
And then there are some items in the collection that are rare because of malfunction.
He picked up a cast aluminum waffle maker years ago in California for $12. It had never been used. He later found out it is a rare piece because, being made of aluminum, most of them melted when they were left plugged in.
Larrison said he’s glad to finally have his collection on display. For years, the items piled up in the basement of his home. He hopes his descendants will keep the museum going after he’s gone.
“If you don’t come here, you may never see all these things together in one place,” he said.


Show and sale

The national Toaster Collectors Association’s show and sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Saturday at the World’s Largest Small Appliance Museum, north of Diamond. The museum may be entered through JR’s Western Store.

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