MR. FIX-IT (and my favorite skillet)
Written by Jean Steel Venrick (wife of The Wordwright)

"My little skillet won’t heat up," I called downstairs to Bill as he worked in the basement. "The switch seems to be the problem. It has screws in it so will you take it apart and see what is wrong with it?", I said. It never dawned on me he may not be able to repair it. Bill has fixed so many things around the house I just assume he can fix everything. He had the skillet up and cooking as good as new in a short time.

This little electric skillet has had a hard life for first I dropped the lid and broke the plastic knob. Bill dutifully took it to his workshop and put on a new wooden knob for the lid. I was so pleased to have it repaired.

Then the poor little skilled took another tumble to the floor and broke the handle completely off. The design of the handle served a dual purpose: a part was one of the feet as well as the handle but all in one piece. I just knew this was its demise. Once again to the workshop and Bill fashioned a new wooden handle with a leg -- and it was in business again. This was probably 2 or 3 years ago. I finally decided I had to be more careful with it and it has not been on the floor since. Incidentally the new wooden oak handle looks as if it was made in the factory. (Details for the other Mr. Fix-Its: Bill used a specific grain of an oak scrap in his shop, traced the old broken piece, sawed to shape, sanded and polished his creation with sandpaper(s) and finished up using a fine grade of Crocus Cloth to buff it smooth. bv)

A little history of this skillet may be of interest as it was not new when we got it. My little electric skillet came from Bill’s cousin who died in 1991. She had bought it from the F & R Lazarus store in Columbus, Ohio, where she worked for thirty years. (MACY is the name on all LAZARUS stores now. bv) Bill was privileged to have received a number of items from his cousin’s estate, among them this skillet which had been well cared for.

I did not use it for a while as I had plenty of pots, pans and skillets and this little skillet had low sides on it. I believe it is an omelet skillet. Once I started using it I found it very convenient for two people so got in the habit of cooking everything in it, not just omelets. (It fries the best eggs, so crispy around the edges.)

One thing I like about it is it’s not a non-stick surface. I have never been a fan of non-stick, rather I prefer stainless steel. When my little skillet goes out completely I will be very sad for I doubt I’ll be able to find one I like as well or better. Then I guess I will give it to Bill, my Mr. Fix-It, to try once more time to repair it or declare it dead.

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