• FACS 8

    “Come and learn

    with a FEARLESS MINDSET,

    whether it be technology, textiles,

    or tantalizing treats!”

    • Ms. Martorana

     

    “This is my invariable advice to people:

    Learn how to cook - - try new recipes,

    learn from your mistakes,

    BE FEARLESS,

    and above all have fun.”

    • Julia Child

    A History of the Betty Lamp

                                                          

    The Betty Lamp became the symbol of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (established in 1909 as the American Home Economics Association) in 1926. Mildred Chamberlain of Chicago submitted the design, stating, "The lamp in colonial days had provided light for all household industries."

    The Betty Lamp evolved from simple clay dish lamps that were used as long ago as 6,000 B.C. As time passed, these dish-like lamps were made of iron, copper and bronze. They burned fish oil or scraps of fat and had wicks of twisted cloth. The lamps were smoky, smelly, and the wicks often drew up oil quicker than it burned, allowing the surplus to spill over the sides of the lamp onto the objects beneath.

    These early lamps were improved by creating a wickholder in the base which channeled the drippings from the wick back into the bowl of the lamp where it could eventually be consumed. Adding a cover confined heat, decreased smoke, and made the oil burn more efficiently. The curved handle often had attached to it a short chain with a hook on one end for hanging the lamp

    and a pick on the other for rescuing the wick from the oil. This better lamp, named the Betty, from the German word, "besser" or "bete," meaning "to make better," produced comparatively good light for its time and was used widely by early American colonists.

    To family and consumer sciences professionals, the Betty Lamp represents joy, knowledge, fellowship, cooperation, service, achievement, and the light of the home and the mind.

    Source: http://www.msu.edu/~mafcs/bettylamp.htm

    Early in the 20th century, the Betty Lamp was adopted as a "symbol of learning

    The need of exact knowledge 

    The appreciation of beauty 

    The spirit of joy 

    The power of strength 

    The blessing of fellowship 

    The satisfaction of achievement 

    The value of service 

    The bond of cooperation 

     

    Source:  http://www.pafcs.org/pafcsbettylamp.htm

     
Last Modified on May 23, 2020