Cook Car

Cook Car. . The cook car, or "cooker," was a mobile kitchen used to provide onsite meals for workers. They were transported out into fields during harvest season or to active construction sites where cook car staff would prepare and serve hot meals. Cook cars eliminated the need for workers to travel to and from the main kitchen for meals, which allowed work to be accomplished faster and more efficiently. In North Dakota, cook cars were vital to the Bonanza farming enterprise. These large-scale farming operations in the late 1800s and early 1900s required an equally large staff to plant and harvest crops. Cook cars also provided a rare job opportunity for women. The high demand for cooks and kitchen staff to operate these mobile kitchens resulted in many women finding employment that provided them with financial stability and independence., This cook car was originally owned by Simon Johnson, who owned a farm four miles west of Northwood, North Dakota. From the 1920s until the 1940s, this cook car accompanied threshing crews and provided the farm's full-time cook with a place to prepare and serve meals. The cook car fell out of use in the 1950s when the growing use of combines eliminated the need for farm's to employ large threshing crews. , Donated by Steven and Marsha Smaaladen, Photo Credit: Digital Horizons, NDSU