During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the summer kitchen was the most multi-functional part of a farmstead. Cooking, canning, laundry, smoking meats, making soap, rendering lard, and many other heat- and odor-producing tasks were done there, helping keep the house cooler and cleaner. For children of that era, it was an almost magical place that held fond memories. This summer kitchen came from the rural home of the late Lavern "Bud" and Ardis (Phillips) Walter.