While growing up Carl Sandburg helped his mother in the kitchen by carrying ashes from the cast iron cookstove out to the ashpile in the backyard. The ashes would be sprinkled on the garden later in the year. He also carried buckets of coal into the kitchen for his mother to add to the fire in the stove.

He was familiar with the use of the lifter to remove the lids from the holes in the surface of the stove. He knew how to use the poker to break up clinkers in the firebox. As soon as he became strong enough, he carried the coalhod into the kitchen with more fuel for the fire.

The cookstove was the only heat in the house at 809 East Berrien Street. Carl and his brother Martin would remove their clothes in the kitchen and hurry up the stairs to the third floor garret where they slept. Cornhusk mattresses and layers of quilts kept them warm on below-zero nights.

Cookstoves first appeared in the 1820s. They were small in size, but were a vast improvement over cooking in a fireplace. The homemaker didn't have to bend over so much stirring the contents of cooking pots or lifting heavy iron cooking utensils. The cookstove made more efficient use of fuel and kept the heat concentrated in the stove rather than going up the chimney.

Safety was another factor—more than one women was burned to death because her long skirt caught fire from the coals in the fireplace. Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke, the famous Civil War nurse, lost her mother in a fireplace cooking accident. The Sandburg children were more than likely taught to stay away from the hot stove in the kitchen. With seven children and their parents in that small room, caution was required at all times.

Every morning Clara Sandburg rose at an early hour to start a fire in the cookstove. Starting a fire took time. It had to be watched closely so a good bed of coals could be created. Paper and kindling wood were used to start the fire in the firebox after clearing out the ashes. The damper was used to regulate the amount of air supplied to the fire. At least half an hour was required to build a good bed of coals and heat up the stove. More fuel was added regularly to maintain the bed of coals.

Then, Mrs. Sandburg could begin to prepare breakfast for her family. During the day she would have to monitor the fire in the cookstove and add coal about every half hour. On washday she would keep the fire high to heat the wash water. Meanwhile, a pot of herring and potatoes would be cooking on the back burner to be served as supper for the family.

Most women learned by practice to put their hand into the oven and count to a certain number before her hand became too painful to remain in the oven. If the oven was too hot, she would leave the door open for a short time to cool it to the proper temperature.

In the 1890s, the Sandburg's acquired a gasoline stove for the kitchen. The old cast iron cookstove was relegated to the basement for use on washdays. The gasoline stove was also a dangerous appliance.