TORTE KNOX
Featuring Sheelah Kaye Stepkin
  Sheelah
Kaye Stepkin demonstrates an enthusiastic response upon delivery
of her 1928 Frigidaire refrigerator. Sheelah, a nationally
renowned pastry chef, is currently transforming a 1902 bank
building into a culinary art school and restaurant. Located
in Hawley, PA, "Torte Knox" will be an exclusive
training ground and tasting facility for soon-to-be master
pastry chefs. In keeping with the history of the building,
the Torte Knox classroom is designed around a turn of the
century decor. The 1928 AP-9 Frigidaire refrigerator will
be incorporated in to the instructional function of the facility.
AntiqueAppliances.Com has provided this rare refrigerator
with a full 100 point restoration.
 Also
included in the Torte Knox project is an even rarer Frigidaire
W-18 model from 1929 (below). We found this beauty at a house
of ill-repute in Texas. The W-18 has a bullet ding in it that
you can see pictured on the bottom left door of the unrestored
photo shown here. Sheelah insisted the bullet ding be left
in tact in the restored piece and wrote this story about how
the bullet hole may have come to be:
 "The
blazon haired Madame stood in the kitchen, taken completely
by surprise as her Thursday night regular demanded to have
it! "You can't have it now", she announced with
firm authority. her hand tightened on the handle of her prized
refrigerator. "I want it now", he said again. She
stood her ground holding onto her Frigidaire as though it
were a life saving device. "Get out of my kitchen before
someone gets hurt!". The venom in her sleep green eyes
was welling up beneath her anger. "I gotta have it",
he said, as he pulled out his Smith and Wesson. "Give
it to me woman or someone's gettin' hurt." With that
she sneezed, he jumped, his sweaty finger pressed into the
trigger dislodging the bullet from the safety of the chamber.
It landed to the left of her. The both froze momentarily surveying
the damage. "You hit my Frigidaire, you animal. You oughta
hit me instead, you lousy, whimpy shot. What, do ya think
this is some ugly icebox? I'm gonna kill you." He said
it for the last time. "I want it now woman and I'm not
kiddin', so gimme what I want, open up or else." With
that she pulled ever so hard on the new stiff latch of her
prized possession, now showing signs of the recent violence.
He didn't care. He flew over to this contraption that held
the key to his only contentment. Moments passed, who knows,
maybe an hour. He lifted his head, completely satiated. "Madame",
he said, "You ever hold out on me again with that chocolate
cream pie and I shall surely die". He got up from the
kitchen table, smearing chocolate from his lips onto his sleeve.
The pie plate was disheveled and bits of pastry lay scattered
across the kitchen table like little shells on ocean sand.
The pie plate lay completely empty, he had it all. He had
conquered what he came to get. He threw an extra $10.00 gold
coin on the table for the trouble. "The best damn pie
I ever et." See ya next Thursday, Mable."
Who knows, it could have happened this
way . . .
 Additionally,
we were commissioned to complete the finishing touches of
the restoration on Sheelah's 1918 Garland Range. We have delivered
this jewel in Sheelah's collection of rare restored antique
appliances recently.
AntiqueAppliances.Com is very proud to
be part of the Torte Knox project. We would like to wish Ms.
Stepkin and her associates all the best.
Visit
Torte Knox.Com
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