Messy Cook

In 1971, Tom Emberton ran for Governor of Kentucky.  I guess that his campaign staff decided that he would win for sure if he appealed to all of the housewives in the state with his message printed on the back of potholders.  That is exactly what he did, but in the end, he still lost the election.  Maybe all of those women who he needed to vote for him were too busy taking pies out of the oven with his handy potholder.

My grandmother was actively involved in Kentucky politics back in 1971.  After Emberton’s loss on election night, there were still boxes of these potholders at campaign headquarters.  So, my grandmother was given a box to take home.  My mother inherited at least half that box, hence, these are the ONLY potholders that I ever remember my mother using.  She is still using them to this day, almost 40 years later.  As you can see below, some of them have been loved very hard in my mother’s kitchen.  But since there were so many of these potholders, some are still legible and campaigning for Mr. Emberton all these years later.

Official text: “TOM EMBERTON THE GOVERNOR WHO CAN HANDLE THE HOT ISSUES”

Ugly potholder contest sponsored by Michelle at Thursday Night Smackdown.  Contest can be seen here.