The jars, if in good shape with no rim nicks or cracks of any kind can safely be used IF the 2 part lids will fit on them. Many of us use really old jars. Some of us use them only for BWB recipes rather than pressure canning but some will also use them in pressure canning as all you stand to lose is thejar of contents if they don't hold up to the pressure. The lids are another problem. The bail top jars and gaskets haven't been 'officially' approved for decades now because of the questionable quality of the seals. Like many of the other old time methods of canning they fall into the Equipment and Methods No Longer Recommended category. Only the 2 piece flats and bands are 'officially' approved. But some of us who have some of the old bail type jars do still use them for really high acid foods like pickles. Most just use them for dry storage items like dried beans and such. That type of use is approved. Personally I wouldn't trust them in pressure canning or with low acid or border-line acid foods. If you are just getting back into canning after several years it would pay to spend some time exploring the NCHFP website for all the latest guidelines and information. Start with the FAQs there. Dave

Red you are too sweet! And you all are making me feel so guilty! mari and lisa thank you for all that information. I had no idea about the Discovery Day - how fun would that be? (except for the part about driving into and parking in the city which I totally hate, of course!) Harp Galleries looks like a very nice place - I have a friend in Neenah so it might make a fun road trip. I just contacted a local CL seller who has some nice pieces on his website - sent him a bunch of pics. He's passing on it but says I should have no trouble getting $500 on CL. Rho I literally walked room to room looking to see if there's a junky piece I can get rid of and keep this one. Problem is, as nice looking as it is, it's not the most functional unless you need hanging space. I could get rid of my son's dresser but he needs drawers - this would never work for him. I just have to focus on the reality - it's a nice piece but it's not a family heirloom or particularly special. It can be replaced down the road if our furniture needs change. Right?

Hi there, thank you so much for posting. I was hoping for some good input on it and this has made my day to read your replies. artemis, glad to hear that your gas bill is not so high. I will look into the electric pilots - I never even thought of that. I agree about the cost of a new range versus buying something new. That's money we are saving right now. I forgot to mention this stove is free, another reason I think we should get it. francy, we live in New England so hot long summers are not much of a concern. I guess it could make the A/C work a little harder though when it's needed (a point my husband would make)-this July has been hot but lately we haven't needed the A/C circuspeanut, we have lots of windows too for ventilation. I guess we would look into replacing the safety valves. Growing up my mom would use the pilots to melt butter too and I would love to be able to rise some bread dough on it. Pizza dough even better - that would make my DH happy :) joshct, I don't know if this stove has a safety system - I guess we would need some expert to tell us - will go on a search for that. Again I'm glad to hear you don't see much increase on your bill either. So...we went to look at the stove today - well I thought we were going to pick it up but it didn't turn out that way. The stove is a beauty(to my eyes anyway!)- she hardly has a chip on her, hasn't been abused, the burners need some cleaning up. She has 2 ovens (my DH pointed out how a pizza box would not fit in it - I quickly said yes but my pizza pans will), 2 broilers and 6 burners. There are 3 flip up porcelain covers that are in good shape except one that has a sticky or cracked hinge. The one thing it doesn't have is a clean-out tray for the burners - you need to pull the burner covers off. It was an extra stove that they kept in the basement as a back-up (in black out days). The problem was we forgot how they used to make these and how much they w eigh and we did not bring enough people to help move this very heavy stove. So we left without my Beautyrange. I want it but DH does not - says it doesn't seem worth it. After reading some of your replies, maybe I should try to find someone who works on these old stoves. We could have them check it out, put some safety features on it. Maybe they would even transport it for us as part of that work. Where to start - "old stove restoration"? Kiddingly, I told DH it's either this one or the Garland that needs work. Anything is going to take some work. Thanks again. Hopefully, I'll be able to post more about my "new" old stove.

Hi Patricia, Thank you for the feedback! Maybe contemporary is not the right word? I'll edit my post. I basically like the look in the kitchen inspiration photos. I know this sounds crazy, but I kind of hate chrome...outside of my chrome oven of course. Do you have any other finish/ hardware suggestions that would go with a black and white/wood kitchen?