So what the heck is this ladle – and why was it created? This wooden-handled ladle has a football-shaped bowl, with spouts on both sides – for ambidextrous pouring? And it’s labelled for “F. C. W. Rorer / Funeral Service” – so this cooking tool was a promotional product for Rorer’s funeral home?
Rorer’s Funeral Parlor
Francis C. W. Rorer (1863-1960) operated his Funeral Director business on Front Street in Hopewell Borough from 1915 to 1947.
The photo shows Rorer’s Cadillac funeral hearse / ambulance, advertised in the 1916 Hopewell Herald for his “Automobile and Ambulance Service at all Times.”
Rorer was followed on Front Street by Thurland B. Farr (c1901-1990), who operated the Farr Funeral Home from 1947 into the early 1970s.
Why a Funeral Football Ladle?
This ladle is around 11 inches long, with a 4-inch wooden handle and a 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch metal bowl, 1 inch deep. The football shaped bowl allows the contents to be pored from either side.
There are some other interesting ladle bowl designs shown online, including oblong and egg-shaped, but this football shape seems uncommon. And there are a handful of similar promotional football-shaped ladles, including at least one similar design, and other Androck brand ladles with distinctive red handles.
- What is the intended use of such football-shaped ladles with spouts on each side?
The wooden handle of this ladle is labelled “F. C. W. Rorer / Funeral Service / Hopewell, N. J.” – with “May We Continue To Merit Your Confidence” above.
Local Hopewell funeral homes did use various types of promotional goods labelled with their business names, especially paper fans provided to attendees at funerals to provide air flow and relief from the heat. The Hopewell Museum has examples of various fans, plus ashtrays and other oddities.
However, this football ladle is a rather more expensive promotional product. One possible clue is that F. C. W. Rorer’s son, Herbert F. Rorer, ran the Rorer Hardware Store at 31 West Broad Street starting in 1926, which then continued under the family until it was closed in 1979. So perhaps some ladles became available through a deal with the hardware store?
- How does a ladle help promote a funeral home business? Is it good to have a funeral in mind whenever you are cooking, or pouring the gravy at dinner?
- Thanks to Mary Ellen Balady for sharing this fascinating Rorer Funeral ladle.
- Thanks to Phyllis Matthews Ziller for sharing family photos and information on F. C. W. Rorer and Herbert F. Rorer.
Please contact us if you have additional information or materials related to this ladle, local funeral homes, or other Hopewell Valley history.
