At Left: Wide view of front- right side of loom.  At Right: Detailed view of underside of rocker. Note oak rocker strips, which attach to the rocker at one end, and to the loom base at the other end.
Ruth Siems was the home economist at General Foods known as the "Stove Top Stuffing Lady," because of her efforts in the development of that product.  In 1985, she retired to a historic home in southern Indiana and was creatively involved in numerous projects.  At some point before her death in 2005, she called about a loom she had purchased from an Evansville Indiana junk dealer and was restoring (see photographs above).  A number of pieces (including the warp beam) were missing, and the loom had a yellowish cast.  She speculated it may have, at one time, been painted with an old buttermilk paint formula so we decided to refer to it by that name.  I failed to hear from her after that, and my efforts to reach her were unsuccessful.  I was not aware she had finished the project until I received a call from the director of the Lincoln Pioneer Village and Museum in nearby Rockport, Indiana.  Ruth had left the loom to the museum at her death, and it is on exibit there (see photographs below).
Link to the Lincoln Pioneer Village Return to Loom Photograph Index