My husband Guy’s mother, Carol (Walker) Herman, gave us an old soapstone bed warmer with a note that she and her siblings used it while growing up from about 1910-1930 near Glidden, Iowa.
She said that it was heated on a potbellied parlor stove and wrapped in newspapers and carried to bed.
Soapstone warmers were popular in the mid-1800s and were also used to warm feet for those who rode in a sleigh or buggy during the winter.
What is soapstone? In its purest form, it is talc, the same stone used to make baby powder. Talc gives the stone the characteristic greasy feel for which it is named. Based on the percentage of talc in the stone it could be used for a variety of things.
Its heat conductivity made it popular. The stone is so dense that it retains and radiates heat. Unlike most metals, soapstone releases heat very slowly. Soapstone, with its density, can also be reheated over and over without cracking like other metals.
Guy’s mother still lives on the family farm. She’ll be 99 in September!