We agree with the semtiments expressed above, and don't much care for toaster-ovens, but they do have their place in being able to toast thick breads, bagels, etc. It wasn't until the 1980s that manufacturers recognized our changing bread eating habits and finally made toasters into which you could fit a bagel.
This period also sees high-tech - and heat resistant - plastics getting used for toaster bodies. And, of course, microchip controls appear.
Two sad milestones were reached in this period:
- Toastmaster, which had survived nearly a century as one of America's best known appliance makers, was acquired by Salton.
- Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex closed their manufacturing plant in Mt. Airy, North Carolina - and now we know of no manufacturers left making toasters in the US. The photos below are scenes from the production line at the Hamilton Beach/Proctor-Silex manufacturing plant in Mt. Airy, North Carolina before it was shut down. Mt Airy was officially designated "Toaster Capital of the World" in 1993.
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