For Mama Johnson, the narrator, the butter churn and the dasher remind her of her family, especially of those individuals who made them by hand. These are items that feel essential to her and her daughter, Maggie's, life because they put them to nearly everyday use (as the title suggests). For Mama and Maggie, heritage is something lived and used; it is something in the present. Heritage is not something to display, something to set...
For Mama Johnson, the narrator, the butter churn and the dasher remind her of her family, especially of those individuals who made them by hand. These are items that feel essential to her and her daughter, Maggie's, life because they put them to nearly everyday use (as the title suggests). For Mama and Maggie, heritage is something lived and used; it is something in the present. Heritage is not something to display, something to set aside as in need of preserving because the way Mama and Maggie "preserve" their heritage is in the very using and appreciating of these family artifacts for the purpose for which they were intended.
Dee, on the other hand, sees her family heritage (and the items associated with it, like the churn and dasher) as something to display, and she gives voice to her desire to have these items and others so that she can do "something artistic" with them. Dee sees heritage as something in the past, not the present; for her, it is something to keep, something to have, but not something to honor by using it everyday.
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