Pioneer Cookware
Some time before the introduction of the new DISA automated production, a line of cast iron cookware was produced by BS&R especially for retailers such as Sears Roebuck. These cast iron pans were labeled "Pioneer" cookware. In fact, the entire line of cast iron cookware was exactly the same cast iron pans made for the Century Cookware line. They were labeled as "Pioneer", but these pans had the same markings and the same size as every other pan made for the Century Cookware series. Here is an example of a "Pioneer" pan with the markings of a Red Mountain pan. This suggests this pan may have been produced in the 1950s to 1960s, before the introduction of automated production.
Photos courtesy of Jeremy Ulbrich.
Meanwhile, here is a "Pioneer" series dutch oven produced much later, possibly in the 1970s. At that time, BS&R was beginning to produce cast iron pans that were made to fit glass lids. This pot has the markings of a Century Cookware dutch oven, but it has a glass lid.
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Photos courtesy of Brandon Mckeever.
A long-running rumour among the cast iron community has stated the rare knob handled BS&R cast iron lids were actually produced for the Pioneer cookware line, but this has been demonstrated to be incorrect.
