TIM’S DINER
By: Stan Jordan
This picture was given to me and I’m sure it was taken out of an issue of the Antwerp Bee Argus back in 1979.
The young man there is Tim Peffly, a graduate of Antwerp High School 1970. The caption tells all about his open house.
I’m going to tell you what I know about this area as it is now a part of Doug Bragg trailer court.
This little building was erected in the 1930’s by Mr. Shaffer. He had a little lunch place and a few little cabins for rent. The Shaffer Road there is named after him. He was in business a few years but after WWII he sold out to Mr. Bob Varner. He owned the restaurant for quite a while but always had other people to operate it. Mr. Varner had a gas station and another business on the side.
He took an Indian head penny and a locally grown buckeye and put them in a small, clear plastic type paper weight, and sold thousands of them.
There were two employees and they were busy for years. They had an outlet down in the Armstrong Museum in Wapakoneta.
Bob was a very good businessman and he also had a couple of patents in his name.
Now there was also an automobile garage business there. I remember Dick Derringer and Mike McKeever were operators.
I remember the gasoline there was 29 cents per gallon at that time. I remember some of the workers at the gas station were Mr. Glass, CW Harper, Jimmy Gustin, Gene Bistor and a couple other fellows.
Some of the other people who operated the restaurant or worked there, were Tim’s family, at another time Terry Knepper and his two daughters were the operators and they had a good business. They called it The Third Base, the last stop before home, Lorsey Rich and Cindy Meader worked there. It was a friendly place to go. Mr. Varner was also a good shot with any type of .22 calibre rifle. Mr. Varner passed away in 1995, he was 82 years old. In addition to all his ventures he built that trailer court to the north of Tim’s Diner.
At that restaurant it was a very family friendly place to dine and lots of truckers, men from Weatherhead, from Woodburn and Hicksville. In looking back at those years and local history, I get carried back. But getting back to Tim’s Diner, his father, Charles, helped out as did brothers, Bill and Brad. I would like to mention here that Tim was an above average baseball player locally and in college.
That was Tim’s Diner for a few years then Terry Knepper was the manager and they named it The Third Base and it was successful for years.
The garage part was named The Liberty Fuel Stop and operated for a few years as such. Then Mr. Varner died and Mrs. Varner sold that area to Doug Bragg. Doug had James Pendergrast demolish the building and clean up the area.
Doug tells me there is over two acres there, trailer court and all, but the spot in front belongs to the state or park board, but they have since made that area looks nice.
But over the years, the highway, U.S. 24, has been changed a few times and moved, and that area is a nice, clean, quiet neighborhood.
In case you’ve wondered, U.S. 24 was made a federal highway sometime before 1930 and it was paved and moved to it’s middle position at that time. Then it was moved to where it is now back about 2009 and old US 24 is now CR 424. And you thought we didn’t have any history.
See ya!
THE CARDINAL
By: Stan Jordan
In my estimation, one of the prettiest birds, if not the prettiest, is the male cardinal. And besides that, he is not all that afraid of people.
What I mean by that is, lots of time they live in your back yard, or grape arbor or some sort of a thick busy place and they might keep that same nest for years. It is according to the food supply, but I don’t remember ever seeing a baby cardinal.
The cardinal is native to us and they are in darn near all of the first 48 states, but they don’t migrate. In fact, on lots of Christmas cards of winter scenes, the designer puts in a cardinal to add color to the card. They are a beautiful bird, they eat small insects and weed seed. They do a lot of good.
See ya!
A FINE RECOGNITION
By: Stan Jordan
My desk calendar, Maxine, says, “When it comes to great people, nurses are off the charts.” That is very true, but all of the first responders are right up there also. My hat is off to all of those volunteers.
Someone here in Antwerp is sponsoring a big “thank you” dinner for Antwerp’s active first responders at the Essen House at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday the 18th of May.
I am very proud of all these people and it has been a long time coming.
See ya!
THE LAWN
By: Stan Jordan
Spring is finally here, all the birds are back, lots of folks wearing shorts, no coats, some flowers are out and the grass has turned from a dead brown to a real pretty green. It has also grown and needs mowing. We waited six months for the grass to turn green and it needs mowed.
It would be like going to Cleveland to see the Indians but the grass needs mowed. My neighbor asked me to go to Cincinnati to see the Reds play, but the grass needs mowed.
My grass needs mowed, badly, but it rained nearly 2 inches and I can’t mow it and it is almost too tall. It looks like a marshland and my mower needs tuned up and it has a flat tire.
The tax adjuster was here and my new patio and grill amazed him and he raised my taxes about $60.00 and the grass needs mowed.
I will be glad when fall comes and the grass won’t grow so fast. I’ll be glad when the grass stops growing, but that’s winter and I hate winter. There will be snow to shovel, ice to scrape…that heavy coat to wear.
That reminds me, when I was a boy, Harry Busby was the barber and cut my hair. And he would say about Antwerp’s weather, “We have nine months of winter and 3 months of summer, that comes damn late in the fall.”
See ya!
I DON’T UNDERSTAND
By: Stan Jordan
I’ve traveled east and west, north and south here in our local area and I don’t understand these local gasoline prices per gallon.
Antwerp, Hicksville and Payne carry about the same price per gallon of (at this time) $2.79. But up at Love’s station it is $2.85 per gallon; Paulding – $2.64 (both Marathons); Melrose $2.62; two in Defiance, one at $2.69 and one at $2.79. It is a 17 cent difference and sometimes it is the same octane or even the same brand name.
If you go to one of the big supermarkets, the price might even be lower. Sometimes they have a big deal if you buy your groceries from them also.
Oh boy, I’m still confused.
See ya!
I was walking down the street and I saw an old fellow sitting on a park bench and was having a bad time. I asked him, “What’s wrong, family trouble?”
“Oh no” he said, “I have a beautiful young wife, she’s 22 years old.”
“Don’t you folks get along?” I asked.
“Oh gosh, we get along fine, we love each other” he said.
“Well, can she cook and bake?” I asked
“My goodness” he said, “she is a fine cook and a good baker and housekeeper.”
“Well gee whiz mister, I can’t understand what’s your trouble here.”
He burst into tears and said, “I don’t remember where I live!”
***
Tom and Sally were a fine couple. They both worked hard and she saved their money so they could retire someday. They never had a trip or vacation, or a new car. She wanted to be sure they would have enough to retire on.
Sally took sick and lingered about a week at the hospital and then passed away.
When she got to the Pearly Gates, St. Peter said, “I know you are a fine, Christian lady, but before you can enter you must spell a common word, how do you spell ‘love’?”
She spelled it right and she entered into Heaven.
A few years later, her husband died and she was the Sentinel at the Pearly Gates that day that he came to enter.
She was so glad to see him and they talked and she asked him what he did after she was gone? Was he lonesome?
He told her that he married that pretty little nurse that took care of her at the hospital. We traveled all over, we had a winter home in Florida, a summer home in Canada and we were using that money on a trip to Hawaii.
She was very upset and she told him he would have to spell a word before he could enter into Heaven.
“Spell Massachusetts” she grumbled.
***
I was at the post office, when I saw a blonde woman shouting into a envelope. I asked, “What are you doing?” The blonde replied, “Sending a voice mail.”
***
Four worms were placed in four separate test tubes:
1st in beer, 2nd in wine, 3rd in whiskey, 4th in mineral water. The next day, the teacher shows the results. The 1st worm beer is dead. The 2nd in wine, dead. The 3rd in whiskey, dead. The 4th in mineral water, alive and healthy. The teacher asks the class: What do we learn from this experience? And a child responds: Whoever drinks beer, wine and whiskey, does not have worms.
***
A democrat walks into a bar and asks: “What’s the most popular drink?” Bartender replies, “a Russian Collusion” the democrat orders one, bartender gives him an empty glass…
