Discovering ANTIQUES

More documents

Recommendations

Info

By Susan Holme Manyluk,HolmeHus Antiques,Red Deer, ABA Day atthe Diner30 • <strong>Discovering</strong> <strong>ANTIQUES</strong>Let me wax nostalgic for a moment, andsketch you a picture of a time and place whichisn’t really so long ago. It is well withinthe memory of any of the post-war “boomerbabies” and has taken on an iconic presencefor many who are younger even than theactual “boomers.”Imagine a Saturday in a small prairie town…summer-time probably, in that lovely window in Junewhen crops have been seeded, fields are greening up withpromise; but haying won’t start for a couple of weeks.Kitchen gardens are tracing bright green lines in the richloam, while front yards are showing emerald, pink, andruby red, as geraniums (painstakingly wintered over inroot cellars or on window sills) are settling into windowboxesand porch planters for a summer of riotous growthand bright bursts of colour.The kids have a couple of weeks of school left.They are rowdy and impatient for the holidays, whileanticipating field trips or sports days, or final exams withwhich to end another school year. Screen doors bang,voices call greetings, road dust sifts in silky clouds, gilt bythe morning sun. There is the smell of new-mown lawnsand blooming lilacs, fresh rhubarb pie baking and goodcoffee percolating.“Come on over to the diner when you’re done…”“Meet me at the diner in half an hour…” “See you all atthe diner for lunch, or pie, or coffee, or ice cream sodas,or...” echo voices from the past.Before, but specifically after WW II, “The Diner”was often the unofficial centre of a small town’s sociallife. Neighbours might meet and chat at the post office,the drug store, the grain elevators or the barbershop; butwhen it was time for serious communications, the localdiner was the #1 destination. Over coffee and fresh pie,the burger special, or a bowl of homemade soup and asandwich; decisions were made – such as the actual dateof the yearly strawberry social; whether the town couldafford to install a few lights out at the ball diamondbefore the annual tournament; or if the schoolhousesteps needed replacing before next September. Birthsand deaths, crops and weather, cattle and hog prices,quilting bees, weddings and the annual summer fairwere all discussed, dissected and decided upon. So werepolitics, economics, the outrageous price of a new tractor
or truck, and the hiring of another school teacher for thecoming fall term. Anything that touched the lives of thefarmers and townsfolk, their families and futures; whomade up the close-knit small prairie communities of the1940’s and ‘50’s, was discussed at the town diner.Many of these “diners” were in fact former railwaydining or passenger cars. As travel by road took overfrom travel by rail, some of these beautifully crafted carscame to rest on a siding next to the railroad station, andif that wasn’t “central” enough, were hauled uptown afew blocks to a vacant lot. Installation of water, heat andsewer; a cookstove and refrigerator; tables, some storagefor dishes, cutlery and food supplies; and a diner wasborn.Usually the long, narrow rail car lent itself to a rowof booths down one side and a long bar or counter withsome swivel stools down the middle. Behind this counterreigned the short order cook (who was often the owner)while a couple of energetic and cheerful waitresses lookedafter “the front of the house.” The food was generallysimple but tasty, fresh and home-made ingredients wereconsistently used, reflecting what was in season andlocally grown. If the food was really exceptional, wordof mouth also drew the truckers and traveling salesmen,seasonal travelers and folk from “the big city.”In Eastern Canada and the U.S.A., some diners dateback to the late 1800’s, but out west on the prairies, mostdate from the 1920’s to the early 1960’s. The proliferationof the “fast food” drive-throughs spelt the doom of thediner. But wait – fifty years and some major healthconcerns over transfats, eating-on-the-run, and tomatobornefood poisoning scares, have made us appreciatesmall-town-style dining, Twenty-First Century version.Recently I was surprised and delighted to learnabout a real honest-to-goodness diner, only six minutesfrom our shop. I have been asked by many customers inthe shop innumerable times since we opened in June of2000, if I could recommend a good spot for a reasonablypriced lunch, or a coffee and dessert. And preferablywithout lining up at the same old coffee spots or underthe golden arches; and either Sylvan Lake or Red Deerwould do, thank you! Now I have an answer....continued on page 32February/March/April 2009 • 31
Page 1 and 2: PRICELESSDiscoveringANTIQUESFebruar
Page 3 and 4: February/March/April 2009 • 3
Page 5 and 6: DiscoveringANTIQUESVOLUME 11 - NO.
Page 23 and 24: Discovering ANTIQUES • 23
Page 29: February/March/April 2009 • 29
Page 35: February/March/April 2009 • 35

Discovering ANTIQUES

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?