DINERS: Michael Engle of Troy, N.Y., wrote to us about diners after seeing the Oct. 12 article about Bradford’s dining cars of old. He had just given a talk on the history of diners at the St. Marys Historical Society.
“It was nice to see diner history mentioned and I enjoyed reading the article,” he said. “I wanted to throw in some extra history.
“So many people think that diners are a New Jersey, east coast thing. Well, in the1920s, they were also a Great Lakes thing as well, especially so along the shores of Lake Erie. Starting out with Charles Welch of Welch’s grape juice fame who bought a diner manufacturer in Glens Falls, New York and moved it to Westfield, New York in 1912, a number of companies built lunch wagons and diners on the shores of Lake Erie over the years.
“More often than not, these diners would be placed in business districts, but occasionally a diner would be placed at a tourist camp or gas station on the highway. The lore of Route 66 helps to keep this latter belief strong in the minds of Americans.”
He continued, “Many but not all diners were 24-hour concerns. The lunch wagons were night-time creatures, closing in the daytime when other downtown restaurants were open. As diners become essentially permanent structures, it only made sense to keep them open all day and night, especially as diners became an acceptable place to get a meal or a snack.”
Folks have shared stories about their families’ diners, like local folks not having much time for lunch. “The owner of the diner would allow customers to take their blue plate special lunches, plate and all, back to their job and return the plate the next morning.”
More to come.
