[Alumni-chat] Antiochiana! -- The location of the "68 Cafe!":in Yell

Sun Sep 23 19:29:21 EDT 2007

Lesley,

During my time at Antioch, the big house across from Erbaugh and Johnson's
was owned by Kenneth Coffman and it was called Coffman's Funeral Home. To
improve town-gown relations, he used to let me borrow his Cadillac limousine
when I had to pick up some printing or run other errands for the College
Republicans and YAF before I could afford my own car. Nice guy.

I know one of the guys making the eggs and bacon breakfasts on the grill at
Dick and Tom's was called "Dick" so I always assumed -- but probably never
thought to ask -- that Dick and Tom were co-owners. 

The Olde Trail Tavern was introduced to me by an Antiochian (who shall
remain unnamed by me) who ghost-wrote and phoned-in Fulton Lewis, Jr.
political columns from the bar. I didn't like beer and was too young for
their watered-down "cocktails" so I drank a lot of Cokes in order to get my
weekly fill of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," "Blue Rondo ala Turk," and other
tunes on that wonderful jukebox. 

When Phil Schaefer and I were running CG, Com's became the unofficial
"court" where people would drop by after Comcil meetings to continue their
arguments while we were enjoying Goldie's fried chicken and special salad
dressings. 

To the best of my memory, the only way to partake of Gabby's chicken
barbeque was in an aluminum foil take-out container so hot that I could get
it back to South Hall and still have it steaming. 

I hope today's students will have equally pleasant reminisces of their
interactions with the off-campus community when they become as ancient as I
am.

J. David Coldren '65

-----Original Message-----
From: alumni-chat-bounces at w3.antioch.edu
[mailto:alumni-chat-bounces at w3.antioch.edu] On Behalf Of dl bahr
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 3:13 PM
To: Alumni Chat List
Subject: RE: [Alumni-chat] Antiochiana! -- The location of the "68 Cafe!":in
Yell

John:

Thanks for your reminiscence.

I do remember the lunch counter off the drugstore--although we never called
it Erbaugh's.  (Did Erbaugh own the house across the street and proudly
posted Mike Dewine for state senator and Ronald Reagan signs on his well
tended lawn?) or was that a different owner?  

We called the lunch counter Dick and Tom's.   I liked to get a milk shake
and a BLT after the am smoke settled a bit--or
else a scoop of chocalate ice cream in those stainless steel bowls to
keep it chilled. 

Does anyone know why it was called Dick and Tom's?  

It was the place all smokers went both townie and oldster professors.
I remember more than one young bohemian reading and smoking at the lunch
counter.    One of my classmates made a film of the short order cook at
work--a great homage to the place--De Sica could have done no better.  Those
films were the last remnants of BFA/ film majors/ senior projects.  

It was the end of an era when Dick and Tom's shut down--I always wonder what
happened to the old waitress who used to live in the apt upstairs--I think
she wound up in a nursing home in Xenia.  I seem to remember her name was
Dot--but my memory could be failing me.  Does anyone remember her?

My all time favorite diner was down 68 in Xenia--It was Jo's Star
Diner--with the big Star.  They had better home cooking and coffee than Dick
and Tom's or any of the local YS joints.  There seemed to be more love and
less smoke.  They also had country on the juke box before it had its
renaissance.  I remember getting my first lesson in Conway Twitty, Loretta
Lynn, Waylon Jennings, and Tennessee Ernie Ford at Jo's Star diner.  I hope
it is still there.  I loved those ladies and all their knick knacks--it was
like my Great Auntie's house.

I also remember Ye Olde Trail Tavern as more of a local bar hangout. It had
a Thursday Night spaghetti special and Green Beer on St. Patrick's Day.  It
also still had juke boxes at each of the booths--along with a big one so if
you didn't like the public selection you could play your own at the booth.
Antiochians were few and far between in 80's Ye Olde Trail--most went
drinking at Com's.

Does anyone remember Coms?  I have fond memories of dancing with old Russell
(RIP--originally from Springfield) and looking at his IWW union card.
Russel knew how to Dance and keep the ladies laughing.

Does anyone remember:
--Gabby's Underground Barbecue at his house?  
--"It's Nice to be Nice" Community Picnic out at the Park?  Does that
tradition last?  What was that Park called--not far from Dewine's estate and
the duck pond/cemetary.
--Clean Gene's radio show and DJ ing?  Is Clean Gene still spinning the
discs and shining the dance floor?
--The "Good News" thrift store? and Ott's Shop?  
--Walt's Auto Wrecking when the barn was pink?
--Young's when it had no tables? no petting zoo or minature golf?  
--The man who lived out in the Vale and walked everywhere well into his
80's.  What was his name and what happened to him?  Has the Vale community
completely folded?
--Beyers Butter bars and expresso at the Little Art before there was a
concession stand?
--The town tradition of fireworks at Gaunt Park (my most intimate experience
of collective uhhs and ahhs--sitting on our little hill watching fireworks)
OR the town New Years "Time Square"  when everyone came downtown to watch
the ball drop from the bank clock?  I think that stopped when the corporate
banks came in and removed the clock sometime in the late 1980's.  Or else
the digital clock was too short.

I have been reassured that they did not build Antioch McGregor on the
farmland with the "Jesus Loves You" on the barn on the outskirts of town.
Fortunately some icons seem to have eternal life.

Memories how they linger.

Lesley A. Pownall Bahr

> Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 21:46:11 -0500
> To: alumni-chat at w3.antioch.edu
> From: alumni-chat_forum at antiochians.org
> Subject: Re: [Alumni-chat] Antiochiana! -- The location of the "68
Cafe!":in	Yell
> 
> I remember the 68 Grill firsthand - my father used to take me there to eat
in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  I don't recall if it was frequented by
tough truckers or not.  I do remember a light and airy eatery where I had
cheeseburgers and milkshakes and cherry pie in a booth with my dad.  I
distinctly remember the slice of pickle on the plate with the cheeseburger,
although I don't eat pickles.  It gave me a lifelong love of highway diners,
which had an ambiance that MacDonald's and Howard Johnson's were never able
to capture.
> 
> Another favorite place to eat was the lunch counter attached to Erbaugh's
Drug Store.  You could eat in a booth or sit on a stool at the counter.
Same fare as the 68 Grill - cheeseburgers, milkshakes, pie.  I liked the
food better than the place that's there now.  It was homey, comfortable
place.
> 
> My dad also used to take me to the Trail Tavern, but I don't remember much
about eating there.  It seemed like a very mysterious place when I was there
as a child, although it seemed pretty innocuous when I ate there as a
student in the late 1960s.  Is it really a biker hangout now, or is the sign
about checking your firearms just bragadoccio?
> 
> John Hevelin '68
> 
> 
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