TomlinsonRunRR posted:Quarter Gauger 48 posted:TRRR, Thanks for the very nice compliment'. No back story really, just my Mom had owned and operated small diners of this style, and of course I worked in them as a youngster. Here is a photo of one we had. It was named, "The Stagecoach Diner," in Sandy Hook, CT. Circa 1963....
And a well-deserved compliment, too. :-). I consider that quite a "backstory" for your model. Wow, what a great experience -- at least to me looking in from the outside. I suspect it was a lot of hard work for a kid.
My limited record (on an index card, no less) shows the "Sandy Hook Diner" on Church Hill Road as having been built in the 1920s. The proportions of the center section look right for the time period. That's a lot of decades and eras that can be represented by model cars and trucks!
TRRR
I see you've done your research. The structure on the right side of the diner was living quarters. A small 5 room house with direct access into the diner. That is where we lived. The girl friend of the County Sheriff of Fairfield, owned all the buildings you see in the photo. We rented the facility and lived in the little house. Josephene, the owner, would stop by unannounced, never even had a cup of coffee. She was a very wealthy woman. Dressed to the 10s, Real Mink coats, lots of diamonds, drove a brand new Caddy. She looked very similar to the actress, Joan Crawford. She was also, a very mean woman. If she saw we had customers, when she would stop by, the next day she would stop by again and raise the rent . Finally after two years, my mother had enough and we moved on.
Actually it was not hard work. All of us kids worked. We waited on customers. I used to cook eggs, make toast and serve coffee. My sister was the main waitress. Met her husband in that diner and is still married to this day.. My little brother cleaned the toilets. On the holidays the entire family from all over the north east would arrive for Thanksgiving dinner in the dining room. We would cook at least 3 big turkeys, roasts, chickens, cornish hens. You name it. We also had locals that had no families of their own join us. It was quite the gathering. My Mother was an excellent cook. She would always invite Josephine and the Sheriff , but they never came. So I learned a lot in that diner about people, business and life in general.. Things you never forget. My mother went on to operate several other similar type diners in New York State, when I was in the service. Prior to The Stagecoach, we had several stands in Long Island, and upstate, NY. One time we had a Gulf Station, with a store and a restaurant. I was age 5. My folks like to travel, and open businesses.
They were the original entrepreneurs... before the word became famous. The only problem was, they never made the Millions....
