Diners, Restaurants, and Drive-Ins

The New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen, Md., August 22, 2006.

The New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen, Md., August 22, 2006.

The lovely neon sign at the now-closed Distelfink Drive-In restaurant near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is sadly in need of repair (see below for another view showing the other side of the Darkened Distelfink Drive-In Sign ). An article about the drive-in (see Lillian Reed, " Fate of Gettysburg's Distelfink Drive-In in Question Once Again ," in the Hanover, Pa., Evening Sun , June 4, 2013) revealed that the original owner of the restaurant, Cecil Sandoe, still lives in the brick house that's visible across the intersection. Sandoe operates a business that rents out storage units (visible to the left of the house) and is saddened by the decline of the drive-in over the years. "We wish we had moved because we have to see that it's not getting taken care of," he said, according to the article. “I do have regrets about selling it, but, at the time, my children were too young to take it over." Check out the Google Maps Street View of the drive-in, too.

The Distelfink Drive-In restaurant near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is closed and for sale, and its lovely neon sign is sadly in need of repair. When I passed by the place this summer, I took a took a few photos of the sign (see below for another view showing the other side of the Distelfink Drive-In Sign ). Afterwards, I discovered a recent newspaper article that doesn't hold out much hope for the future of the drive-in (see Lillian Reed, " Fate of Gettysburg's Distelfink Drive-In in Question Once Again ," in the Hanover, Pa., Evening Sun , June 4, 2013). Check out the Google Maps Street View of the drive-in, too.

Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Lesher's Diner, Routes 11 & 15, 28 miles north of Harrisburg, 28 miles south of Sunbury, Liverpool, Penna. Breakfast, luncheon, dinner. Specializing in steaks, chops, sea-food. Home-made pastries baked in our kitchen, Have your car serviced at adjoining AMOCO Station while dining in our delightful diner. 24 hour service. Photography by James E. Hess. Pub. by Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Penna."

Printed on the back of this postcard: "Sam's Ice Cream. Store-room and manufacturing plant. 2008 Paxton Street, Harrisburg, Penna. (at the city line on Hershey Hgwy. Rt. 422. Store-room featuring large snack-bar, counter service, plus self-service dept. Also truck retail distributing service to your door within 100 miles radius of Harrisburg. (Open daily 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. including Sundays.)"

"Joe DiMaggio's Restaurant, Fishermen's Wharf, San Francisco, California. Famous thruout the world. Vincent DiMaggio. Dominic DiMaggio. Telephone: Ordway 2266 - 205-11 Jefferson St. Cocktails." Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Joe DiMaggio's Restaurant. Your visit to San Francisco would not be complete without dining and dancing at Joe DiMaggio's restaurant, overlooking the world-famous Fishermen's Wharf, with its picturesque Italian fishermen and their gaily painted fishing craft in full view." Handwritten note on the back: "1940."

Three signs with slightly different wording are visible on this real photo postcard: - "This is Mrs. Campbell's Bar-B-Q." - "This is Mrs. Campbell's Home of the Bar-B-Q." - "This is Mrs. Campbell's Home Bar-B-Q." Judging from the few newspaper advertisements that I was able to track down, Mrs. Campbell's Bar-B-Q was in business near Tyrone, Pennsylvania, during the late 1920s and early 1930s. One ad in the Tyrone Daily Herald , Dec. 22, 1927, p. 8, provides the following information: "Chicken and Waffles Sunday. At Mrs. Campbell's Barbecue. Come and eat all of Mrs. Campbell's famous waffles you can eat. 5 miles west of Tyrone, near Bland's Park. Phone 9756-R." Bland's Park is now known as DelGrosso's Amusement Park and is located along Pleasant Valley Boulevard (also called Old U.S. Route 220) between Tyrone and Altoona. Although the park is still in existence, I haven't been able to determine what happened to Mrs. Campbell's Bar-B-Q. The latest mention of the eatery that I was able to find was an announcement in the Altoona Mirror newspaper for April 10, 1934, p. 20: "The Ladies' Aid society of the Methodist church will meet at Mrs. Campbell's barbecue on Wednesday evening, April 11."

Billboard: "The Home of Fry Bros. Turkey Ranch & Dining Rooms. Turkey dinners, $1.25. 24 hour diner service. Tourist home." Caption: "Caulkins, T-58." Here's a 2006 view taken from about the same vantage point (below). The billboard is no longer there, unfortunately.

Caption: "Fry Bros. Turkey Ranch & Diner on Rt 15, 20 miles no. of Williamsport, Pa. Caulkins Photo, Morris, Penna. T-106." A real photo postcard view (circa 1940s-1950s) of what is now called the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch Restaurant. There are no crowds of customers in my photo of the same scene in 2006 (see below), but the service station is still there, and I believe that the building in the background--hidden behind a new extension to the front of the restaurant--is still there, too.

A turkeys photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Caption on the front of this real photo postcard: "Fry Bros. Turkey Ranch & Dining Rooms, 20 miles north of Williamsport, Pa., on Route 15. Caulkins, T-14." A restaurant with its own turkey farm, the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch and Dining Rooms opened for business near Trout Run, Pennsylvania, in 1939. Located along U.S. Route 15 on Steam Valley Mountain, it's situated about 20 miles north of the city of Williamsport and about 100 miles north of Harrisburg, the state capital. The restaurant celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2014 and is still known today as the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch . Although the owners serve about 100,000 customers a year, they no longer raise their own turkeys. I stopped at the restaurant in 2006 while traveling north to New York State, and I had a tasty meal of turkey and waffles there. It was so good that I had to stop again for some more turkey and waffles on the way back. For some real photo postcards showing the restaurant in the 1940s or 1950s and some of my own photos from 2006, see my Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch Restaurant album.

"Big Trout Inn, Weedville, Pa. Bar. Ballroom." Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Big Trout Inn, Weedville, Pa. Leo and Rose Barbazzeni, props., welcome you to their spacious tavern, located on Route 255 near Weedville, Pa., in the heart of Pennsylvania's picturesque Alleghenies."

Printed on the back of this linen advertising postcard: "The Moline Cafe. Best for many miles. Located center of city. Service--5:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Air-conditioned. Soda fountain. On main highway to Yellowstone Park. U.S. No. 10, No. 52, No. 281. OC-H373." Postmarks: Mandan, N.Dak., Aug. 10, 1951, and Lake Sheridan, Pa., Aug. 13, 1951. Handwritten message: "Thurs. noon. Dear Mom, Having lunch in this cafe. Very nice. Left Alexandria about 6:30 this A.M. You can really make time going thru here. No traffic--good strait roads. Flat as a dye. Love, Della."

"The Columbia Diner, Route 30, Columbia, Pa. Open 24 hours. Private parties. Home made cheesecake. Take out." The Columbia Diner was located along the Lincoln Highway (Route 462 today but formerly Route 30) in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

"Whissel's for quality." See also:

See also:

See also:

Space Shuttle playground toy at Whissel's. See also: