Recently legendary Charles Ferruzza wrote in his article about the annoying habits of the restaurant servers:

​There’s no boot camp for waiters and waitresses, but there should be.

Apparently such a place existed in Wichita, KS in the late 1940’s according to this article in the Life Magazine.

The undeclared but stubborn warfare which exists between waitresses and the eating public has long been despair of restaurant keepers. Too often the comforting cling of an owner’s cash register dwindles rapidly because his employees hook an occasional thumb in the beef stew..  Other arguments for home cooking usually involve waitresses who assume that too-short skirts, bright ail lacquer and plunging necklines are superior to deft hands and tidy uniforms as serving assets. This keeps wives (and their husbands) away in droves. Such practices are dismaying to a 52-year r-old ex-bellboy named John O’Meara who has been touring the U.S. since 1931, spreading the gospel of good waitership.

And now for some vintage photos (original captions preserved):

Continue reading →

If you are not just headed to the Kansas City Public Library to look at porn or have sex, you may want to visit their excellent free exhibit Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living With the Atomic Bomb, 1945-65. Whether you are a history buff or just want to know why your crazy grandpa is storing canned water in the basement, you will find this collection of books, posters, games, educational materials, art and toys curious, exciting and somewhat morbid.

It’s hard to comprehend that generations of Americans grew up with the thought of a nuclear blast being a sure thing always in the back of their mind. And although Geiger counters and Atomic trains seem like cool toys today, at the time they served to get the children used to the idea that someday they will be using the real thing. From the neighborhood and personal fallout shelters to the best-selling atomic handbooks the subject of an inevitable nuclear attack  determined the foreign and domestic policy for 20 years after United States bombed Japan and throughout the Cold War era.

As always I took a lot of pictures, but I suggest you check it out for yourself. The exhibit is fairly small and will take you about 30 minutes to get through.

Continue reading →

In June 1960 the Life Magazine published the following report about the imminent flooding of the Tuttle Creek Reservoir.

Forlorn End For a Valley.

In the verdant farmlands of the Blue River valley in northeastern Kansas, where 3,000 people found themselves in the path of progress, only a sorrowful handful still stayed near ghost towns. The reservoir for the Tuttle Creek flood-control dam would inundate 15,000 acres. In many cases it would swallow up the farms and limestone homesteads built up by the owners’ pioneer ancestors.

The cost of resettling and the beginning of new lives came high. New property usually costs more than the fees awarded for the old. It was a sad wrench, especially for the old people. But the uprooted Kansans have one consolation. They will live near what will eventually be the state’s largest recreation area.

Continue reading →

The Chapel at Precious Moments is just as beautiful as the Sistine Chapel. I have been to both. Obviously Precious Moments was painted in a more modern style, but they are on the same level. Amazing Place!

No. I did not make this up.

I’ve seen many things during my travels but the Precious Moments gift store and attached Chapel take the cake for being the strangest, creepiest place I’ve ever been to.

Continue reading →

Today I went to Grinders to partake in the He’Brew Happy Hour and to meet the founder of the Shmaltz Brewery Jeremy Cowan. I have no idea why I did that: I am not a giant beer fan and when Jeremy introduced himself and tried to blind me with scientific beer-speak I acted like he was speaking Chinese and ordered a beer because it was on special. I ended up with a Coney Island Sword Swallower and I am pretty sure it was a beer.

While the beer was good and Jeremy Cowan was very nice and stopped by to talk to me when he was leaving, my trip to Grinders was even more delightful because I met the former proprietor of “George’s Cheese and Sausage Shop” and Hy-Vee Hall-of-Famer George Detsios.

I remembered reading about him here and there and even having a commenter on this blog suggest trying out George’s goulash at Grinders on Mondays. I talked to George for more than 30 minutes about his life, travel, his job at Hy-Vee, his old shop and his weekly Hungarian cooking at Grinders. By the time we were done taking I knew what I will be doing next Monday.

On Monday, March 23 between 5 and 6pm you are welcome to join me at the Grinders for goulash cooked by George Detsios.

After a beer or two be prepared for some Hungarian singing and possibly dancing.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fyug3T-CUA

Continue reading →