Put September 25th on your Calendar! The Membership will be Voting Tuesday, September 25 at our General Meeting for the 2019 Officers and a Trustee. The doors open at 7:00 pm and the floor will be open to nominations. Your 2019 Slate of Officers • President – Mary Turner Stoots • Vice President – Dick Barth • Treasurer – Marvin Shrimplin • Recording Secretary – VACANT POSITION • Corresponding Secretary – Suzy Millar Miller • Trustee (3-year term) – Vickie Edwards Hall The 2019 RTHS Officers will be Elected at our September 25 General Meeting Do you have someone in mind whom you would like to see on the leadership team? Are you interested yourself? Contact Dick Barth for nominations by phone or email: 614-866-0142 [email protected] The following Board Members are finishing out a 3-year term and will not be on the slate: • Trustee (1-Year Remaining) – Jim Diuguid • Trustee (2-Years Remaining) – Wendy Wheatley Raftery The following are appointed and volunteer positions: • Courier Editor – Mary Turner Stoots • Publicity Chairman – Mary Turner Stoots • Communications – Mary Turner Stoots • Administrative Assistant – Lauren Shiman Feel free to bring a snack to share at the meeting! We all like to eat – don’t you? Reynoldsburg-Truro Historical Society is having a Restaurant Fundraiser on Wednesday, September 19! Central Ohio All you have to do is eat, RTHS and we get 20% back! Members will receive We will have some inside the ‘take-one’ this boxes by the front and back door of the museum. Postcard Be sure to take extra ones for your in their friends and neighbors! Courier MAILING ADDRESS: Reynoldsburg-Truro Historical Society, P.O. BOX 144, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 STREET ADDRESS (No Mail): RTHS Museum, 1485 Jackson Street, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 You are probably wondering how an empty ink cartridge can help RTHS. Staples gives rebates for the empty tanks! ▪ We recently applied our available rebates towards a new printer for the museum. The printer ended up costing about $35 and it retails for $80 ▪ The coffee machine in our lower level kitchenette was purchased with rebates at the cost of $00.00 ▪ Most of our office supplies are paid for with rebates ▪ The ink used to print the Courier is donated by the editor (between 11 and 13 cartridges per printing). Those cartridges are turned in for the rebates we use to buy the paper that the Courier is printed on, along with cardstock for postcards, displays, etc. ▪ Feel free to bring your empty cartridges (in a baggie to protect your fingers from ink) to our Open House events or General Meetings 02-RTHS Courier, September 2018 Illustrated and Written by Colin Sutphin Imagine it is late summer 1960 and you have Army buddy at the PX (Post Exchange) in just returned to Reynoldsburg. You're been Germany. Hmm, not sure. There have been stationed in West Germany for the last two rumors that this little habit started back east years, part of your enlistment in the Army. in New York or Philly. No one knows for sure. Now, you're home on furlough for 45 days. But, I'd like to think it began right here at So, you jump into your 1957 Ford Don's, that very day. convertible and drive west on Main street. The Don Juan burger has two beef patties, Turning onto Aida Drive you spot the new melted cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and Super Duper market. Also, a variety of other mayo. And, a colorful plastic sword sticking in stores, including a state liquor store, clothing, the top. Neat. You remove the little sword and shoes, dry cleaners and five and dime. A new put it in the sun visor. The strawberry pie is Kroger market has just opened at the west end topped with whipped cream, and it is of Reynoldsburg Center. On your way out of delicious. the lot, you spy the new drive-in restaurant the The food was great and the carhop family has written about. Don's Briarcliff friendly. I'll be stopping here a lot while I'm Drive-In, Huh! home on leave. Its dinner time, why not? You pull into a In 1958 KANBRO (Kanatas Brothers) curbside spot under the canopy. After a quick leased the northeast corner of E. Main Street glance at the menu, you place your order by at Briarcliff Drive. After which they built a pressing the button on the "Squawk Box." I'll restaurant and called it Don's Briarcliff Drive in. have the Don Juan basket, thick chocolate That name came from an existing shake and strawberry pie, please. The carhop restaurant their family purchased in 1955, delivers your food soon, placing the tray on a located on north high street just south of bracket that swings over to the driver's Worthington. The previous owners called it window. That's cool, you think to yourself. Don's so they continued with the name. You grab a hot hand-cut French fry, then dip Kanbro also owned the Champ Restaurant on it into the milkshake. Wow!, that tastes good. Marion Road at the (Continued on page 04) Had I seen this done before? Maybe an RTHS Courier, September 2018-03 open the back dining room for Bill Monroe and two of his band members. They ordered coffee and a BLT. I was so mad because Mike made me open the room so they could have privacy. I had no idea who he was at the time but well remember I was a little rude to him. He left me a $50 tip." Don's always presented the flag inside to (Continued from page 03) corner of South honor their brother Chris who was killed in Champion Avenue I think the entire Kanatas World War II. family was in the business. After problems with a new landlord, the Don's was famous for their bottomless cup brothers decided to retire. So, on Sunday, of coffee. Local construction workers and fire- March 7, 1985 at 7:00 pm, they closed the fighters would come in to fill up their thermos bottles. The police would take their coffee breaks and meals here. There was a preparation kitchen downstairs, where cooks made salads, pies and pastries. Don’s was on US 40, The National Road, a main east/west highway. Re- member, the freeway, Interstate 70, didn’t open until late 1967. doors to Don’s Briarcliff Drive In Restaurant I’m sure Don’s had plenty of out of towners, for the last time. and some notable people who dined there too. The friends I knew from Don’s were Tom This story was related to me by Kaye Kanatas, Harold Tackett, the Coles, Pete, Gibson, a waitress at Don’s: I don’t remem- Polly, and Kaye. People had a lot of ber the year, but every afternoon around 2:30 good times at Don’s so many this lady would come in and order soup and years ago. The last a sandwich. After a couple of days she want- time I talked ed to know if I could get a coffee and join to Tom was at her for company. We talked a few after- Kroger’s some noons like that, then she asked me if I years after he knew who she was. Of course, I said no retired. Harold and she laughed so hard. It was Greta left Don’s and be- Garbo, actress and pin-up girl during came the chef for WWII. Anyway, Mike called upstairs to Jim Joseph at the ask me something and I said, “Do you Longhorn Steakhouse. know who Greta Garbo is?” He got so Harold passed away at excited that he changed shirts, put an early age. Pete, the on a new bow tie then came up- grill cook, later went to stairs to meet her. work for Western Electric. He showed us a picture of Ms. Kaye owned three rest- Garbo that he kept in his Army locker. She aurants of her own. She was in Reynoldsburg doing a play at Country and Polly, now retired, live Dinner Playhouse. in West Virginia. Kaye also met Frank Sutton who played Sgt. I surely hope you have enjoyed this trip Carter on Gomer Pyle USMC. Said he was down memory lane. really nice, not at all like his TV character. Colin Sutphin She continues: "One other time I had to ~Thanks again to Kaye Gibson for sending 04-RTHS Courier, September 2018 photos of Don's Any amount of time you can offer will be appreciated; even if it’s only for one hour or 30 minutes Please call or email if you are able to help! 614-902-2831 We are steadily working on stocking our Gift [email protected] Shop in the lower level meeting room. The merchandise will also be displayed on our 09/17/18 MON 10:00-11:00 - The Herbert website. We currently have RTHS branded Mills 3rd-grade students will be conducting items, along with donated products. Check interviews with residents who have lived in out our LuLaRoe Tomato Leggings and Reynoldsburg at least 50 years. Their teacher has Comfort Tees! Everyone needs a Tomato Tee! asked that a group from RTHS come to the The svelte girls would look great in the school to be interviewed. Do you qualify? If so, Leggings. The word is, they are extremely any pictures or artifacts you could bring along to comfortable. show the kids would be greatly appreciated. Please contact me at 614-902-2831 so I can give the teacher an approximate number attending.