Random Thoughts from a Random Memory

By Edward Master

How many places did you “hang” at, especially when you were first behind the wheel? Around this area, I remember three.

We had one in Parker, one in Foxburg, and one in Emlenton.

In Parker, the sun set and we went to the Rosebud. Originally, I believe, it was an ice cream shoppe and a restaurant. I swear I had more than one meal in that establishment. It was also a battlefield for warring factions from A-C Valley and Karns City school districts. Though I think the heat of battle most often was a war of words with little action. There was a big parking lot. I have no idea what business is in the location now, if there even is one.

Our bookend was up the Allegheny River in Emlenton’s Hot Dog Shop. Over the years I learned that almost every smallish community in Western Pennsylvania had its own version of the hot dog shop. When I lived in Grove City, GC had its version way back when. Emlenton’s was on its main street at the west end of the block. If we were hungry we had a chili dog with ice cold root beer at the H-D to wash down our dog. If chatting about upcoming events or the day’s activities, we found ground at the tire shop. Plenty of hot air going into tires and into conversations.

I spent a few late afternoons killing time at the Hot Dog Shop waiting for the basketball bus to take us to an away basketball game. I was a sophomore. Keith McHenry and Ron Klingler were juniors. Jack Klingler was a senior. We sat, maybe ate a dog, drank a root beer, played the juke box and sang along with Roger Miller and Barry McGuire. We waited.

Midway between Parker and Emlenton sat Foxburg and our third hangout--Curry’s Lunch Room, A-K-A the Honky Tonk. At one time, across the street from the lunch room was Curry’s garage. There was a sign on the corner of the garage for years that identified the lunch room as just that, Curry’s Lunch Room. Mrs. Curry often manned the counter, did some burgers or whatever. Her first name and her son’s first name escape me. It was pretty much a later in the night meeting spot. All the same, we met.

I never cared for walking across the bridge at Foxburg. It wasn’t a height thing, but being high over the Allegheny didn’t help things.

I never really hung anywhere else, other than Ivan and Delores (Warp) Best’s store in Turkey City. Bones’ (Ivan’s) store was the local gathering spot for “loafing.” Many of the world’s problems were solved there by the gas pumps or inside by the pop cooler. I can’t recall everyone who was an attendant at the store and gas pumps. My older brother Jack did his turn and sometime we finished with a Sayers girl from near Knox. The guys from Monroe came down almost daily, who included the Shoup boys and the Shrum brothers. Doris and Sara Mong were sisters from Monroe but really didn’t travel (hang) with guys. They stayed safe with Stevens sisters.

Bones’ other attraction(s) were two small (6-foot in length) pool tables. They were coin-operated (50 cents per game). There were plenty of blue marks in the ceiling from pool cue raised upward in excitement. There was barely room for the pullback on a cue stroke.

One summer I put in s shift or two at the Best establishment as Ivan worked on the B&O railroad and Warp worked at Knox glass. I returned home from my store duties one day and asked my dad “Why does Ted Klingler come in every so often and buy yeast?” He laughed and then replied: “Oh, Ted must be making some beer.” Ted was one of the senior statesmen in Turkey and was well-known for his brewing habits. End of story.

Another side story were the Heeter brothers. They loved their cars. Sam drove a Dodge Charger. Ben drove a 426 Hemi. It was a common site when one would coast down the incline in front of the store and “burn rubber.” I always thought that action was equivalent to burning up money.

We grew up and grew apart, but not from memories.