10/16/2024
Michael Engle has been visiting and researching diners for roughly 25 years. Researching? Yes! Diners are not only fun to visit, but they have a fascinating history to boot.
When he started out, most diner fanatics were concerned with diners in the metro east coast regions and New England, but Mike's goal is to change that. Did you know, there was a diner manufacturer right in Brookville? Much of Mike's focus is on the 1920s and 1930s, when there was a good sized hub of diner manufacturing and operations along Lake Erie and Ontario. Companies like Ward and Dickinson, who built the diner that called St Marys home for many years. The focus of the building of diners was out of Silver Creek, New York, but one could have found diner manufacturers in places like Springboro, Penna and Oswego, New York at various times. There were even short lived diner manufacturers in both Indianapolis and Cleveland!
The presentation will take you through the evolution of the diner from the lunch wagon to today. We'll look at that evolution both in a cultural and a construction standpoint. There will also be some ideas on diners you can visit if you were to take a road-trip sometime in the near future.
Information about the St. Marys Diner will be shared. If you have stories or memories, please share them with us.
COME TO THE PROGRAM AT THE K OF C ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, AT 1:00 PM. IF YOU WANT TO RESERVE A LUNCH, WHICH STARTS AT 11:30, CALL 814 335 4983.
