The Raymond Cafe

 Please enjoy tonight's encore presentation of the Throwback Thursday post, The Raymond Cafe, originally published in 2014.  

Bandy's Cafe in the early 1930's. Pictured (from left) Anna Bandy, Pauline Bandy Hinkley, Elsie (Burley) Pitchford, and an unidentified person. 

I mentioned Bandy's Cafe a couple of weeks ago. My grandparents, Charles and Anna Bandy, opened the cafe in 1929 in a brick building on Main Street where the current Raymond-Harvel Fire Department and Ambulance building is located. The Bandy family lived in an apartment directly above the restaurant, and grandma was downstairs making pies every morning by 4:00 a.m.

Back then, the restaurant served three meals a day, six and a half days a week (they closed on Sunday after lunch). The cafe was always open after ballgames and other activities, and it was a popular gathering spot for the high school crowd, as well as adults. Hamburgers sold for 10 cents, plate lunches for 35 cents, and a complete dinner cost 45 cents. Customers could get a piece of homemade pie and a cup of coffee for 15 cents. There was a nickelodeon, and for 5 cents, customers could hear their favorite songs. There was a short wave radio, and for the Illinois State Police (who rode motorcycles), the restaurant was a warm place to gather and listen for police calls.

A crowd of young people went to the restaurant on Saturday nights to listen to the Philip Morris Hit Parade on the radio, and find out which of their favorite songs topped the list for that week. Many people were employed at the cafe during those years including (my aunt) Pauline Bandy Hinkley, Lela Hudson, Beulah (Fortin) Lowe, Loretta Lessman, Elsie Pitchford, Helen Luking, Merrill Foster, Geraldine Hendricks, and Georgia (Halford) Plappert.

In 1943, grandma sold the restaurant and it became known as the Raymond Cafe. Some of the people who owned it through the years included: Harry Garard, Eleanor Miller, Loretta Lessman, Claude Carlock, Leon Martin, members of the Vickery family, June Funderburk, and Vi Heisman.

Dad talked frequently about the restaurant days, and how a lot of hard work and "elbow grease" were required to make a living there, especially during the Depression. He often commented that although they didn't have money or any luxuries during those years, the family never had to worry about having food on the table.  

When I was in afternoon Kindergarten, occasionally mom would take over at the Variety Store while dad and I walked to the cafe to enjoy a hamburger and a "Bubble-Up" before I went to school. I always looked up to see the words, BANDY'S CAFE, that had been painted across the top of the building in the 30's. The large, white letters were still visible when the building was demolished sometime around the turn of the century.

Many thanks to Susan Lebeck for providing this week's photo.

Citizens of Tomorrow

From The Raymond News, July 17, 1958

Connie 10, Harlan 6, David 4 and Tommy 2, are the children of 

Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Brown, Route 1, Harvel. The Browns are engaged in farming.

Terry, 2 years old, and Garry and Larry, 6 month old twins of Mr. and Mrs. George Todt of Raymond, seem to enjoy having their pictures taken. George works at the Checkerboard Soybean Co., here in Raymond.

Pictured above are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Held, Jr., of near Raymond. They are: Gloria, 11 yrs., Gary, 10 years; Donald, 9 years; Billy, 7 years, and Gerald, 5 years. The Held family is engaged in farming.

 Pictured above are: top row, left to right, Carolyn, 10 ½ years old, Stanley, 5 years old, and Lana, 11 months old, children of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Bockewitz of Harvel. Second row, left to right: Donna, 11 years old, Sherry, 7 years old, and Joey, 18 months old, children of Mr. and Mrs. Cleo Lewey of Raymond.

Fire Department Purchases New Equipment

 From The Raymond News, October 30, 1958

Pictured above is Mr. Robert Hough displaying the new Resuscitator, Inhalator and Aspirator, purchased by the Raymond Community Fire Department and is available for use to anyone living in our fire district at no cost. Having this equipment might save a life in case of drowning, heart attacks, accidents, etc. The Fire Department has appointed Mr. Hough to be responsible for keeping the equipment ready for use at any time.

King and Queen of Hearts

from The Raymond News, 2/20/1958 

Miss Judy Hefley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arch Hefley of Raymond, and Bob Bergman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Bergman, Jr., of Raymond, were crowned King and Queen of Hearts at the Sweetheart Dance of the Harvel Drop-Inn on Feb. 15. A total of $114.55 was collected in the contest for the Region 10 of the American Heart Association.

Sandra Wilson of Harvel was second in the queen contest, followed by Pat Polston, Joan Kellenberger and Kay Stieren. Gary Kolkhorst of Harvel was runner-up among the kings, followed by Larry McCart and Jim Bates. The Drop-Inn presented the queen with a heart-shaped locket as a memento of the evening, while the king received a cuff link and tie clasp set.

Bryan Dunbar and his band played for the dancing at the regular Saturday night session of the Drop-Inn. The gym was decorated with paper hearts and streamers, and card tables were set up around the dance floor so that the young people could visit while sitting out a dance.

Committees for the dance included: crown, Molly Jo Bates, chairman; decorations, Larry Bergman, chairman; gifts for the king and queen, Gary Kolkhorst, chairman; and refreshments, John Beiermann, chairman.

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Bates, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Bergman, Mrs. Leroy Davis, and Mrs. Lamar Fraley were the chaperones for the evening.

Citizens of Tomorrow

 The following appeared in The Raymond News in May, 1958:

The children pictured above are: (top row, left to right) Karen Sue, 2 1-2 years old, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Murvin Krause; Rosemary, 3 years old, and Joan Marie, 1 1-2 years old, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Beeler of near Raymond. Second row, Verne Lynn, 23 months old, son of Mr. and Mrs. Verne Pinkston; Pamela, 2 years old, and Cynthia, 8 months old, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Walker of Decatur, Georgia, granddaughters of Mr. and Mrs. Ned O. Bockewitz of Raymond. 

The children pictured above are: (top row, left to right) Lee Lange, 2 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Lange of Raymond; Dick, 4 1-2 years old and Tom, 2 1-2 years old, sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Johnson of Raymond. Second row: Judy, 5 years old and Connie, 2 years old, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Egelhoff of Raymond; and Robert Anthony, 8 months old, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard G. Jones of Butler. 

The children pictured above are: (top row, left to right) Nancy Carol, 4 1-2 years old, and Susan Kay, 14 months old, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bandy; Billy, 6 years old, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Graham of Raymond. Second row: Johnny, 5 years old, and Bennett, 6 months old, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Krause of Raymond; Vicki Lynn, 1 year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Sturm of  Raymond.