The Squamidian Report – July 4 / 09
Issue #371
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We've been on the road for a week now and are having a great time. Rode through BC into Washington State, on into Idaho and then Montana. From there we dropped down into Wyoming and Yellowstone Pk. From Wyoming we went to Sturgis SD where we hooked up with Paul and Sherry. After spending a day there we scooted down to Neil and Michelle's near Boulder Co where they treated us to a great dinner and a much needed relaxing evening. From there we headed south west across Co. where I am typing this in a motel in Gunnison. (Thursday evening)
We hit some rain and decided to have an early day so that we will be fresh and dry for viewing the Black Canyon. All 3 bikes are running great. Ryan's Sportster is getting close to 70 mpg. Wow. We've crossed mountain passes that were over 11,500 ft high and ridden through high valleys that are sitting at 10,000. There has been some searing hot afternoons but for the most part the weather has been on our side.
Anyway, we still have a week of riding ahead of us but so far we have put on just under 4000 km. I'll start adding details when we get home so stay tuned for next weeks addition, and thanks Greg for sending out this one.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello
Everyone!
Man, it’s
hard to believe we’re into July already! I guess we just have to enjoy what we
can’t control and hope for a warm sunny summer.
Doug and
Sue are well into their motorcycle ride across northern US as well as down into
the mid and western States. I’m sure they’ll have loads of “Biking” stories to
tell and hopefully lots of pictures of their trip to share with us when they
get home to BC. I’m looking forward to hearing and seeing their adventures!
I myself
have a historical story to relate to my fellow Squamidians.
Back in
the mid 60’s when I was a teenager there was a new drive in restaurant opened
in Waterloo. It was called Sonny’s Drive In and it was located near the corner
of Weber St and University Ave. Since it was located directly beside the
Glenbriar Curling rink it quickly became “The” place to hang out after a night
of roller skating at “The Briar”. The other skating venues around KW were
Bingeman’s, The Aud (Kitchener Auditorium) and Waterloo Arena. I started my
skating years at The Aud but once I got to high school I graduated to skating
at “The Briar”. I decided I’d rather skate to records than Jimmy Dieboldt and
The Jay Rockers at The Aud. Besides, all the kids from KCI skated at the
Glenbriar and hung out at Sonny’s afterwards. You could skate Wednesday,
Thursday Friday and Saturday nights at The Briar so it was a busy place for
sure. Sonny’s was a bee hive of activities after each night of skating. The
side of the parking lot closest to the Briar was where the RB’s parked and
stood around eating and talking and sometimes drinking and fighting on
occasion. RB’s in case you don’t recall was short form for Rich Bitches and
consisted of the kids from Westmount area of both Kitchener and Waterloo. This
area used to be the section of both cities where the well to do and very well
to do built their homes and raised their kids. I discovered early in my time at
KCI that hanging around with the RB kids was a much more enjoyable habit than
hanging around with kids from other parts of town. The RB kids had the parents
with the most well stocked bars in their homes and back then that was a big
bonus come Saturday night! LOL! Now, I’m not saying these kids were any better
than or any more fun than kids from other parts of KW but their parents assets
(stocked bars) made it easier to celebrate the weekend when you didn’t have any
money or access to a bottle of your favourite liquor come Saturday.
Getting
back to Sonny’s, the other side of the parking lot was inhabited by what we
called the “Greasers”. These were the tougher crowd and sometimes the hot
rodders and bikers. They liked to harass the RB kids but really didn’t cause
too many problems. We used to call an evening at Sonny’s “Friday Night at the
Fights” since someone was always fighting or lighting the industrial waste bin
on fire. Hahaha… when I first started my career at WFD, we responded to a
dumpster fire at Sonny’s and while we were extinguishing the fire I made a
comment something to the effect that “I used to light this thing on fire and
here I am now putting the fire out!” LOL! One of the older guys heard me say
that and wasn’t too impressed. Oh well, good thing he eventually thought I was
only kidding! LOL!
Anyway,
I’ve known the owners of Sonny’s since the day they opened the place and it’s
been a big part of my life both in my youth and my adulthood (Not to mention
that it may well also be one of the reasons for my artery blockages). I have
always patronized their business and they have treated me very well as a
customer since they opened it in 1965. I bumped into one of the owners a few
weeks ago and asked him if the rumor I heard from my brother in law was true,
that Sonny’s had been sold. He told me it was true and they had sold the
business about two months before that date. I was saddened to hear that there
would no longer be their two familiar Greek faces behind the counter when I
stop in for my regular hamburger and fries. However, George told me that he had
retired upon the sale date but his brother Bob was continuing to work four days
a week for the new owner Paul. About a week later, I dropped in to check the
place out and buy that souvenir Sonny’s tee shirt I’d always intended to buy
but never did. While there, I talked to Bob and his wife for a few minutes and
they introduced me to the new owner. He’s the son of another Greek couple that
Bob and George had been friends with for many years. I commented that I thought
they would have kept Sonny’s in the family but Bob told me that none of their
kids or Georges kids wanted to put in all the hours it took to run the place so
they sold it to Paul. I asked Paul if he intended to keep the menu the same and
use the same products and he said “Why fool with success?” so I guess that
means he’s keeping things the same. I don’t know if any of my fellow Squids
ever frequented Sonny’s but having been a customer all these years (44 to be
exact) this news leaves me a little sad to say the least. It won’t be the same
when I do drop in for lunch or supper without the brothers behind the counter
but just the fact that Paul is keeping the building and it’s contents intact
and the business as it was should be enough to keep a little of that same ol’
feeling as I munch my burger and fries.
This
institution has changed hands and I guess that’s just the way it goes. Things
change over the years and most businesses move on but this is one that I’m
happy to say will look and taste the same for a long time to come. I had said
in previous Ontarions that people should take pictures of the buildings in
their home towns early in their lives so they can see the changes over the
years as they grow older. A classic case is in my opinion the tragic
destruction of the Kitchener City Hall that stood on the corner of Fredrick and
King Sts. This was a very beautiful building both inside and out and was the
highlight of Kitchener’s decorated buildings at Christmas time. It’s too bad
it’s not around anymore for out citizens to enjoy. It was replaced with a huge
overpriced unnecessary structure that now serves as the center of Kitchener’s
political action. It’s functional but no where near the classic that the
original building was. I wish I had taken pictures of all the buildings that I
remember around this town as a kid. It’s sad that things change and not always
for the better. I’m going to grab my camera and head up to Sonny’s tomorrow to
take some nostalgic pictures of that grand old restaurant and then tour the
city to take pics of other noted buildings so I can at least pass my
impressions of this city on to Adam. It may not mean anything to him now but
I’m sure he’ll appreciate the idea many years from now. I’ll be sure to invite
him to tag along on my tour so I can include places that he finds interesting
too.
I have
included a couple of pictures of my new Sonny’s tee shirt with this week’s
edition of The Squamidian just in case some of you do remember this classic
drive in!
That’s it
for this week folks!
Thanks
for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next week in The
Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
What
buildings or places of prominence to you remember from when you were a young
Kitchener-ite?
PPS: I've
attached a few pictures of Me, Clyde and Ron Such an old friend who lives in
Nova Scotia and formerly lived in Kitchener. I'm sure some of you may remember
Ron from Grand River. He was up here for a visit two years ago and the three of
us went to Sonny's for lunch for old times sake. What a blast! The one pic
shows Bob Govanis one of the brothers that owned Sonny's for all those years.
The
other pics show my prized "Sonny's" tee shirt. You can still buy them
from Sonny's if you want one!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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