Willow, I enjoyed your random thoughts.
I recall the closure of the Coffee Cup Inn. Tommy King and Larry Yassman from
our pledge Class worked nights at the homeless shelter during the winter and we
often “breakfasted” there. I recall holding one of the brothers “hostage”
(handcuffed to the metal bed) in a rather seedy motel in the vicinity during a
pledge vs member event and wondering if the Edmonton Police would step in at
some point.
Yes, these random thoughts do resurface memories.
Attached is our 2021 Christmas Letter
Best Wishes for all during this Christmas Season
Don
Donald M Denmark
820 North Curtiswood Lane, Nashville, TN 37204
Cell: (520)-349-1893
From: <dsp-ea-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Norm Larkins
<normlarkins@xxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: <dsp-ea-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:47 PM
To: <dsp-ea-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Back in the Day…
Hi Willow
We never met but your thoughts brought back memories.
Boston Pizza started in Edmonton and is now all over the place. And I remember
it being bought and brought to the house by brothers back in 64 or 65. I
remember 'supervising' the cook but do not know if she was still there when you
were there, and I don't remember the lack of cream or butter or milk in the
mashed potatoes - and I came from a family that always added fresh cream to the
potatoes to make them smoother. But I do remember one occasion when a young
Chinese girl came to the house to assist the cook. Her parents owned a Chinese
restaurant behind the Coffee Cup Inn. She and I prepared stuffed Chinese
mushrooms for dinner for the brothers, and I still make them or rare occasions
as the request of my grand daughters.
The Coffee Cup Inn is whole nother story. And for a brief period in the early
70s I worked in a placeon 26 Ave providing support to the homeless and the
addicted around the time the Coffee Cup disappeared if I remember correctly.
Norm
604-872-3574
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 3:35 PM
From: "Willow Arune" <walittleboots9@xxxxxxxxx>
To: dsp-ea-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Back in the Day…
Random thoughts
Changes in food? Back in the day, spaghetti was rare and there were few ethnic
- if any - restaurants. Chinese, yes, but not Thai, Korean, Japanese, etc. fFew
French in the west. German, then and now rare (any in Red Deer?). As I recall,
Pizza arrived in the late sixties in Edmonton with Giuseppe’s near the high
level bridge. Other Italian, a few. Greek? None. East Indian and others, no a
one. Nor would you find any fixings in grocery stores. There was a big pizza
place in a tall apartment near the U of A. In rural areas, you may have hotel
coffee shops, with coffee for $.05 or .10, and the standard pop was a dime but
in small bottles. No Macdonalds! The horrors of that building - what was it-
that occupied the street near the old library in my last years. Oh yes,
something truly lost. GRASS! The square in front of the Arts Building and Con
Hall.
I could never understand why the Delta Sig cook never added milk or butter to
mashed potatoes or how Bryan could eat cold meat that was mouldy! We were the
front line for police raids due to our beer machine. (How in heaven’s sweet
name did we have live bands complete with go-go dancers in that basement?). The
pickup for very mild porn in the parking lot of Bonnie Doon shopping centre,
rear window down for the pass. And the Corner Cafe on the corner near the old
library. U of A radio in the old sub building. And the machine only dining in
the old Library basement. The Cameron made due with the Hot Caf next door.
But old favourites have disappeared. Mushrooms and bacon on toast was always in
the menu. Merritt BC was the only place that prepared that. Flapper pie!
Back then, private clubs had little boxes under the tables for liquor.
Restaurants could not serve booze but members could bring their own. And charge
a slight fee. Hmmm. Seven Seas, Sahara, the old Mac Hotel. Can’t remember any
others. No food courts, of course. Odd drive ins - Burger Baron, the first
Burger King (local). Ice cream at NADP, with a bottle on top on Whyte Avenue.
The Purple Cow on the North Side.
And milk delivery to your door by a horse drawn wagon!