In the 1970's my sisters and I all worked at this neat old soda parlor in Coloma. I got a job there first as a waitress, and my sisters both ended up working there, too. So did one of my best friends.
There were rooms upstairs, and there was also a more elegant style dining room that was added on at some point. When we were growing up, it was considered a very special treat indeed if we were taken there to have a little Clown Sundae. Sometimes we would be promised a trip out there during the summer if we got good grades (which we always did!),but those trips didn't always happen.
The people who owned it before we worked there also sold antiques inside, so it was filled with all kinds of beautiful old things.
The food was really good. The slapjacks were great, and the burgers were served in paper-lined gold pans. I swear I started gaining weight when I worked there, and I have struggled with it ever since!
I have fond memories of working there. I remember some of the regulars who came in. One old guy was named Pomeroy Lee. Everybody called him Pom. He looked exactly like what you would expect a prospector, or a Miner 49er to look like! He would always sit at the counter and have a short stack and coffee. There was another really nice old gentleman named Ralph, and a pair of realtors who worked nearby named Andy and Noreen. Like I said - good memories (mostly!). And yet - it probably wasn't a good idea for this teenager to have access to ice cream and hot fudge on a regular basis! Ah, the good old days.
P.S. A special thank you to my sis for loaning me the postcards pictured in this post!
Okay - I decided to add two more images to this post. These are both from our high school yearbook advertisements section. The one above shows the soda fountain marble counter with it's wooden swivel stools, and the antique back bar. The girl in the photo is Suzanne, who was in grades K-12 with my sister, if I'm not mistaken. There were only a handful of us in my class who did that. And the last one, below? Well, that is my sister "waiting on" one of my dearest, "bestest" friends!! This one was taken in the dining room.
What a cool place to work!
ReplyDeleteOh, what memories! I'm so envious that you still have the menu too. How well I knew that menu. To think of all the people who worked there, the customers that came in, the history of the place, I feel very fortunate indeed to have worked at such a place. I'm so happy to share that history with you. With love, from one your old best friends.
ReplyDeleteWhat, no photo of Annette and Karen Jo? Great post. My regular every lunch was a "little old man" Mr. Mason. He always had grilled cheese and cottage cheese (he was a vegetarian). He had a little white poodle, I forget his dog's name. He was so polite and I really liked him. Once a couple traveling from New York state filmed me with their movie camera while I made their sundaes. Oh how I wish I had that bit of film. I also wish I could have a banana royale, or one of the miner's burgers with bacon and cheese. Yum. Or a turkey sandwich with the freshly sliced, recently baked turkey, or one of Mary Ann's breakfasts. We did eat well that year! Remember when my car broke down in front of the "haunted house" on the way to work? I never got that car (a blue '62 Buick Special) to run again, sold it, and later it was in the Police Destruction Derby at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds. At least it had a last hurrah! I will never forget how I got the job... the boss asked Heidi Ann if there were any more at home like her... well there were two of us and we both ended up working there! The Gold Country Girls were hard workers, and I must say we looked very cute in our long skirts and tops and "granny" dresses. Thanks for the memories. Love T
ReplyDeleteKaren Jo has Heidi to thank for getting her a job there too. Heidi, you gave me the inside scoop when a waitress walked out on her shift. I drove down there in my parents' Dodge Dart Swinger as fast as I could and got the job! Thanks again for helping me get the job and for all the memories.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I could really use a sluice box right now!
Thank you for the photos! I look so serious. It was a hard decision for her to place her order with all the choices on the menu. Isn't it great that we all remember our jobs there fondly. But with all the free ice cream you could eat, it wouldn't be any way else! Love T
ReplyDeleteI was a good friend of Pomeroy Lee's. He told me before he died in 1994 that he had worked as a bartender at The Sierra Nevada House. He also had an antique store with his brother for many years in Lotus.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories there in the early 80’s, thanks for sharing 😁🤙🏼
ReplyDeleteDo you happen to have a copy of the postcard that only had a white rambler ambassador in front? It was my car - we'd stopped for something to drink and for some reason were the only ones there. I enjoyed it because in 1974 (in a different car - and old truck) we spent the night after our wedding in the hotel. It was a ridiculous and funny night - Victorian beds weren't made for a 6'5" man. I used to have a copy of that postcard but it went lost. Silly thing to remember.
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