By Joann M. Ringelstetter
Three years ago, Ruth and I took an 11-day spring photography trip to the Ohio River Valley. We spent the first day working our way down through Illinois and Indiana. We spent the next two days working our way east along the Ohio River. On the morning of the fourth day, we crossed the river to visit historic Maysville, Kentucky.
After photographing many of the historic buildings there, we passed an old decorative building for the second time. We hadn’t stopped the first time because we were on a mission to capture all the historic buildings we knew about and this one wasn’t on our list. But it was too beautiful to pass up a second time.
The building was constructed of red brick and it had teal green decorative accents. At the top of the building’s center point was a nameplate that said, “White Block.” We often see buildings with this type of name on them. It’s usually the last name of the original owner followed by the word “Block.”
Often the year the building was built is shown under the name. In this case, the year 1884 was above a door on the right side of the building. There were several doors, so I’m assuming there were several businesses in this building. Usually when I’m photographing a building that’s close to the street, I need to get back far enough to keep the perspective straight, so it’s a challenge to avoid parked cars. In this case, I was blessed by a yellow curb along the entire front of the building and the best spot to photograph was in the parking lot of the Church of the Nativity across the street.
It was a Monday, so you would think the church parking lot would have been empty, but it was parked full of cars. I set up my tripod in the middle of the lot and started taking photographs of the White Block building. After only a couple of shots, a car pulled into the lot, so I picked up my tripod to move it out of the way. But the driver stopped, put down his window, and started a conversation. His name was Richard and he asked me if I would like some information about the building. Well, you can guess what my answer was!
Richard told me that the left-hand corner of this building once housed the White Light Café, home of White Light Hamburgers. He said it was the first fast food restaurant in Maysville in the days before the big chains like McDonald’s and Wendy’s. People would line up on the sidewalk waiting for a delicious burger. He said that you went inside to order and when your hamburgers were ready, they put them in a white paper sack.
Then Richard described the hamburger itself. It was small, but thick, and was basically a slider (which are typically small). As he gave me the details of the burgers and the building, his wife smiled and nodded and, several times, she seemed to want to join the conversation, but Richard always (lovingly) spoke for her. He said that she was born and raised on a farm in the Maysville area and that her family often came downtown to get some White Light Hamburgers.
Hearing that his wife had grown up on a farm, I shared a little bit about growing up on a farm myself. Again, she seemed to have something to say, but couldn’t quite get the words out. I wasn’t sure what the problem was, but I waited patiently as she tried to say a few words. Then Richard apologized for his wife’s struggles and thanked me for my patience. He said that she had Alzheimer’s and that her doctor said she would continue to remember her childhood. So, he decided to bring her back home to Maysville and she was enjoying her childhood memories. Her family farm had been sold, but many of the buildings were still there and she remembered living there. Such a sweet couple they were!
After they left, I crossed E. Third Street to take a few close-up photos of the building detail. Richard had told me that he thought there used to be a pickup window on the side of the café that faced Limestone Street. As I was standing there with my tripod, an old man came down the sidewalk and stopped to tell me that he used to come to the White Light Café for their famous hamburgers. So, I asked him about the pickup window. He said that you had to place your order inside, but then you could wait for your food outside at the pickup window.
The White Light Café may have gone out of business years ago, but the burger lives on. The recipe was purchased by the owner of a new restaurant called the Drive-in, which opened in Olive Hill, Kentucky. Olive Hill is only about an hour from Maysville, so anyone who longs for an old-fashioned White Light Hamburger can still get their fix by taking a short road trip. And speaking of road trips, when you’re on one, don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with a local. You’ll probably learn some interesting history!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Shunpiking To Heaven Backroads Blog
Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurants. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
The Arches Wisdom Club
By Joann M. Ringelstetter
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes. Just click on the desired photo and look for the blue “BUY” button.
Whenever Ruth and I are out photographing for the day, we are often in areas where there are no restrooms. Sometimes that means finding an outhouse somewhere, which wouldn’t be our first choice. So, whenever we get near a town or city, we often take the opportunity to find a restroom. Usually, it’s at a gas station, but sometimes we stop at McDonald’s.
A couple years ago, in the late afternoon, we stopped at a McDonald’s, went in and used the restroom, and then went back to the car. I started the car and, as Ruth and I were discussing where we would go next, the following conversation took place.
Ruth, motioning toward the building with her head: “Check that out.”
Joann: “Check what out?”
Ruth: “That.” And again, she motioned with her head to get me to notice that there were three older gentlemen sitting by the window in McDonald’s and they were all looking intently at us and having quite a discussion.
Joann: “What do you think they’re talking about?”
Ruth: “I think they’re trying to figure out what our license plate stands for.”
Joann: “That’s pretty cute.”
Ruth: “I think you should go in and explain it to them.”
Joann: “Really?”
Ruth: “Yeah, why not?”
Joann: “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
So I jumped out of the car and went in and introduced myself to the group. I asked them if they were wondering what “SHNPKR” stands for and they eagerly listened to me as I explained that it stands for Shunpiker, which is a person who avoids the turnpikes and travels the back roads. After quite a discussion about that, I asked them about their little group.
They happily explained that they call themselves “The Arches Wisdom Club” and they meet twice a day, at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. I asked them what kind of wisdom they share with each other. The gentleman who looked like he was the most senior member of the group said, “We’ll tell you who to vote for, who to pray for…” and then he laughed, while the rest of the club members smiled and nodded.
I was having a lot of fun talking to this group of “wise guys,” but I knew Ruth was probably thinking maybe she shouldn’t have sent me back in because we had places we wanted to explore yet that day. So I thanked them for the lively conversation and headed back to the car with a big smile on my face.
I’ll end this story with a little McDonald’s drive-thru humor from Hampton, Iowa.
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes. Just click on the desired photo and look for the blue “BUY” button.
Whenever Ruth and I are out photographing for the day, we are often in areas where there are no restrooms. Sometimes that means finding an outhouse somewhere, which wouldn’t be our first choice. So, whenever we get near a town or city, we often take the opportunity to find a restroom. Usually, it’s at a gas station, but sometimes we stop at McDonald’s.
A couple years ago, in the late afternoon, we stopped at a McDonald’s, went in and used the restroom, and then went back to the car. I started the car and, as Ruth and I were discussing where we would go next, the following conversation took place.
Ruth, motioning toward the building with her head: “Check that out.”
Joann: “Check what out?”
Ruth: “That.” And again, she motioned with her head to get me to notice that there were three older gentlemen sitting by the window in McDonald’s and they were all looking intently at us and having quite a discussion.
Joann: “What do you think they’re talking about?”
Ruth: “I think they’re trying to figure out what our license plate stands for.”
Joann: “That’s pretty cute.”
Ruth: “I think you should go in and explain it to them.”
Joann: “Really?”
Ruth: “Yeah, why not?”
Joann: “Okay, I’ll be right back.”
So I jumped out of the car and went in and introduced myself to the group. I asked them if they were wondering what “SHNPKR” stands for and they eagerly listened to me as I explained that it stands for Shunpiker, which is a person who avoids the turnpikes and travels the back roads. After quite a discussion about that, I asked them about their little group.
They happily explained that they call themselves “The Arches Wisdom Club” and they meet twice a day, at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. I asked them what kind of wisdom they share with each other. The gentleman who looked like he was the most senior member of the group said, “We’ll tell you who to vote for, who to pray for…” and then he laughed, while the rest of the club members smiled and nodded.
I was having a lot of fun talking to this group of “wise guys,” but I knew Ruth was probably thinking maybe she shouldn’t have sent me back in because we had places we wanted to explore yet that day. So I thanked them for the lively conversation and headed back to the car with a big smile on my face.
I’ll end this story with a little McDonald’s drive-thru humor from Hampton, Iowa.
Photos in this blog post can be purchased as wall art, paper prints, downloads, phone cases, and keepsakes by clicking on the photo. You will be taken to the gallery website where you will see a big blue "BUY" button. Or to see all photos available, click on the "Browse Galleries" button on the menu at the top of this page. Thank you for your interest!
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
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