Ward & Dickinson Notes

Totally forgot about the blog.  Here are some of the many notes.  Some may be repetitions, but hopefully not.

Lincoln Diner - Olean, New York :  This is one of the Ward and Dickinson #1-100 diners. which means it has to be one of the diners that went missing.  First mention of this diner seems to be 1932-1933 area.

Endicott, New York : Found a photo of Albert Vyner's diner, which shows a Ward and Dickinson grafted on to a barrel roof diner, or vice versa.  Do not know which diner came first.  Vyner had a Ward and Dickinson in Syracuse, New York that I presumed was sold before he moved to Endicott.  In the 1940s, Vyner had a building built which he called a "diner" in Binghamton.

A photo of Harvey's Diner in Amsterdam, New York has confirmed what I thought. It was a Ward and Dickinson.

Canada for a minute:

Hamilton, Ontario had a Ward and Dickinson. It's possible it came from the Toronto eight(one stayed in Toronto for sure)  Lasted into the early 70s.

Grimsby, Ontario had two Ward and Dickinsons. Even better, the blurb at the historical society mentions that the diners were bought in Toronto.   So this takes care of four of the Toronto diners.

Back to the States:

Le Roy, New York :  So we know Estelle Howard took her diner to Perry, New York.  Why? Well the Legg family brought a newer Ward & Dickinson to town in 1931.  That diner made its way to Wellsville as the Modern Diner.  Seems the new owners, Bird and Mead were not allowed to move the diner onto Main Street in Le Roy and decided upon greener pastures.  By 1935, another Ward and Dickinson was brought into town to take over the same Lake St location as Howard's diner.

Estelle Howard:  Talked to the grand daughter and got some great photos! The diner moved from Perry in 1940 to Corbin Corners on US Rt 20 where it listed into the 1960s I believe.

Albany, New York : Learned that the mystery Miss Albany Diner, which was a Ward and Dickinson seemingly went to Bassett Street sometime in the 1930s, maybe 1933-1934. That diner was replaced by a presumably used O'Mahony diner in mid 1948. The Ward ended up in Glenmont/Corning Hill where the current Silk City diner that goes by Johnny B's is now located.  Well, it was originally across the street, as the highway was moved in 1955 to accommodate the building of the New York State Thruway.  Though the 1961 (poor) photo of the burnt shell of the diner seems to show a stainless steel diner.

Westfield, New York:  Gerald Mead's Ward and Dickinson, that showed up in rare video footage shot in 1935ish was moved to Corry, Pennsylvania we learned.  Not sure on the date yet.  It sat across the street from the Corry Aero Plant on US Rt 6 just outside of town until 1946 when it was moved to Sherman, New York.  The story goes that the diner was cut into four pieces to make the move go smoother.

Niles, Ohio:  A nice photo of a Ward & Dickinson was found on their historical society's web page in their newsletter of the Lora-Lee Diner.  The diner came into Niles in 1935 and online sources say the diner replaced an older diner which came to Niles in 1927 and was moved a few years later to a more advantageous spot in town.

Canton, Ohio : The two photos of Ward that we have have been located with addresses.  615 Market Ave North was the location of the longer living diner. Right next to the Palace theater, it lasted until 1960.  The other one was at 515 Market Ave South. It was a diner owned by Steward L Burlage (who also owned a Mulholland in Youngstown before this diner) in 1934.  The diner may have moved, or it may have stayed. The city directories says the address became the D.A.V. Club and we have no clue if they kept the diner or not.
Akron was much less helpful.  We could not really figure out the location of the town diners. So they may have been quickly moved

Ward & Dickinson notes.

Buster's Diner at 144 Norwich Ave in Norwich, CT(actually a little north of the city) was a Ward & Dickinson, the American Diner Museum has a photo, and Spencer Stewart confirmed an online photo of the interior.

Sept 29, 1927 - Mr. Kofoed and his wife went to Nashville, TN on a two week business trip.  The newspapers on a later date said he fell ill in Nashville.  Now, Berthel Kofoed was the builder behind Ward & Dickinson and may have had the most influence on the building of the diners.  His son wrote a history of his life, and mentioned that his father, Berthel, fell sick driving home from Houston, Texas after having Freon poisoning while setting up a diner's refrigeration.  Might this be a mistake?
Another of Berthel's sons lived in Houston for a few years, so maybe his son remembered the wrong name.  I mean, this would have been 50 years later! And he didn't live the event.   Either way, with a business trip, there was probably a Ward & Dickinson in Nashville!  Now to find out more about it.

Otto Kiefer ran a diner in Avon from about 1926 to 1940, before he passed away.  In 1946, that diner was moved to Perry.  Well, I found out the Kiefer family was from Silver Creek.

The W&D in Sharon, PA has always confounded me. Addie Richardson ran it from 1926 to roughly 1932, before the diner disappeared.

background - Addie Richardson was the mother of Elmer Richardson who was married to Aletta. Elmer ran a diner in Warren, Pennsylvania.  Addie's husband was a brother to Harry Richardson, who worked for Ward & Dickinson on and off.  And lo and behold, there was a Sperry relationship. (side story there!)

Spencer Stewart found a Youngsville, PA article that mentioned that a Richie Diner was being moved to Youngsville from Warren.  So here is where it gets confusing!   There was a diner in Warren that was built by Earle Richardson.  But why would a newspaper care about who built the diner, they would probably care more about who owned that diner, and that diner was most likely owned by Elmer Richardson, who had a diner in Warren at the time.  Of course, that diner in Warren has been a boatload of confusion too. Did it replace a Richardson model? What happened to it in 1940.  A 1940 photo shows it as Hopkins Dinor, but that never shows up in the city directories.
  So just maybe the Sharon diner was moved to Youngsville.  It would make sense.

oh, I sent out letters to the counties where Scranton, and Wilkes Barre are located, to try to check out their conditional sales dockets.  hoping to hit the jackpot in these two locations, but to be honest, in the bigger cities, the prothonotaries just got tired of filling out everything in the dockets, and started just writing the names in the dockets without ANY info, very quickly.  So I might not be able to get any W&D tag info, which would be a bummer.  Would like to get a couple more counties done this summer.  My plan is to go down there on rainy fridays, as I have a bunch of fridays off to take care of garden work.

Check out Diner Hunter on facebook

Just a quick post to let you know that if you like diners and research, check out Spencer Stewart under "Diner Hunter"    In my opinion, he has become the foremost diner researcher.  I gave him a photo that both myself and another diner researcher had failed to locate for about 10 years. And within a hour, he found the location, and a second photo online.

PA - Armstrong, McKean and Clarion Counties

Armstrong Co.

Ward & Dickinson pg 24

12/10/38 $4500

William J. Short, Kittanning

one “used” 40 ft #151 and equipment

Kullman pg 77 & 438

5/10/39 $8500

John F. Rothwell, res 486 E. High, Kittanning

one dining car #170

Clarion Co.  (1925-1935 book is missing)

Lee Dickinson pg 97

1/18/36 $3500

Leslie & Mernie Cross

everything listed, fire extinguisher, clock etc.

diner #56, came from Anderson, IN

Cross #559

10/23/36 $5000

Dr. Altom S. Giles & Elizabeth Giles

known as the regular 30 foot model

satis 10/20/37

McKean County

Ward & Dickinson v1 p 271 #813

3/28/27 $4800

Joseph Fisher, Turtle Creek(Pittsburgh area)

diner #78. came from Toledo, Ohio and went to Turtle Creek(Pittsburgh suburb), PA

Ward & Dickinson v2 p 11 #1541

4/17/28 $3300

Joseph C. & Mary Wasmund

diner #18  diner went to Johnsonburg, Pa next.  Kane seemed to get another diner later on, but I know nothing about this.

Ward & Dickinson v2 p130 #2018

10/26/28 $5000

Sylvester Falk & Leland R. Hansen, Mt. Jewett

diner #3 came from Jamestown, NY and then went to Niantic, CT

Ward & Dickinson v3 p 431 #5512

4/3/31 $8450

Margaret Moore, Bradford

diner #236 

Ward & Dickinson v4 M12 38148

5/13/35 $3790

Margaret Moore, Bradford

diner #210 41'6” w/ kitchen   had to be a used diner.

Addendum on Blair County, PA find

Ward & Dickinson #170 moved to Altoona, PA by Wesley Kofoed.

Two photos of the diner can be found here.

http://www.tomandjoes.com/id6.html

Blair, Centre, Indiana & Elk Counties in Pennsylvania

Blair Co. Microfiche. And the index was by buyer. info was typed up to early 1934, then handwritten afterwards and some did not copy well.

Ward & Dickinson #170 $4800 41' 6”

7266 2/28/34

Wesley Kofoed.

{This was found under K and I knew of this info.  Wesley moved another diner #32 to Uniontown}

There should have been more diners in Altoona and Hollidaysburg.

Centre County

O'Mahony serial #163-B $5520 11x40

pg 90 #262 6/7/26

Club Diner Inc

Ward & Dickinson #181 $7250

pg 291 9/5/30

Russell W. Adanitz

Ward & Dickinson $10,000 48'10”

pg 389 6/25/32

Russel W. Adanitz

assigned to Lee F. Dickinson on 12/9/35 and then assigned to Edward L. Willard 2/15/36 who satisfied it the same day.

Indiana County

Ward & Dickinson $1384.29

pg 247(Book 1) 2/15/28

R.G. Dean of Indiana

one ward dining car

{this Dean had diner #6 and in 1926 his home address was given as New Brighton, PA.  No mention was made in W&D ledger about Dean owing any money at any time.}

Ward & Dickinson $4500

pg 87(Book 2) 6/13/34 .. satisfied 9/13/39

Emerson Dean of Blairsville

Fodero dining car #73 $30,500 (156 Arlington Ave, Bloomfield, NJ)

pg 476(Book 4) 11/12/53

Emerson A & Hazel J Dean

assigned to Lincoln National Bank from Joseph Fodero on 12/10/53

Elk County

Ward & Dickinson #156 $6400 unpaid

p181 #542 9/17/28

J.R. Curry

Ridgway

33' standard model

Ward & Dickinson #179 $6400 price named in contract

p184 #549 10/8/28 .. satisfied 4/23/34

O 7. Phelps(not sure on middle initial)

Ridgway

33' standard model

Ward & Dickinson $4800

p208 #621

Stella A. Beauseigner

Johnsonburg

{This was W&D #18, came from Kane, PA and went to Hammond, IN afterwards and finally ended up in Batavia, NY}

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania - Conditional Sales Dockets

Here is what I have from the Conditional Sales Dockets of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  As usual, not every diner, but only the ones where the owner filed a Conditional Sales docket with the manufacturer and thus with the county.  More counties to come in the next couple of days.

The purpose is to get this posted online.   All addresses are Harrisburg, if not noted.

Brill (D-94) $12,500

B-15 #1531 6/12/29 .. satisfied 5/13/35

Robert Brown.

Check 329 Walnut St. Harrisburg

O'Mahony $8,364

C-4 #523 10/15/27

Mary N. Collins

res 1913 Penn St.

Ward & Dickinson $4750

K-22 #4654 7/26/33 .. satisfied 12/15/39

Percy L. Kupp

O'Mahony $9,692

p248 #743 5/4/39

Harry H. Schell

res 1319 S 17^th St

Kullman

Q-1 #381 1/27/52

William Quinn

Lower Paxton Township or Paoli

O'Mahony (#2234) $51,358.29

S-6 #457 4/2/53

Ira W. & Theda Seybold

727 S. Cameron St.

Patterson $25,000

S-5 #371 1/10/53 .. satisfied 12/25/55

Carroll R. Sauder

res 1892 2^nd St. Highspire

Brill (reconditioned) $5500

C-23 #4273 7/25/39

David L. Cronin & H.P. Collins

1951 Herr St.

Lee Dickinson (42 ft #310) $8,900

K-16 #3590 10/3/38 .. satisfied 12/31/41

Karl V Kupp

6/22/39 assigned to first national bank of silver creek

O'Mahony $6,120

D-14 #3531 (somewhere between 1934 and 1940???)

W.W. Dayton

res 3010 alerry St. (first two letters unsure)

O'Mahony $7105

B-1 #86 8/23/40

James Banford

613-615 N. Cameron St.

O'Mahony $9642.50(or 8642.50)

W-1 #155 9/20/40 & W-7 #1529 9/16/43 renewal .. satisfied 9/23/43

Charles H. Wertz Jr.

Paxton @ 20^th St.

O'Mahony $5582.50

C-24 #4806 4/8/40 .. satisfied 4/13/43

Edward D. Cable

res 184 2^nd St. Highspire

Paramount (Dining Car #512) $2900

C-2 #337 12/24/40 .. satisfied 8/18/41

Edward D. Cable & Justine E. Cohen

check 420 S 2^nd St & res 209 Montrose St.

Patterson $7800

B-58 #4145 6/9/39

J. William Bale

res 141 E. Main, Hummelstown

Patterson $9500

B-10 #1322 6/5/39 & B-11 #1481 4/22/43 .. satisfied 8/26/43 & 7/18/47

J. William Bale aka Bales Diner

Patterson $18,500 (Dining Car #4814)

F-11, B-21 #2470 7/27/48 .. satisfied 8/13/51

Frank L Flota & Andrew Balukonis aka Blue Diner on Rt 22

O'Mahony

Malcolm B. Porter

Cameron @ Paxton Sts.

P-2 #307 11/3/34 $8691.25

P-15 #2751 11/4/37 $3277.53

P-19 #3646 11/1/38 $2021.42

P-22 #4504 10/31/39 $5076 {why did it increase?}

P-9 #1425 10/26/42 renew of #4504 above .. satisfied 4/13/43

P23 #4558 11/30/39 $21461 – Dining Car at 205 N. 3^rd St.

P-10 #1440 11/25/42 $8665.75

P-12 #1674 11/25/44 (said from 11/30/40) .. satisfied 12/9/44

P-11 #1559 11/26/43 Porter's Diner $14,461.50

O'Mahony

David S. & Sarah K. Reed

R-6 #1548 10/11/43 $16.597.50

R-8 #1780 11/19/45 $14,255 (seems related to the R-6) satisfied 5/26/50

R-12 #2581 11/19/48 $17,255(original price) – 1 lunch car and equipment

R-14 #2903 renew R-12 satisfied 5/26/50

Earl Richardson and his diners. 1925

There was a nice find in the research of Earl Richardson and his building of diners in Silver Creek, New York.    I always knew Earl sold a bunch of his diners to local residents who sometimes stayed away from home, and other times would shortly come back to town.  In 1925, A Silver Creek newspaper published an article that mentioned a list of local owners of Richardson's diners.  A good majority I knew about, others I was mostly sure they were Richardson built diners, but there were some nice additions.  Plus there are a couple not mentioned here that do make me wonder. 

  I will put my comments in [ brackets ]

The manufacture of dining cars, in
Silver Creek has become one of the
main industries during the past year.
The Pioneer builder Mr Earl Richardson,
formerlv of Westfield, N.Y.
started building dining cars in the yards
of Madigan Lumber Company. The
business picked up with such speed
that it was necessary to build a factory
which could handle the orders.
This plant was built close to the depot
in account of loading the building material
A concrete building was erected
about 80x30, complete with the latest
wood working niachinery.
The new car recently installed to replace
the old one which has been in
Central Avenue near Main Street for
the past few years, is the last word in
dining car elegance.
 During the last year cars have been
made in the Richardson Dining Car
factory and sold to the following parties:

Byron Legters, Pen Yan, N.Y.   [still there]
George Dickinson, Newark, N.Y.  [sold to his son and moved to a Ward in Albion]
Sullivan & Emmiger, Buffalo, N.Y. - [I think 821 Abbott, but this week found that Emmiger owned a second diner in Buffalo.  Maybe both were Richardsons ]
Anthony Siefert, Erie, Pa  [ unknown address ]
Joe Muscato,'Franklin, Pa.  [appeared in the first edition of Diners of Pennsylvania]
Charles Tiedeman Erie, Pa [ 712 Peach, replaced by Ward and then Silk City ]
Howard Clute, Ravenna, Ohio  [moved back to town, bought diner in Silver Creek, then went to work for Ward & Dickinson]
Neil Paul, Belleview, Ohio [ local historian said they replaced the diner with a newer one in the 1930s and the old one went to Indiana ]
Ed Root, Galion, Ohio. [ Neil Paul is mentioned as being part owner]
C. E. Hofer, Falconer, N.Y.
Harold Huer, Warsaw, N.Y.
H. Smith, North Tonawanda, N.Y.  [ replaced by National/Sharpe in 1927]
George Shultz, Buffalo, N.Y. -  unknown address
Harry.Hotchkiss., Fredonia, N.Y. [ fire, and replaced by Ward in 1927 ]
H. Jackle, Ashtabula, Ohio
S. Neebuhr, Conneaut, Ohio
Geo Dietzen, Painesville, Ohio [ related to Neebuhr]
Wm. Martin, Greenville, Pa  [ replaced by on-site diner in 1960s]
Ted Graf, Warren, Pa.  [ I believe replaced by a Ward ]
R. Philps, Hamburgh, N.Y.
George Smith, Corry, Pa. [know nothing about this, maybe have been replaced by Mulholland]
Chas. Haviland, Wellsville N.Y.[ moved to Bolivar]
A. G. Wasmund, Wesleyville, Pa.
Clem J. Yonk, Bryan, Ohio. [moved back to Silver Creek, bought diner in town and later worked for Ward & Dickinson]
Jack Frost, Springville, N. Y.

Carmel Diner

  What is the use of having a blog if you don't post some history some of the time.   Here are some newspaper articles/advertisements concerning the Carmel Diner in Carmel, NY

The diner started out as a barrel roof diner and was replaced by a Silk City diner.

1932

Tuesday morning the large dining car recently purchased by Dudley Adams,
arrived here and was placed on the foundations prepared for it on the
corner of the Ludington Arms property at Fair and Main streets. Work on
electric and water connections have been completed while the interior has
been cleaned and it is expected everything will be in readiness to open it
for business Saturday morning. The diner is about 45 feet long painted
green and the name "Carmel Diner" appears On it. The central compartment
contains the general equipment for cooking, an electric ice box, space
for general food supplies and a long counter with revolving chairs. In the
west end is a compartment with tables for ladies and in the eastern end
a lavatory.
Electric lights line the exterior of the car. The entrance is in the central part
of the car on Fair street. Regular dinners will be served in addition to
all kinds of sandwiches. The diner will be open from 6 a. m. to
midnight daily with an experienced chef in attendance.

May 1934

Dudley Adams this week purchased the Carmel Diner at the Junction of
Main and Fair streets from G. Roy Brown, who purchased it from Mr. Adams
eighteen months ago. Mr. Adams Instituted the lunch car business here about two years ago this
spring when he purchased the Carmel Diner and had it moved to the busy
street intersection here.  It was a new venture here and has proven very popular.
A few months later he sold it to Mr. Brown and then established the
Mahopac Diner on new Route 6 at Mahopac. He sold the Mahopac Diner a
few weeks ago.

1952

A shiny new diner will soon be added to Carmels business section, replacing
the present' diner at the comer of Main street and Fair street. The
old diner has been operated the past four years by Max artd Ruth Pearlman,
who will continue to serve top meals at .bottom prices in. the same friendly atmosphere
The new diner, modern in every detail, of stainless steel construction is
expected  to arrive within coming week.  It will have six booths and 20 stools at the counter.
 The car was constructed by the Patterson Vehicle company of Paterson, N. J and is 40 by
15 feet.

1967

Two more PA Counties

Lehigh County

Monitor Car & Body Co 11/3/26 satis 9/11/28 #3301

Robert B. Murray

$7300

resided B'Way @ Brodhead Ave in Bethlehem

O'Mahony 4/2/28 #5635

Edward Rembert "Eddies Diner" 12.5x40 #398-B

$10,240

resided 438 Hanover St. Allentown

O'Mahony 11/15/28 #6886

George Davidson "Eddie's Diner" [from above]

$9664

resided 13 Carlysle St Allentown

O'Mahony 10/23/28 #6790

Harold Bartholomew & William Waelchli

$3070

10.5x36

Tierney 5/31/27 #4085

Richard J. Collins

$8975

renew 8/1/28 for $6478.25

diner #1091

resided 2044 Walnut St Allentown

O'Mahony 6/28/33 #9798

George Stratton

$8037.50

placed on lot 20-23 of Union Blvd, Allentown

renew 6/25/36 for $5669; 6/22/37 for $4119

Ward & Dickinson 1/3/34 #10059

Claude V Merker

$4750

[also filed Northampton County gave $5000 and diner #235]

Ward & Dickinson 9/19/32 Satisfied 1/18/37 #9494

S.C. Hand & Leon M. Cobb

$5000

Brill 11/24/37   [see Northampton County ]

Alexander Hook

$3500

10.5 x 40

Lee Dickinson 7/21/39 satisfied 3/30/43 #14050

Henry Gunby

$8000

J.B. Judkins 3/1/41 #15422

Anthony Mangino

$17,000

had a second #15536 for same parties worth $17,510

O'Mahony 6/20/39 #13915

Elmer J Anderson "Irving Diner"

renew 6/17/42

$7177.50

O'Mahony 5/29/39 #13820

Elwood C Hager

$4396

O'Mahony 4/8/39 #13660

Andrew Hacker

$13350

renew 4/8/42 $5520

Paterson Vehicle 10/3/38 satis 11/13/45 #13312

Julius Lowry

$6500

Paterson Vehicle 10/3/39 #14253

Warren J Longenback

$6500

Kullman 7/7/53 #19624

Charles F. Steckline Diner #305

$36,000

102-104 N 6th Allentown [seemed already located at address]

Paterson Vehicle 12/17/47 satis 3/13/50 #17260

Eugene C Nowicki

$11000

Paterson Vehicle 3/25/49 #17896

George R Charron

$12000

Paterson Vehicle 5/9/53 satis 5/10/55 #19560

George R Charron

$38000

1019-1025 Union Blvd

Paterson Vehicle 6/29/50 satis 6/21/56

Red Diamond Inc

$26,000

606 State Highway Emmaus

Paterson Vehicle 12/15/50 #18678

Charles Steckline & Hoyt Jones Steckline Diner #2

$25,500

ren 12/5/53 for $10,200

Diner #5073 29x40

------------------------------------------------------- Northampton County -------------------------------

Only had  1931 -> 1954  so missing 1925-1930

O'Mahony 8/27/32

H.D. Ackerman's

$5156.25

O'Mahony 1/31/33

Ackerman's Diner

$5188.72

O'Mahony 2/6/34

Genevieve K. Davis

$5568.50

for Ackerman's Diner

O'Mahony 6/16/32 satis 9/16/42

Michael Pitela

$9690

Palace Diner

O'Mahony 12/31/30

William C. Mills & Fred Rush

$12903

Paterson Vehicle 6/15/31

James Lindley

$4200

assigned to Charles H Wagner 5/4/34 for $3730.65 then back to Lindley 4/9/36 for $2805.25

assigned to Charles H. Wagner 3/31/37 for $2227.75

Ward & Dickinson 8/10/32

James L. Dick

$8800

Ward & Dickinson 1/3/34

Claude Merker

$6000

Diner #235 [ also filed in Lehigh Co ]

Ward & Dickinson 12/21/32

James McNair

$7700

assigned to Charles K Williams 5/15/37 $5620.50 from Lee Dickinson satis 9/15/39

Margaret Moore July 1934

Howard Hovey

$3500

[this is the one Moore brought down from Westfield]

J.G. Brill 11/24/37

Alexander Hook

$4500

Paterson Vehicle 8/24/38

Club Car

$11,000

ren 7/14/42 for $1125

National 6/23/41 satis 1/19/44

Alexander Hook

$15,000

Annex 9/9/41 for $5688.50

Paterson Vehicle 11/30/40

W.C. Frankfort

$4500

Paterson Vehicle 5/22/40

Steel Diner Inc

$12,500

Paterson Vehicle 10/16/39

Samuel Lowry

$13500

Fodero 5/11/48

Joseph N. Caeser

$26,500

Canandiagua, NY - A Kullman?

Seems that I have found a mystery Kullman diner just east of Canandaigua, New York.  This picture is from a 1962 newspaper article from a Shortsville, New York newspaper.

 

While I can not say for 100% sure this is an authentic diner, nor can I say this is a Kullman, it sure looks like a diner.  What I do know is that in a May of 1962 classified ad, there was mention of the same Realty company having a Kullman diner for sale.  Off hand, I do not know of a Kullman that made it to the Canandaigua region at any time.

  Also notice that Mrs. Campbell was from Lancaster.  A Robert Estes had a diner in Depew, New York that is still around today known as the 50's Diner, a Silk City.  One might believe this is the same Robert Estes.  Robert Estes ran that diner from 1955(really sometime in 1954 as the diner is #5425) to 1966 based upon the city directories. 

Newark Diner is on the move

Ron Dylewski sent me this article, which is nice because it contains some history a few of the other articles did not contain.

http://www.waynepost.com/feature/x709243894/History-on-the-move

"The Newark Diner closed its doors Sunday, April 7 for the final time. Owner Jim McBride will turn the keys over to new owner, the Larkin Company on April 15."   The final destination will be Buffalo, New York

  The diner will go to Steve Harwin's place in Cleveland(mistake in the article) and get "restored"  One can only hope that it is getting new wood and new booths and maybe more original looking tile on the floor on the inside, but I also hope the glass counter stays, but i'm not holding my breath on that one.  not because of Steve or the owners, but just because of sanitary regulations are overzealous at times.

  When the 1939 Sterling diner came to Newark, it was direct competition to a Richardson built diner that was doing gangbusters in the 1920s.  George Dickinson, who owned many diners in his time was the first owner of that diner. He then sold it to his son in law, and from that point on, not much is known about what happened to that diner.

  Here is hoping to a safe landing in Buffalo in short order!   Can we get more diners into Buffalo?  Resurgence!!!!!

Erie County, PA

Many of the diners of Erie County were built in New York state.  Matter of fact, the only diner company who filed Conditional Sales records with the county that was not from New York was the Paterson Vehicle Company who sent three diners to Erie County.  Two of these have been accounted for, and the third has a possible location, although a postcard of the diner in later years does not match, so some research needs to be done there.
  Still, there are some diners in Erie that have not been accounted for from the conditional sales records.  Maybe some of them are Tierneys, as that list is a little fuzzy right now.  Hopefully, the city of Erie still has their building permit records.  Pennsylvania has what are called Open Records Officers, so if you are unsure, you write to the representative for the part of government, and they will tell you if the records exist(or find out) and will get back to you promptly.  If only every state was this good!
  Other notes:  Conditional sales are only for diners bought on the payment plan. If you had the money, you did not have to file a conditional sale.  Also, it does not seem Bixler filed these anywhere, or did so with a different name other than Bixler.  Like any record, these are not a perfect system, but they are helpful
Two diners are listed under Dunkirk, the sales arm of Mulholland, an independently owned company. Conditional sales did not start until mid 1925, so all three confirmed locations for Mulholland diners, Corry, Union City and Wesleyville may have already received their diner.  And maybe one of these was in Erie?  I need to check 1926 and 1928 city directories for these two names.  With the renewal date and assignment, they had these diners for more than just a year.
National Diner - This was Dr. J.J. Sharpe's company name.  I believe this diner was either replaced by the rare Guy Russell built diner(moved from Ripley, NY) or was one of two diners that were supposedly in North East, PA
Richardson - some strange stuff going on here. He had passed away awhile by Sept of 1926. So maybe his paperwork was passed to his son, who was running the company. But something doesn't make sense.
Reinhardt's  They had a chain of diners, as many as four at one time it would seem. One Tierney was posted on Flickr and another was in the original version of Diners of PA.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92396002@N00/56936253/

Dunkirk Dining car

William F Pollock 11/3/1926 $4000 #4499

renewed #5754 7/9/1928

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Dunkirk Dining Car

A.A. Smith 7/21/28 $2675 #5874

assigned to Forestville bank 8/16/1932 #7205

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National Dining Car Co

Arthur Wasmund & M.L. Manning 4/18/1925 $3600 #1347

{believed to be North East}

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Wasmund Arthur

Marion Manning 6/15/1925 $1 #1348 interest in dining car

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Paterson Vehicle Co

R F MacKendrick Jr 5/11/1948 $18850 #20925

"Boston diner" satisfied 5/23/1951

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Paterson Vehicle Co

Harold E Curtis 6/16/1948 $18800 #20995

{Lawrence Park}

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Paterson Vehicle Co

R.J. Ross 7/18/1949 $19500 #21751 renewed #23483 satisfied 10/24/1952

Robert Ross had diner at 3624 Peach in 1954

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E.B. Richardson

George F Reinhardt 9/4/1926 $1302 & $590.75 #3361

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Anthony C Seifert

R.G. Richardson 9/4/1926 $1302 & $590.75 #3360

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George F Reinhardt

Leo W Schmidt 4/11/1927 $3000 #4864 satisfied 11/2/1927

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Leo Schmidt

George G Reinhardt 11/2/1927 $479.50 #5264

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Karle William

George G Reinhardt 11/2/1927 $479.50 #5264

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Leo Reinhardt

George F Reinhardt 11/22/1929 $1500 #8071

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Leo Reinhardt

Lawrence Cunningham 3/17/1930 $2700 #8072

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Tierney

Leo C Reinhardt 8/1/1926 $7250 #4476

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Tierney

Leo C Reinhardt 6/21/1928 $502.50 #5766 diner #1007

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Tierney

Leo C Reinhardt 6/21/1928 $5819 #5767 diner #2121

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Tierney

Leo C Reinhardt 6/21/1930 $1850 #7718

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Tierney

Leo C Reinhardt 11/11/1929 $5060 #7379

renewed $1575 #8739 11/11/1931

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Tierney

Leo & Geo Reinhardt 3/5/1931 $1349 #8189

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Ward & Dickinson

Louis Del Porto 6/6/1927  $3000 #4984 diner #53

Have never found Del Porto listed, so don't know what happened to this diner, was in Erie

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Ward & Dickinson

L.H. Youngman 6/6/1927 $3000 #4985 diner #59

short time in Erie, quickly moved to Oil City, PA then Waterford, NY

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Ward & Dickinson

Val Manwaring 12/31/1927 $5500 #5369

13th at French for only a few months. diner #78

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Dickinson Lee & Ward Charles

to A.M. Liebau 6/9/1926 $4900 #2088

5 East 18th

--

Ward & Dickinson

A.M. Liebau 3/27/1928 $1625 #5538 diner #55

continuation of above. diner sold to E Reynolds then B. Loper.

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Ward & Dickinson

E. Reynolds 7/16/1929 $7500 #7095

25 West 8th, sold to Hopkins diner #209 (this could be below, unsure)

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Ward & Dickinson

E. Reynolds 8/24/1929 $5100 #7150 +equipment

156 West 13th St

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Ward & Dickinson

Mrs J.J. Schoos 10/28/1929 $6300 #7290

710 Peach St. replaced Richardson model

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Ward & Dickinson

Mrs Gracell Hughes 3/26/1930 $4600 #7493 reconditioned

diner #15, came from Buffalo

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Ward & Dickinson

R.F. MacKendrick 2/6/1931 $6500 #8126

bought Schoos's diner

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Ward & Dickinson

Barbara Soper 9/30/1931 $4500 #8668 satisfied 11/4/1938

may be 156 West 13th St from Reynolds

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Ward & Dickinson

Mark Hopkins 10/31/1931 $6900 #8692 diner #209

bought from Reynolds. 25 West 8th, moved to Westfield and called Elk Dinor in paper.

Research Notes

I need to come up with some web pages to discuss what I have done and what is available out there.

Chattel & Conditional Sales Research updates




Unite States guide to state links: http://www.statearchivists.org/arc/states/res_sch_genlloc.htm







http://www.nj.gov/treasury/revenue/rms/pdf/c100000.pdf
new Jersey can get rid of them, unfortunately

Massachusetts can get rid of them. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcpdf/MA_Municipal_Records_Retention_Manual.pdf

New York is SUPPOSED to be permanent, but these regulations were not passed until 1988, and I think many of the municipalities got rid of the records before 1988. Here is the Town/City, check page 114 .. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_pub_mu1.pdf Also, chattel records are filed on either the county or town level. No rhyme or reason. 
I think I need to email the archives about building permit indexes concerning Utica - http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_pub_mi1_part2.shtml

No clue for New Hampshire. It seems like they had one book where they wrote down everything, not just chattel/conditional sales agreements. But on the good news, building permits info are permanent. http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/III/33-A/33-A-mrg.htm

• Delaware has permanent building permits. http://archives.delaware.gov/govsvcs/pdfs/General%20Records%20Retention%20Schedules/Local%20Government%20General%20Records%20Schedule/Planning.pdf

   

  search:http://archives.delaware.gov/collections/guideintro.shtml
• type in conditional sales or chattels

  Maryland - looks like they can destroy the records also. http://aomol.net/000001/000642/html/am642--745.html

no help with Maine:Might have to email for assistance. http://www.maine.gov/sos/arc/records/local/index.html

Unsure on michigan, though looks like building permits are permanent records

Pennsylvania should have conditional sales at the county level. Each county is different on the amount of info filled in. Index books/dockets are permanent, individual forms are hit or miss, based on space.Although the index books are permanent, but also can be at Historical Societies if a Judge gives the permission as happened in Wayne County.

  Nothing on the Rhode Island Website.

West Virginia - no luck, they're allowed to destroy them... http://www.wvculture.org/history/rmpb/rscountyclerk.html But what I am wondering about are Notary Public Records.

Virginia is going to be a crap shoot too - search conditional sales http://www.lva.virginia.gov/agencies/records/sched_local/index.htm

   

  

Vermont possibilities

Some Vermont possibilities for Ward & Dickinson diners need to be checked out.

Thomas Walsh of Albany was running a business in Rutland, VT in 1930 when he declared bankruptcy.  One of the companies who was listed as a creditor was Ward & Dickinson of Silver Creek, NY
Edit - was in town for three years

A While back, on EBAY was a matchbook for Pete's Diner in Middlebury, VT.  This had a drawing of a larger 40 foot Ward & Dickinson.  A Deluxe model, so to say.  The drawing of the Ward Diner, the 30 foot model is often a stock art option, but I am hoping that the larger 40 foot models used for drawings are good hits.
Edit - This has been confirmed!  Diner was demolished shortly after WW2

  One of the places using the 30 foot Ward diner was located in South Carolina.  I was able to verify that the diner looked to be a home made barrel roof diner, put into place in the mid 1930s.

  Finally. I had always found a mention of a Chunawaka Lunch Car, run by the Petty Bros in Granville, NY around 1930.  I recently found a June 1933 blurb that William Lorette was moving the diner to Rutland.  I always had a suspicion that this might be a Closson or a Ward.
Edit - Need address, but William Lorette did have a restaurant in Rutland.

All you can eat Diner, part 2

 

Here is a photo of the aforementioned Jopil Bros Parlor Diner.  A poor photo which is typical of newspaper that has been turned to microfilm.  One thing I find fascinating is the roof.  It looks like a metal roof.   And hopefully it is just the photo, but the front of the diner looks like it is leaning.  

  From research, it seems there was a Fred's Diner at this location for some years, and just before this diner came here, Fred's was put into storage and would get badly charred in less than a month, while in storage.

1931 - Yonkers - all you can eat

Fascinating article. Getting back into doing a little research that needs to be done before Christmas.  Ten Percent of the customers were women, and they ate salads.   This article is from the Yonkers Statesman, July 24, 1931. 

Quintessence, Albany. To Close

The Times Union of Albany, NY has reported that the Albany Medical Center has bought the 1948/9 Fodero, lastly known as Quintessence.  A friend of NY Diners has reported that an employee of Quintessence commented that the diner is going to be moved.  No other information is known.

The Chuck Wagon Diner is no longer run by the Ketchums.  They have leased the diner out to new operators. 

  The Miss Port Henry Diner is now Foote's Miss Port Henry Diner and is doing well so far with a veteran restauranteur in charge.

  Dewey's Diner has closed. A victim of roughly 3 years of essentially continuous road work on Fuller Road.

Phoenicia Diner reopens

The Watershed Post reports that the Phoenicia Diner has been reopened. 

Check here for the article.

http://www.watershedpost.com/2012/fresh-phoenicia-diner

Some remodeling was done to the interior. Check out the photos.  For historians, here is the skinny on ownership change.
"Last year, longtime owner Chris Raptis sold the diner to Michael Cioffi"

A few years back, the roof partially collapsed in the kitchen during a five foot plus snowfall.

Queensbury Diner delivered

DeRaffele has delivered a diner to Exit 19 of the Northway(I-87)
Dennis Pilarinos and his son Robert are the owners of this diner.  They also own and operate the Ambrosia Diner in Catskill and the Capital City Diner in Albany/Guilderland, by Crossgates Mall.  Dennis also owns the diner in Hudson, but leases this one out for the "Grazin" operation.

 The powers that be in Queensbury wanted the diner not to be completely retro, so the Pilarinos compromised with the stone exterior below the windows. Fortunately, DeRaffele pulled off the compromise beautifully! 

The diner will also have heated sidewalks, which will be a nice addition for winter months.  No word on when the diner will open.
  This diner has been in the works since 2010, but met with a multitude of roadblocks. Fortunately, things seem to be moving in the right direction!