‘Annandale eats out’

Last week we looked at “Minnesota Eats Out: An Illustrated History,” a Minnesota Historical Society publication which surveyed the rich array of eating places in Minnesota from founding until the 1960s. “Eats Out” was a great reading journey, especially since so much of the familiar was included.  Now we take a slice of Annandale to sample. I’d like to call it “Annandale Eats Out,” but that’s presumptuous. I can’t speak for Annandale.  These are my views.  “Eats Out’ mentioned only one Annandale diner. A simple photo gave readers a glimpse of a dining room in Tuelles Resort. I didn’t know of the resort, so I checked Wright County Historical Society for information.  Tuelles, I learned, was founded on Clearwater Lake as Longworth Resort in 1860. It was purchased by Henry Tuelle, a Longworth manager. He renamed the resort, which burned down in 1914. Tuelles was rebuilt and continued operation until A.H. Beecher purchased the property in 1928. It was Beecher Resort, largest in Wright County, until it sold in 1964 and became Camp Friendship.  In my view of Annandale Eats Out, I can’t report resort dining, since those elegant old vacation inns had disappeared by the time Dad and I bought what we called Diskerud Resort on Clearwater in 1969. Then and through the 1970s we did “eat out.”  Some readers may remember Ann’s Bait Shop and also Al’s Bait Shop. Ann’s was on what is now Bayview Road on the northwest shore of Clearwater, and it had access also via the river to Lake Augusta. Al’s was just off the passage from Clearwater into Grass Lake, with a launch ramp on the Clearwater side.  Since both bait shops were easily reached by boat, we often stopped to “dine” on cellophane-wrapped sandwiches that were heated in pre-microwave era toaster ovens. My “usual” was ham and cheese.  These weren’t restaurants. They were multi-function enterprises. Bait tackle, 3.2 beer, pop, film, packaged snacks and various supplies could be obtained at either place. However, Ann’s had a pool table and local following. Al’s had customers who used his launch ramp, which later became part of Maple Hill Resort.  Another multi-function stop where we often got gas, bait and groceries, was Twedt’s Country Store. Located a couple hundred yards north of the present Lake Center Store on Highway. 24, Joe Twedt’s store was pleasant pause. He guarded his space for the snack bar despite crowded conditions.  Dad and Joe were the same age and of similar spirit. Their conversations made toaster oven sandwiches a king’s feast. Like Ann’s and Al’s, Twedt’s was a modest place. But “dining” at any of the three was superb.  Dad would have been 100 years old in July. Going back to a time he was my age, we find such dining choices as Turtle Bay Club, Arnie’s Town & Country, Ellis’ Steak House, Perc’s Steak House, and a couple more in town.  Diskerud Resort was on the east shore of upper Clearwater, so we often went to Perc’s Steak House on Highway 24 where a remodeled and expanded Lake Center Bar & Grill is now located. Perc’s menu was limited, but sufficient for our preferences. My son and daughter could easily be satisfied with a Perc’s giant ground beef hamburger. My usual was the sirloin.  Serving lots of lake folks seasonally, Perc’s was open Fridays and Saturdays at 5 p.m. until business dropped off, and from noon Sunday until it seemed right to close. It was a friendly place and one where I had good luck.  A Perc’s server in the mid-1970s was expecting a baby. A contest among customers was held whereby we’d guess the baby’s sex, weight, and arrival stats. I made my predictions, and won. My prize was a steak dinner. I don’t remember the name of the waitress, but hope she and her child, now a 30-something, are doing well.  We also enjoyed Ellis’ Steak House in Annandale on 55 – roughly where the Allina medical clinic is now located. Ellis’ was more upscale, had live music and more expensive entrees. I found a 1974 ad for Ellis’ which contained these prices: shrimp, $3.95; ribs, $3.95; and chicken, $2.75.  We usually went for Wednesday night smorgasbord. My son always had an enormous appetite at Ellis’ even though he qualified for children’s price. But the rest of us did well, also. I marvel at how I could eat, or not eat, and still not gain or lose any weight.  The VFW in the 70s was frequently putting on pancake breakfasts and Sunday evening chicken fry. Cost for the chicken fry was $2 and it was a community event – much like Kiwanis breakfasts or Boy Scout’s Memorial Day pancake and porky brunch.  Turtle Bay Club, where McBride’s is today, would do “quarter chicken, broasted potato, cole slaw, and dinner roll” for $1.75.   An “eat out” option for men was a cook out at Kimball golf course. Dad and I would bring steaks, meet Lake Sylvia resident Claude Dawson, play nine holes, then assemble at the club house where our steaks were grilled and potatoes and other goodies provided. It was great fun and great eating.  There were eateries long gone. Town Club, Dot’s Cafe, Hank’s Cafe, are some. But one nearby cafe still in operation is Mom’s Cafe in South Haven.  I’ve eaten at Mom’s many times. However, I did not dine there in the 70s and 80s and thereby missed the privilege of being served by Van Davis, whose 90th birthday we celebrated this week. When I asked her daughter what years Van worked at Mom’s, she chuckled and said, “Oh, I don’t know, she was there forever.”  W. C. Fields once quipped, you should “never eat at a place called ‘Moms,’ but if the only other place in town has a sign that says ‘eats,’ go back to Moms.”  It would have been an honor to have been served by Van Davis at Mom’s.

Clayton Diskerud, formerly of Lake Augusta and now of Buffalo, is an emeritus professor of social science and criminal justice (for which he was program director.) He has taught a the University of Minnesota and Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. He is an occasional contributor to the Advocate and a senior citizen who contributes to the Senior Views column.