Short's Cafe

Liza & Gail Short ran the Short's Cafe in St. Vincent starting in the 1930's. Gail was my Dad's uncle, and in 1938 Dad came up to work for his uncle in the cafe. He became quite popular with the local girls, especially when he was working behind the counter at the soda fountain. [I heard he could mix a mean cherry coke...!]

Short's Cafe was not only a cafe, but a soda fountain, a bar, and a general place to hang out for the young and the young at heart. Canadians would flock down because the beer at that time in the US had higher alcohol content. The restaurant was known as serving great meals. Liza rented out rooms for visitors to the town.

It was here that my parents met that summer, her a school girl of 16, and he a man of the world of 19. Little did they know the lifetime adventure they would go on, as a result of meeting at that little St. Vincent cafe/bar...

UPDATE 09/23/2010 - My sister recently emailed me some memories surrounding Short's Cafe...

My earliest memories of Mom and Dad taking us to Short's Cafe were:

- A jukebox as you entered the door to the right
- Booths to sit in
- Two counters to eat at, one being longer than the other
- The smaller one was towards the back where alcohol was served
- At that end there were large doors that slid apart and we were NEVER allowed to enter. It was a large room that Mom never wanted to talk about, but we gathered it was where the "hard" liquor and gambling went on.
- There also was a side door on the east side that "those" people used

There was a time when Sharon and I worked there, cleaning. We scrubbed all the linoleum floors on our hands and knees. I also remember the kitchen was SO BAD for the grease on the floor. There was a door on the west side of the kitchen that when you opened it, you had a choice of either turning to the left and going outside, or turning to the right, which went upstairs...or going straight which led into their home. We were NEVER allowed to go to anywhere except to go outside.