Memories of Old Stone Villa Part 3

Linda’s grandparents, Mary and Samuel Ross (at left) and her Uncle Gene (at right),
posing in front of the Old Stone Villa

While I was researching the Old Stone Villa, I contacted Linda for some more reminisces about her grandmother, and perhaps some snapshots of the restaurant.

She wrote, "I found a couple of photos. Mostly I have my memories. 

"I just turned 60 and I think memories of being with my Grandmother are some of my best, if not the best. And, memories of being with her in the restaurant are so so good. 


"I remember all that stainless steel all around. And her making my sister and I cheeseburgers with Velveeta cheese on the flat top. Watching her toss homemade coleslaw in a huge stainless steel bowl. She washed all her dishes (no dishwasher) with a sprayer on a long hose. I remember her serving lunch to locals and not charging them, saying “Well, he comes here all the time.” 


"She loved feeding people. She would send me to the Lawson store next door to get lemon pies for the restaurant. I loved going to the basement to get those skinny little bags of salted Mr. Peanuts and watching the man come to empty the juke box, I’ve never seen so many dimes in all my life, he'd always give me a couple. All those dimes must have meant the bar was a happening place! 

That’s Samuel Ross, Linda’s grandfather, behind the bar. “Pretty fancy,” noted Linda.

"Big news was when she got her electric fryer, she fried her chicken in it. It was next to the back door of the kitchen to the right as you walked in. I didn’t know much about the bar side, but I think it was busy at night."

The gang at the bar

Next: the history of the Old Stone Villa continues