1) See pic for details of the infamous Kel-bowl-pac. My brother and I tried this more than once. Never worked. 2) As others have implied, I have had surgery in places that were not this clean.

Thanks, Gorham family, for the photo and the story from Fairbury, just down the road. And thanks, Shorpy, for a diner/restaurant/soda fountain photo after what seems to have been ages. They used to be posted more often and I particularly enjoy those.

Thanks for your memories! Loved reading your story.

I grew up in the Mary-Etta Hotel. My parents ran it, along with the cafe and the tavern and party rooms, from 1963 to 1972. The cafe was definitely not this spotless by the time we got there. The glass cases on the counter were filled with slices of pie, baked fresh every day in the back kitchen. To the right, just out of camera range, there were three booths that would seat four each. You can see the coat racks that were mounted on the ends of the booths. Food was pretty standard American diner fare - grilled cheese, hamburgers, hand-cut French fries, a full breakfast menu. There was usually a dinner special each night, something like roast beef or fried chicken. The "diet plate" consisted of various kinds of canned fruit (peaches, pears, pineapple, maraschino cherries) with a scoop of cottage cheese in the center, all on a bed of lettuce leaves. Mom and Dad had to work long hours every day keeping everything going, so often our supper was ordering something in the cafe. Pork chops with fries was one of my favorites. Eventually Dad got tired of working so hard and never making much money - the place was old and took constant attention and infusions of cash just to keep it running. So he opened a steakhouse half a block south and sold the hotel business. The new owner lasted a year or so before giving up under the workload, and by the mid-70s the Mary-Etta was torn down and became a car lot. (I'm still kind of sad about that.) Thanks for posting this picture and transporting me back to my childhood.

The fact that there's a tasteful arrangement of fresh flowers shows this guy's attention to detail and concern for his customers.

The Mary-Etta Hotel as pictured on a matchbook cover

You could cut open the box and use the box for a bowl. If you were very careful not to slice the the wax paper lining. As kids we always battled for the Frosted Flakes. Pep cereal and Bran flakes were the last two eaten.

What were those cases on the counter used for? Donuts?

That takes the prize as the cleanest restaurant I recall seeing on Shorpy.

You don't see spotlessness like that any more. Gorham was either very industrious or knew how to get good work from employees.