Free Press –
Sundays Deli, Lynn Kraft
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Mighty Betsy and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We ate too much so it’s time to plan for weight reductions. Speaking of which, we enjoy eating at Quakertown’s various emporia. The Karlton Café, Il Garde, and the new Front Street Café deserve your patronage. So does Sine’s 5 and 10 which is still going strong. But today’s column begins with Sunday’s Delicatessen and the small world department.
Enjoying his 19th year in Quakertown, Sunday Papas presides over his restaurant with delicious food and engaging conversation. It’s always fun because he participates in all of the table talk.
A few days, we noticed a good-looking couple sitting next to our table…the man and woman probably were in their late 40’s. We didn’t know them but shyness is not one of my long suits. It turns out that Iver and Chris Peterson had found an antique bed on E-bay and were in Quakertown to pick it up. They stopped at Sunday’s for a bite to eat.
We were surprised that he’d worked for the New York Times for 30 years and knew some of our friends at the paper. The couple has a fascinating tale to tell but that will have to wait for another day. Incidentally, Iver also knows Paul Hosefras, a native Quakertonian, who’s been a news photographer at the Times. Years ago, Paul began his career in photojournalism as a Quakertown High School student at the Free Press.
It’s a small world.
Sunday immediately joined in when he heard the small world connection. He told us that a few years ago, one of his patrons mentioned that he lived in Morristown, New Jersey. Before Sunday’s move to Quakertown, he lived in Morristown on the very street where the patron lived…knew some of the neighbors too. His best friend resided in the house that the patron bought!
Small world!
Bustling about the deli was Bonnie Parr, Sunday’s waitress. She’s very perky and keeps everyone on his or her toes. Last Halloween, Sunday and Bonnie got their customers’ attention because they dressed as Sonny and Cher. I’m sorry I missed it…Bonnie’s very pretty.
Item.
I bumped into Lynn Kraft the other day. The Quakertown school district is fortunate to have this creative person as an art teacher. Alas, Lynn retires this June.
Lynn filled me in on the decorative project at the Quakertown train station. There’s a new walkway and two park benches, thanks to his team. Just before Santa’s arrival, the 90 foot blocked paver walk was completed.
Volunteers from the Bush House Hotel and the Eagle Hotel pitched in for two straight days. Lynn provided gloves for everyone, plus plenty of good-natured expertise. One of his students, Babik Patel was a big help too. Lynn credits Quakertown Borough employees for the good-looking retaining wall.
Lynn thanked Debbie and Richard Samsel, plus Richard Mindler, Roger Lewis, and Sue Simmons for their enthusiastic assistance. Sue is a fellow teacher at QHS. Lynn told me that Dick Mindler worked at the project in spite of recovering from a recent heart attack.
“You can’t tie him down,” Lynn remarked about Dick Mindler.
We’re fortunate that the Upper Bucks area has so many volunteers. Let’s hope that 2008 continues this tradition. As my late father always said, one of the things, which makes America so unusual, is its wealth of volunteers.
Happy New Year, friends.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith