GOSHEN —
For 100 years, encompassing probably more than 300,000 days of doing business, The Olympia Candy Store has always been about the customers.
But on Friday, for just a few hours in the early evening, all that changed.
That’s when the historic little candy shop and diner on the corner of Clinton and Main streets turned its attention to the generations of people who worked on the grill, made the specialty drinks and served the nut olive sandwiches.
Oh, the customers still got the attention they needed, but Friday was one for the workers as more than a dozen former employees returned to strap on the red waitress apron, wash a few dishes and flip a few burgers.
“It’s like we never left,” said Jessica Elliott who worked as a waitress for about five years in the early 1990s and is credited in part with the idea of the reunion.
She said she and others had talked about having a reunion of sorts for years and decided to do it this year to commemorate the store’s 100th anniversary and coordinate it as a cancer benefit in memory of store manager Kare Andersen’s brother, Doug Johnston, who died last December of a brain tumor.
Anderson and Johnston are part of the fourth generation of family who have owned and operated the store since it was opened in 1912 by their great grandfather, Nicholas Paflas.
On Friday night, waitresses at the Olympia donated tips to help fight cancer.
The charity effort also ties in with today’s scheduled Compassion Walk, a cancer fundraiser organized by United Cancer Services of Elkhart County. This year’s honorary chairperson is Doug Johnston’s wife, Jeannine.
Outside the doors of the Olympia, the Circle of Friends, a cancer fund raising group, sold coffee mugs, jewelry and other items to benefit United Cancer Services.
Andersen bought shirts for the staff emblazoned with their first name and the year they graduated high school to help give an indication of when they worked at the store.
Since the event coincided with First Fridays, Andersen said he was expecting a strong turnout and made sure he was ready by ordering extra hamburger and preparing extra potato salad.
For Elliott and literally hundreds of others, working at the store often happened to be their first real job.
But it was more than just a paycheck.
“A lot of my friends worked here and we just had a lot of camaraderie,” Elliott said. “A lot of joke playing went on and it was just very special.”
Mindi Swihart was another who had been looking forward to a reunion, but for her, it was also a family get-together.
Joining her was her father, Max Wiese, who worked at the store in the early 1960s, and Ryan, one of two brothers who also worked at the store.
When Swihart was waiting tables in the early 1990s, she met David Swihart, a regular customer, who she later married.
“Back then, this was the place to work in high school,” Swihart recalled. “All of us became very close friends. I met so many great people.”
“It’s kind of been a family tradition and now, my daughter, who is three months old, someday will work here as well.”
Breaking News
Related Photos
-
Jess Elliott hustles her orders to the customers at The Olympia Friday. SAM HOUSEHOLDER
-
Josh Sheets makes a "green river soda" at The Olympia Friday during the restaurant's 100th anniversary. SAM HOUSEHOLDER
Olympia Candy Kitchen celebrates its 100th anniversary
Former Olympia employees tie on aprons to raise money for cancer services
- Breaking News
-
-
TECH TALK: Remarketing to website visitors has advantages
Generating sales and leads for your business on the web is powerful. The web allows anyone, anywhere to potentially discover and buy from your firm.
-
No major progress for liquor legislation
INDIANAPOLIS — When it comes to alcohol, the 2013 legislative session may be marked more by what it didn’t do to boost booze sales than what it did.
-
Man to be airlifted from single-vehicle crash on C.R. 48
Elkhart County police and township firefighters are at the scene of a crash on C.R. 48 near Ind. 13. The driver of a truck is being extricated and a helicopter is waiting at the scene to transport him.
-
NWMS leaders receive music honors
WAKARUSA — For NorthWood Middle School’s departing principal, George Roelandts, his career in education is approaching a coda.
-
GMS science teacher combines love of Elkhart River, music for festival
GOSHEN – Two of Jake Miller’s passions converged as naturally as the Elkhart River does with the St. Joseph.
-
City closer to acquiring former Goshen Inn property
Elkhart County Commissioners Monday took the next step in a process that could result in Goshen officials taking possession of the old Holiday Inn property on Goshen’s south side. The move follows a similar approval by the Goshen Board of Public Works and Safety May 6.
-
You should know: Tom Yoder
GOSHEN — Tom Yoder doesn’t mind getting dirty when he’s pursuing one of his favorite interests — gardening.
-
Technology speeds disaster alerts
Caitria O’Neill remembers her reaction to hearing tornado warnings on June 1, 2011. She went to the grocery store, she said, “because I live in Massachusetts, and we don’t get tornadoes.”
-
Here today and gone tomorrow
Word of changes at Navistar wasn’t entirely unexpected. More than 500 jobs leaving Wakarusa? That information was a surprise.
-
ADEC bike ride draws crowd
ELKHART — Cycling met philanthropy at Concord High School Saturday morning as approximately 250 cyclists hit the pavement to show their support for the 41st annual ADEC Ride-A-Bike fundraising event.
- More Breaking News Headlines
-
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
Wave of Attacks Kills Scores in Iraq
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
Company Promises to Make All Snail Mail Digital
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
