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70 years of servin' up memories
Nevada, Mo. -- Dick Shorten was 12 years old when he watched history being made, but all he was concerned with was the hamburger he was eating. The White Grill, one of Nevada's landmarks was being created and Shorten was in at the birth. The 70-year-old restaurant has generated a lot of memories for a lot of people during its time.
"I was 12 years old and I had to be one of the first people to eat there, if I'm remembering right," Shorten said. "It was the day before they were opening and they had gone down to the grocery store to get some hamburger to try out the grill."
Over the years the White Grill has expanded but when Shorten first ate there counter space was at a premium.
"I think there were four or six seats, it was just a little drive-in. Hamburgers were four for a quarter, that's when a quarter was worth a quarter. Once a year you could get a sack of hamburgers, six or eight for a quarter."
Businessman Joe Kraft disagrees with the price, according to him hamburgers were a little more.
"No, hamburgers were a dime," Kraft said. "I think I'm more correct than Dick because I'm older than him."
Disagreement over the cost of the hamburgers aside most everyone agrees the hamburgers themselves are a little bit of heaven on earth and the credit goes to something that would probably be banned in New York - the grease.
"It's the grease that makes them good," Kraft said.
The man who started the restaurant, Red McLaughlin, owned a small chain and the White Grill is the only surviving one current manager Diana Wessley said. Wessley is the daughter of James and Shirley Novak who bought into the business in 1963.
"There were four or five," Wessley said. "In Fort Scott, Iola, Pittsburg, Chanute and, of course, Nevada."
The restaurant is now owned by a family partnership with Diana managing.
"When our parents passed away we divided it six ways," Wessley said. "There me of course, Megan Wessley, she's my daughter; Taylor Gower, my niece; two nephews, Matthew Sandoval and Zachary Sandoval and my brother Mike Novak."
Right from the start another specialty that people made their favorite were the Suzie Q's. McLaughlin made a machine to make them, some believe he invented the treat itself, but eventually bought a commercial Suzie Q cutter from Henry Kraft Mercantile.
"I don't know about that but we sold them commercial Suzie Q cutters," Kraft said.
Wessley said the restaurant goes through 100 pounds of hamburger a week and cook Michael Lile said they use a half a ton of potatoes a week. With that volume they still make some things the old-fashioned way. The hamburger is portioned out and formed into balls that get flattened on the grill while cooking.
"We still make all of our tenderloins ourselves," Wessley said. "We make our Suzies and hashbrowns, too."
Wessley said there has been some change in the menu, but not much.
"The only thing I've done differently is adding the barbecue, and I also cater," Wessley said.
The White Grill has seen a lot of customers come through the doors over the years, including some very famous people. Speaking off the cuff, Wessley had a hard time coming up with their names, but she did recall a few.
"Harry Truman said it was the best damn hamburger he ever ate," Wessley said. "Susan Ford sat on the cigarette machine to take a picture. The band Lynyrd Skynyrd has been in here, Jack Paar, a lot of people. A lot of servicemen have passed through. The trains used to stop right out there and they'd come in here to eat."
During that time a lot of people have worked at the restaurant. Saturday, they are invited back to relive that time in their lives, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., they'll have the chance to "try the spatula again," notices said, an specials are advertised.
"We've had tons of cooks," Wessley said. "Rodney Loomer, he's a lawyer in Springfield was a cook and he came back. We even had a gentleman from Texas come back, he was a counterman. Mr. Clinton, the hairstylist, he was a counterman, too."
Another distinction the White Grill has is its sign.
"We have the only flashing sign in Nevada" Wessley said. "It's grandfathered in so it's there to stay."