The year was 1951. A couple, a young child and their dog drove up the Al-Can highway after the war and soon opened, what was at the time, a small shack of a diner. They soon hired a waitress named Agnes (Aggie). They woke up early, went to bed late and peeled potatoes, fried chicken, griddled burgers, and spun a yarn in-between. 50 years later (10 years ago), Aggie was still there, cooking, smiling and helping to shape the sense of Place. The child was now grown with three siblings, three children of her own and a much different job, running the offices of a US Senator.
The man and the woman were still married and still the Host and Hostess of an ever-present gathering spot in Alaska, serving the best fried chicken, burgers and shakes around. They had created an institution. The photos on the walls told the story of those 50 years and the years preceding them. A WWII pilot, George met Peggy waiting tables at a diner in Utah when he began courting her. It was a fast romance that resulted in that previously mentioned child. On this day, some 60 years later, The Lucky Wishbone still has a line out the door during the lunch rush, has some of it’s original employees or their offspring, their original patrons and/or their offspring and is still owned/operated by 94-year-old George Brown, my Grandfather. And you guessed it, that child is my Mother.
This November 30, 2015, The Lucky Wishbone turns 60. I am so proud. If walls could speak, the stories would be many. Each of us kids have put in our time there learning what it is like to put in a good day’s work for a good day’s pay. Learning what quality product and service should be. Learning so much….about life. I personally, feel the Lucky Wishbone shaped who I am today, for many reasons. I know it has shaped the lives of many others, both patrons and staff.
To George and Peg (Grandma is smiling from above) – Congratulations! To Grandpa and Grandma – I love you and thank you! To all the employees that I worked with and ate with and grew to know as family – Salute!.
Happy Birthday to “the Bone”! (and Happy Birthday to my Tom whose birthday it is today; you still light up my life).
I think I’ll go cook up some fried chicken now myself. But Julia, might you bring some home for me?
