Perry had two kids, Ethel and Wesley. His wife, Ila Shackelford, passed away in 1933. In 1935, Perry moved his family to a place south of Mullen. He leased it from Folks, which is now the Eugene Lake place. When Perry returned from the service he went into the restaurant business in Hyannis. In 1945 he rented the Hi-Way Café in Harrison until 1949. In 1949, he moved a mobile diner to Mullen, NE, naming it the Jewel Diner. Ethel Neumeyer helped her father at the diner until the next fall when she quit to teach at the Reigle School south of Mullen. Ethel married John Arrants in 1951 and moved to Maryland where John was posted in the Army. After the death of Ethel's father in March of 1958, Ethel and John moved back to Mullen and operated the Jewel Diner for several years.

Have there been other owners of the diner?

Ethel and John Aarants didn't manage the Diner for long. In fact, the Jewel Diner underwent numerous owners: among them Kellers, Jack Howell, and Kim and Betty Slim. It was 1969 when Red and Glena Neumeyer became operators. Carlton Red Neumeyer was Perry's brother so the diner was back in the family. Red and Glena lived in a trailer located just west of the diner. They had three children: Dan, Bill, and Tonie. Red ran the Jewel Diner for three years. In 1972 he bought the block building west of the Jewel Diner. It had been the Walter Lange and Sons Carpentry Business. He remodeled it to be a café and lounge. The Jewel Diner, after being open for 23 years was closed down and Big Reds Bar and Grill opened. It is still open to this day and is still ran by Bill Neumeyer.

What kind of diner was the Jewel Diner?

The Jewel Diner was a very small café that didn't have any tables, just a counter with bar stools. The outside was white with a black border and Jewel Diner painted at the top. The Jewel Diner was a Valentine Diner. The Valentine Diners Company made diners in the 1950's and is still in business today in Wichita Kansas. Valentine Diners have many distinguishing characteristics to identify them. They are unique in that the owner can give their business any name. They don't have to use Valentine Diners as their name. They are best described as small boxes. The diners are made to be easily moved on flatbed trucks. The older model had no booths so the Jewel Diner must have been an earlier model. The Jewel Diner also had a small wall safe, another distinguishing trait of a Valentine Diner.

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Credits
Hooker County Historical Society. "Hooker County, Nebraska, The First 100 Years, 1889 - 1989."
Dallas, Texas: Curtis Media Corporation, 1989.