The Jewel Diner

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Stories from Bill Neumeyer and Lloyd Ginkens

Bill Neumeyer

How old were you when the the Jewel Diner opened?
In 1969 when my parents bought the Jewel Diner I was 17.

Did the diner get a lot of business?
It was hard to tell by today's standard whether the Jewel Diner got a lot of business. Back then, Saturday was the day to come to town and do errands. The Jewel diner would get a lot of business on Saturdays and so would the bank and other downtown businesses. Most of the customers were the ranchers and ranch hands. Of course, they had to stop at the Jewel Diner and have a cup of coffee and catch up on the town's news. Back then, it took people to get to Mullen around the same time it would take us nowadays to get to Lincoln; and they didn't live that far away.

The Jewel Diner was a popular place to transact business. For example, cattle deals and the sales of ranches would take place over a verbal agreement and a good handshake. Cattle and horses would be sold right over the table and a lot of money changed hands.

What was your favorite thing about the Jewel Diner?
Nothing real in particular. The diner was a place for the adults to have a cup of coffee and to have a good conversation. Many of the kids would hang out at Paul's and other stores. So I didn't have a favorite thing about the diner.

What was one thing that you will always remember about the Diner?
Well, I really don't have one memory that stands out but there are plenty of stories that happened at the diner. A little bit of everything happened in there that most don't need to know about. There's just some stuff you don't need to repeat.

Any good stories that can be told about the Jewel Diner?
I remember Grandpa Red would play a joke on anyone new. He would tell them that the pipes on the bar stools had heat coming out of them to heat the diner. Well the trick was they would put grease around the edge the pipes so the stools wouldn't squeak. So to make them believe him that heat was coming out of the stools he would take the top part off and tell them to put their hand over the pipe and feel the heat coming up. When they did that he would hit the top of their hand so they would get grease in a perfect circle on their hand.

Do you remember any prices the Jewel Diner charged?
No. That was too long ago and I have changed the menu to the cafes too many times.

Do you know where Uncle Perry bought the diner?
No. I can't say I would know that.

Lloyd Ginkens (a.k.a. Ginks)

How old were you when the Jewel Diner opened?
I was 23 years old. It was in 1949 when the diner opened and it was the same year I got married.

What was your favorite thing about the Diner?
Well, it was always fun to go in there and have a good time. It was a good place and had good people owning it. I would always have breakfast in the morning before I would go to work and so would a lot of other people. It was a good way to start the day. The diner was very small when Perry first moved it in to town. The bathrooms were so small that you had to go side ways to get in. There was even times when the diner would be so busy you had to eat standing up and wait for a spot up at the counter. It was a lot better when Perry put the old school house in.

Any thing else you remember about the diner?
I remember when Slim Hall owned the Jewel Diner. Harold Club Wright, known to most of his friends and family as Club, would just fall asleep in the Jewel diner after a long day of work and stay in the diner all night. So Slim would just close up, lock the doors and leave Club in there. Well in the morning, Club would wake up and just go out the back door and get ready for work. Everyone had a good time when going to the Jewel Diner.

Did the Jewel Diner have the wall safe that was a feature of the Valentine Diner Co.?
Yes it did. The safe sat right by the door. It looked just like a post office box but I don't think they ever used it. The diner also had little jukeboxes that sat on the counter right by the door. They were the small ones that you see in the movies.

Do you remember any prices back then?
No. It was too long ago for me to remember that. But they were probably really cheap compared to them now.

Do you know where Perry bought the diner?
No. I can't say I know where he bought the diner.

I know grandpa Red was a good character that liked to play jokes on people. Was Uncle Perry the same way?
No. Perry was a lot calmer but you didn't want to get on his bad side. They both had a good heart and knew what to say and when to say it when a bad or rude customer would come in. I remember here in the Café, Red once told two hippies to get a haircut. And there are plenty of other stories that everyone knows about Red. He was usually joking around but you never wanted to get him in a bad mood. Both P.O. and Red had a good heart and they were both good people.

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