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June 21, 2007
Happy trails
One of the things that annoyed me about living in Ohio was that almost every restaurant there was of the chain variety. Yes, there are a few independents, but not many. Of course, some of these chain restaurants sprouted up right in Ohio. The two biggest of these have to be Wendy's and Bob Evans. The original Wendy's closed a few months ago, and now poor Bob Evans himself has passed on:
Bob Evans, who founded a retail sausage and family restaurant business and became one of the best-known Ohioans of the 20th century, died today.
He was 89.
Evans had suffered a stroke and was recovering when he contracted an infection and then suffered a collapsed lung.
He died at about 12:30 p.m. at the Cleveland Clinic.
Evans' name and famous white Stetson hats are irrevocably linked with the food business he founded. But the long list of conservation and agriculture awards he hauled home to Gallia County showed that his bedrock interest was not in the kitchen but in the land.
“When I leave this world, I want to leave it better than when I was here,” Evans said in an interview several years ago.
Strangely, I used to hate going to Bob Evans. I don't know if it was the hour waits for a table, the checkerboard pattern tablecloths, or the unattainable 17-year-old waitresses (this is when you're 15, mind you), but I couldn't stand going there. Now, I have a newfound appreciation. Their sandwiches are delicious, and the chicken and noodles is to die for. In fact, now I am thinking I will have to go to Bob Evans the next time I find myself in Ohio.
entry no. 887
Posted by oz115 at June 21, 2007 01:22 PM
Comments
My wife and I heard the news last night on the radio.
Wife: "I guess now he's down on the farm."
Me: "Yeah, six feet down."
Posted by: Pete at June 22, 2007 07:30 AM