Sunset Restaurant Closing

 I have written a number of times about restaurants in the area, how it is rare for one to last more than two years, and some of the problems they face.  The Sunset restaurant in Glen Burnie is closing after 60 years.  It is not in our local area but I thought the reasons given for it's closing were interesting.  The article in The Capital Gazette  newspaper is located here     https://www.capitalgazette.com/business/ac-cn-sunset-closes-20200830-kjfolyyozrhx3ah77ymi5qiehq-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1IsGfF3ZiZaYZb9FsMkfKEME2T7w87LQCS0BlYR_ywAY38eBFt-fQNf70

Lee Samuel Baker

 

Lee Samuel Baker (1894-1962) Photo from the Salisbury Times 1959 at time of his retirement

Lee Baker was born in Snow Hill, Maryland to Seth and Angie Baker in 1894.  In 1915 he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in Delmar.  He was a Fireman for the Delaware division and ran between Wilmington and Delmar.  In 1917 he married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Hester Phillips (1895-1971).  She was the daughter of Emory and Leah Katherine Ellis Phillips.  Shortly after marriage he went off to serve his country in World War One.  In December 1917 he sailed for France on board the "President Grant" with the 21st Engineer .  He left his wife pregnant.  Lizzie would give birth to Lee Phillips baker in june of 1918.  Private Lee Baker would see action in France and after the armistice he was assigned to help operate a railroad that ran from Le Harve to Metz Germany.  When he came back to the USA he got his old job back with the railroad in Delmar.  In 1942 he became a Traveling engineer.  He retired in 1959 with 44 years of service.  The Bakers lived at 800 State street.  His son Lee P Baker would die of a heartattack in January of 1962, two months later Lee S Baker would die.  His wife, Lizzie, would die in 1971.

1953 Culvers Men Shop

 

1953

17 June 1953

1950s Ad Whayland Drug Co and the Five Tube Superheterodyne Radio

 

Whaylands sold a lot of things other than drugs. The ten dollar AM radio was a classic of the 1950s.  Almost all homes had at least one of these radios and probably several. The Five tube Superhetrodyne radio was a shinning example of American Manufacturing.  Mass produced and using a circuit design that only used five tubes it was cheap and it worked. 

Sometimes call the "all american 5" (AA5) it was manufactured from the 1930s on into the 1960s when the transistor replaced tube radios.  The circuit design was such that if one tube burn out all the other tubes would fail to work.  At the time in many drug stores was a tube tester and you would remove the five tubes from your radio and test all five to find the bad one then buy a new tube (usually a dollar or less per tube) and reinstall the tubes in the radio and it would work. 

Another unique item about this type of radio was you could get an electrical shock from them easily.  In this time period electrical wiring was not grounded nor were there GFIs, most old farm houses in this area had maybe two electrical outlets per room and if it was a kitchen or bathroom there was a good chance the outlet was next to the sink and the radio was plugged into that outlet.  Simply trying to tune the radio to a station with one hand and turning the water on in the sink with the other would produced what today is called a life lesson  and back in the 1950s was called "I am never doing that again."

1917 Western Union

 

2008 Finalists Delmar Geography Bee

 

Jan 10 2008 the Laurel Star Newspaper 

Melody's Family Restaurant 1986

 

Melody's Family Restaurant in Willards lasted a couple of years.  Run by Wallace and Melody West Cooper.  It was not open on Sunday. Later run by Rich and Norma Tonelli,  Prior to Melody's I think it was Jr's Family Restaurant.  

It is a building that usually has a restaurant or Pizza place in it, just the name changes.

It would later become Compton's Family Restaurant