Received a note and this photo from Joseph Skribner, whose father, Joe, owned Bodholt's Diner and is pictured on the "front porch" in May 1964. Joe's commentary:

"My dad Joseph Skribner bought the diner in the '40s. We all worked there of course: my mom (Helen), my brothers (Eddie, Richie) and my two sisters (Viola, Anita). I have many good memories about the place and the people. Scotty and Bob Thomson , the short order cooks; Chico, the dishwasher and George, the chef. I used to love the ice cream we got from the Country Club Ice Cream company, (especially the peach ice cream), the pies from the Tasty Pie company, the Jewish rye bread from Pickter's and the Italian bread from the Paramount bakeries! I have a number of pictures of the old diners and articles about the fire that destroyed the row of stores next to the diner- which by the way my father had discovered and called the fire department company. Also the trade journal article about the new diner and how they had to close off Orange Street and take down all the parking meters on both side of the street in order to get the diner into the limited space between the bank on one side and the row of stores on the other side!"

Thanks, Mr. Skribner. We look forward to seeing more photos of our favorite Roseville eatery!




Strong before our birth are the Sons of the Garden State.

After sending me the photo, Mr. Skribner added more information:

I forgot to include some of my other relatives that worked in the diner. My cousin (we called him Uncle Steve) Stephan Blasko, he was a member of the Slovak Parliment after the second world war. He had to run for this life after speaking out against the communistic goverment there and came to the USA. He worked the night shift for many years, both in the old diner and the new one. There were numerous newspaper articles about him, his adventures and accomplishments. My Uncle George Plosa worked mainly in the old diner for a number of years, before my Dad set him up in the diner business. He had a diner in Lodi across from the Curtis Wright plant for many years.

One quick story: In the old diner we didn't have air conditioning, the only thing was a large built-in fan located at the back of the diner near the ceiling. Well one day its poor old motor gave out. Bobby Thomson (the short-order cook) and I took the thing apart. There was an address on it so we figured we could go there an get a replacement. So, with greasey hands, Bob and I jump into our car and drove to the address which was in New York City. When we got there to our surprise it was the Empire State Building and the corporate headquarters of the company. No spare part there, so needless to say, we never got the thing to work again! I don't know if you knew that we fed lunch to the "late night guests" in the Second Precinct down the street; a number of them were sometimes combatants from the previous night's altercations at good old Bodholt's Diner. Yes, those were the good old days!

Strong before our birth are the Sons of the Garden State.

I never Joe's last name. I knoew his sons, Eddie and Richie. I recall Richie was also a student who worked part-time at Bod's. Years later, Richie opened a video rental store across from Passaic Valley H.S. in Little Falls. Alas, Blockbusters put the small video rentals places out of business. They are a most likeable family.
When mention is made of Bobby Thompsom, Vinnie, Scotty and George, it broought back fond memories. There was also a counterman named Steve who was from Czechoslovakia,who had been a teacher over there. Steve would take pains to remind us that he was not a Czech, but a Slovakian.
Diners were great to be in both as diners, but also as spectators. Watching them at busy times taking orders and the short-order cooks making burgers, frying potatoes, scrambling eggs at top speed with no waste motion, has fast foood beat as far as I'm concerned.

That was such a great diner. I remember that big round booth by the front window where we all used to crowd in after Lancers or something. The waitresses were always nice to us, even though I'm sure the tips could have been better.