THE WAUPACA COUNTY POST

August 29, 1991

 

WHEN THEN WAS NOW

By Wayne A. Guyant

 

            Let’s start back in Merrie Old England on February 6, 1817, the day that Joseph Bucknall was married to Miss Mary Wilson, at Withern, North Alford, Lincolnshire, England.

            Here they became the parents of four children:  Hannah, John Wilson, Sarah and another daughter, who stayed in England.

            John W. Bucknall married Jane Housam; Hannah married George Harness, and Sarah married Nathan Hebblewhite.  They were all married in England, in the mid-1850s, and came to America right after their marriages.  Nothing is really known about the other sister who stayed in England.

            There are many living descendents of the Bucknell and Hebblewhite pioneers in the Waupaca area.  The Harness descendents are mostly in the Neenah area.

            The name of Bucknall in England was changed to Bucknell in America.  John W. Bucknell was this columnist’s great-grandfather.

            This story is going to branch out to the Hebblewhite family. John Hebblewhite was the eldest son of Nathan and Sarah Bucknell Hebblewhite, who was active in business circles in Waupaca for several years.

            Warranty Deed, volume 9, page 314, dated September 20, 1899, shows that Frank and Carrie Stout sold to John Hebblewhite 19 ½ feet in width off the north side of Lot 4, Block K, as shown in the original plat of the Village (now the City) of Waupaca.  The Waupaca County National Bank was the owner of the south 39 ½ feet of Lot 4, Block K.

            On May 25, 1901, there was an agreement drawn up between the Waupaca County National Bank and John Hebblewhite for $475, whereby Hebblewhite could utilize the north wall of the bank building that had previously been built on the lot line between the two lots.  It also was understood and agreed that the $475 only gave John Hebblewhite the use of the wall to a height of 32 feet, and if at any time he decided to go higher, he could do so by paying, at the same rate.

            In the Waupaca Post, July 17, 1901, a notice states that the Hebblewhite building next to the bank building was torn down and work on a new structure will commence in a few days.

            John Hebblewhite willed this property to his son, Earl T. Hebblewhite, who in turn willed it to his niece an nephews; Clement, Walter and Jeanette Hebblewhite, all of Oshkosh.  A warranty deed recorded January 18, 1974, shows that C. Kenneth Petersen purchased the property from the Hebblewhites. This completes the owners up to the present, but between 1901 and the present, there were several different establishments renting this building.

            The Waupaca Record for July 4, 1912:  “Two more saloons here.  Waupaca now has 12 saloons, which is the limit for a town of this size.  The two new licenses were issued to Whittington and Thurston, who will start a saloon in the Lord building formerly occupied by Hub Bessinger’s pool room, and to Guy Lyons, who will occupy the place that was vacated by Jake Hofberger.”  This is the building owned by John Hebblewhite at 118 S. Main Street.

            Two years later on July 1, 1914, at the stroke of the clock at midnight all saloons closed, as the city went dry.  A reporter from the Waupaca Record Leader interviewed all of the proprietors of each saloon asking them what their future plans were. It seems as if he received many different answers.  Frank Guyant was evidently backing Guy Lyons, because he reported that his plans were to dispose of the fixtures of his place as soon as he could and retire, that he came into it by accident and was anxious to get out.

            On Sunday, October 17, 1915, Mr. A. C. White and Mr. A. E. Sherr held a formal opening of their New England Restaurant in the Hebblewhite building that was formerly a saloon.

            Their opening advertisement read:  “Every energy had been put forth to make the restaurant a beautiful, as well as a home-like place to eat.”  Besides they had a soda fountain, fresh candies, cigars, as well as other delicacies.

            The Sunday evening dinner was served from 6 to 8 p.m., with music.  The menu consisted of celery, olives and ill pickles; choice of prime roast beef, spring chicken, baked lake trout with tomato sauce, roast pork with applesauce, escalloped oysters, Hungarian goulash, fresh vegetables; brown pudding with brandy sauce, tea, coffee, milk, brick ice cream, cake, fruit and nuts.  There was no price on the ad, but the New England Restaurant ad for Sunday, October 28, 1915’s list for the Sunday dinner menu was cream of tomato soup, celery, olives and sweet pickles, roast veal with dressing, chicken pie, scalloped corn, roast beef with brown gravy, combination salad, orange pudding, pie and ice cream, tea, coffee and milk.  Price 50¢.

            An ad dated November 18, 1915, boasted 15¢ lunches.  The ad stated that it was not necessary to spend 35¢ for a meal when you can get meat, potatoes, bread and coffee for 15¢.

            The main floor of the building was the main dining room, with the second floor a banquet hall fitted up in a modern way with a wash room, toilet room and a writing room for the ladies and children.  The kitchen was in the basement. We remember this basement as always being a barber shop.

            I found a poem written by A. W. Ross about the New England Restaurant that I am going to share with you.

 

Sherr and White, so they say,

Have opened up this very day

A brand new restaurant, spick and span

That will please the heart of any man.

Then Sherr and White, we will say

Are up to date in every way;

Their table service is the best,

That you will hear from every quest.

And in their larder you will find

The very tings you had in mind,

And so it will be easy for the rest

To get the things you like the best.

Then all their waiters are right in line

To serve refreshments at any time,

But when the public have once been served,

They will shout without reserve

To all their friends to get in line,

For Sherr and White is the place to dine.

And when they have dined one and all

They will adjourn to the K of P Hall

There they will trip the fantastic toe

Till the wee small hours and it’s time to go

But at midnight then is the time

When Sherr and White will get in line

To serve refreshments spick and span

Which will certainly please the inner man.

Then they will go and shake their toes

For another hour and it’s time to close.

Then they will adjourn for home and bed,

Thinking for once they are well fed,

But in the morn, if they are still in need,

They will sart for White’s to get more feed,

And you will hear them shouting along the way

That Sherr and White is the place to stay.

And they will keep this up from morn till night,

And all you’ll hear will be good things for White and Sherr.

 

            Sometime around 1919, Arthur White and Henry Buedding joined in as partners starting the Buedding and White Biliard Hall in the building vacated by the New England Restaurant.

            In June of 1942 the Buedding and White pool hall had a face lifting, as a result of an accident when a flare fell from the top of the wall above, and set fire to the awning and cracked tow large plate glass windows at the time that Waupaca held its rally to promote the sale of war bonds.  Sherm Neuman repaired the damage in a fitting manner, so as to keep company with the Schultz Bros. store front.

            Arthur White passed away in 1937, but Henry Buedding continued to operate the pool hall for some time.

            While talking to Ted Girard over a cup of coffee at Katie’s one day, the subject of Buedding and White came up about the pool room.

            Mr. Girard mentioned a couple of incidents that happened in Buedding and White’s pool room.  Art Hewitt, who was at one time the city motorcycle cop and was a dare-devil on the motorcycle, having been seen at various times standing upright on his motorcycle coming down one of Waupaca’s streets, came into the pool room and pulled out his revolver and shot two shots straight into the floor.

            I believe it was about the time that Mr. Buedding wanted to sell out and that Art Hewitt considered buying him out.

            Hewitt ran the pool hall for about three days, and the kids gave him so much grief he gave up the idea of buying.

            I remember Buedding an White’s mostly for the large, thick chocolate malts.

            There was no beer sold while Buedding and White ran the pool hall.  The high school boys played pool there, but at a certain time they were ordered to rack them up to they would have plenty of time to get back to the schoolhouse.

            Since Buedding and White, there were other operators of the pool hall such as Pedersen, Cliff Potts and Carroll Johnson.

            The building is now occupied by the Grey dove Antiques and Resale, and in the basement where the barber shops of James Paris, Plutz and Plowman and lastly Jim Vander Bloomen were, is now the Book Cellar and Sound Investments.