By Julie Ann Madden
It's a place where you can come as you are to share a meal and meet
friends or make new. “It's just a relaxed place,” said Spink Cafe
co-owner Diane Otten of Spink, S.D. “People can come in from the field,
stop here and have supper. They don't have to worry that they have their
farm clothes on.” “Or they can come in all dressed up,” she said. “It's
just a Mom and Pop's' place.” Diane and her husband, John “Junior” Otten
have owned the South Dakota historical landmark since 1997. A Larson
family originally homesteaded the four corners intersecting at South
Dakota Highway 48 and
473rd Avenue. According to Carter Twedt of Carson City, Nev., who is a
descendent of the Larson family, the Larsons split their 160 acres to 40
on each corner. “Spink was going to be a big town,” said Twedt about why
his ancestors split their 160 acres for homesteading at the corner. “The
railroad was to go through Spink but then it went through Elk Point.”
Therefore, the largest population Spink has ever had is between 30 and
40. Now, the population is eight people - four to the west and four to
the east of the cafe. The Larson family opened a general store, which is
now the home of the Spink Cafe. The Larsons operated the general store
for 110 years. Twedt's mother, Myrtle Larson, was born in the house on
the north side of the highway. She lived there
for 96 years and members of the Larson-Twedt family continue to own and
stay in
the home. Twedt was never old enough to work in the store when his
parents, Myrtle
and Lincoln Twedt operated it but his older twin sisters and brother,
who were born
in the late 1920s, worked there. “I just remember getting 5-cent ice
cream scoops,”
said Twedt, who is a retired American Airlines pilot. Spink's business
owners
combined enough money to purchase a 16mm movie projector to have movies
on
Wednesday evenings, said Twedt, adding he and his cousin, Russell Twedt,
used
to set up planks on nail kegs for people to sit on. The movies were
shown on an
exterior wall. Cars were parked at least one-quarter mile each direction
from the highway intersection. “Imagine that,” said Twedt, “We had a
parking problem in Spink.”
However, the movie nights were short lived. The business owner who was
treasurer of the movie fund, spent the money used to get the movies
which came by mail each week. “It was really a general store with all
kinds of stuff,” said Twedt, explaining it had
an area for overalls, nails and bolts as well as people could bring in
chickens,
eggs and butter to sell. His older siblings candled the eggs to make
sure the
eggs had no chickens. They used a cardboard box with a hole in it and a
light.
Often, people who brought butter to sell placed a small stone in the
blocks
of butter, said Twedt, explaining butter was sold by weight. “No one had
freezers at the
time,” said Twedt. Therefore, a locker plant was set up in the basement.
Each
family had a drawer, about the size of a file cabinet drawer, to store
meat products.
Each family had their own key but if they forgot it, they could use the
master
key. One woman always forgot her key, he said. Invariably after she'd
used the master
key, other families reported choice meat products missing from their
drawers.
“A lot of interesting things happened in Spink,” said Twedt. His parents
sold the store
to Adolph and Leonard Larson. Adolph lived in the apartment above the
store.
Then it was sold to Ron and Dora Kjose, who operated it as a general
store with a
lunch counter. Dorothy Newman who
operated a restaurant in the little brick building across the street to
the west purchased the Spink Cafe building from the Kjoses to expand her
restaurant. Diane Otten cooked for Newman for about six years.
A few years later when Newman 's husband
died, she sold it to Mary and Gary Klinetobe who only operated it for a
couple of years, then closed the restaurant.
The building set vacant for a couple of
years. The Ottens purchased the 72-
year-old facility in 1996. Neighbors,
family, friends and restaurant patrons helped the Ottens renovate the
facility, which included hosting a painting party with a barbecue
supper and live band. The Ottens opened
Spink Cafe for business on Oct. 3, 1997.
Now, the roof is leaking and in dire need of
repair. A group of caring customers has
decided to help the Ottens replace the roof
and repair the water damage, which will cost about $12,000. On Oct. 21,
the Ottens will host a Chicken & Fish Feed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5
p.m. to 10 p.m. They will also be raffling off a 27-inch
flat screen TV, a Miller Lite NASCAR mirror and several gift baskets
including a Lowe's $100
gift card, two $50 savings bonds, and a box
of 16 pork chops and many other items. All proceeds will go toward
repairs. “The Spink Cafe is really a community
center that's privately owned,” said Marcene
Heeren of rural Akron, S.D. “This place is an institution. There aren't
many of these (hometown cafes) left.” Don Abraham is chairing the
fund-raising group. Carol Welch is the treasurer, Lisa Welch is the
graphics designer and Marcene Heeren is in
charge of public relations. “The Ottens keep Spink Cafe open for us,”
said Heeren. “It's such a gathering place.”
One of its special features is the
“Community Table,” which is at least two tables put together in the
center of the establishment. People come in and just sit down there.
Chairs are just added as needed. No one has
to ask to sit there; they just join whoever is there, said Carol Welch.
“We come to see our friends,” said Heeren. One of the support pillars is
covered with photographs -- from the Ottens children and grandchildren
to patrons' family photos. The walls are decorated with photographs of
Elvis Presley and a clock plays Elvis tunes on the hour. “Elvis was our
favorite growing
up,” said Diane Otten. There's a jukebox to
play and Spink Cafe T-shirts for sale.
Around the cafe are parts of the building's
history: a ruler from the Spink Cafe, a thermometer from the locker
plant, a couple of ash trays from the Spink Coop and the
cafe's original guest check spindle. The
grill and the steam table are ones used in Newman's cafe across the
street. “They still work good,” said Diane Otten. Many who enjoy the
Spink Cafe can list three or four family generations who've enjoyed the
general store and cafe. Lisa Welch was told her great-grandmother
shopped there. The
Ottens' children often came with their
grandmother to get groceries. “We've had karaoke here and live bands,”
said Lisa Welch, adding that Craig Winquist is returning
home to play with his former band this New
Year's Eve. “We've had many neat community parties,” said Carol Welch,
explaining Spink Cafe is often the site of baby and bridal showers,
wedding rehearsals, receptions and dances, birthday and anniversary
parties, to name just a few. “About the only things that haven't been
held here are a wedding and a funeral,” said Heeren. Diane Otten's
favorite gatherings
the past few years have been the sending-off
and welcoming-home parties for area military personnel. The Friday night
Fish Fries during Lent and Sunday dinners
tend to draw the largest crowds. Recently,
they served 70 people Sunday dinner and last spring they served 150
during a Fish Fry, said Diane Otten. Sometimes there's
only three customers in a day. It just
depends on which fields the farmers are in and who else is in the area.
“The Spinkburger is the best in town,” she said. “It's two hamburger
patties, mayo, mustard, lettuce pickle, onion and tomato.” They serve
breakfast, dinner and supper. On Fridays, it's barbecue ribs except
during Lent, and Saturday night their specialty is prime rib. Breakfast
is available any time they are open. They sell beer as well as the
coffee pot's always on. Spink Cafe is open Wednesday through Sunday.
Wednesdays are until 8 p.m. or “until the last customer
leaves.” Fridays and Saturdays, they open
until 10 p.m. or so. Sundays is 8
a.m. to 2 p.m. The Ottens' son, Sam and his
wife Rhonda of Lake Park, Iowa,
come down every other weekend to help cook
and wait tables. Their daughter, Wanda and her husband, Rick Yager of
Madison, S.D., come down to help with large parties.
Their son, Will of Knoxville, Tenn., also
helps when he's home. “It's really a family-run business,” said Diane
Otten, adding that her brother's family Jim and Julia Hughes of
Alcester, S.D. often help them, too. “I think this is an important part
of history,” said Otten, who admits they don't make a lot of money
operating the cafe. “There's is always something to repair. It takes a
lot of work but we have a lot of fun here.”
 |
Akron Quasquicentennial
August 9-12, 2007
|
