Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Longtime coffee tradition continues
From left to right, George Arland, Brian Curtis and Stan Reider and Gene Johnson talk about current events and swap humorous stories at a biweekly coffee meeting Friday, Dec. 2.
DAVENPORT-What started as local businesspeople taking their daily work breaks to enjoy a cup of coffee together decades and decades ago has evolved into a group of friends shooting the breeze rain, snow or shine at two local homes, but the goal remains the same: connections, friendship and a few jokes here and there.
A group mostly consisting of retired men meets two days a week, spending usually about an hour sharing conversation over hot coffee. Tuesdays are at Bob Martin's house, while Fridays are in Brian Curtis's garage.
The conversation one chilly Friday morning Dec. 4 began with Stan Reider and Gene Johnson admiring Curtis's car collection in said garage before quickly turning to the frigid temperatures.
"It's just damn cold," Curtis said.
He then turns the attention back to his love of rigs: he sold two Studebakers to a buyer in London a decade ago. They're now paying his way to fly across the pond and come fix the vehicles in January.
"We may never see you again," Johnson quipped.
As Mike Wade, George Arland and Mike Janke arrived, Johnson noted Roger Lyle, founder of local CPA firm Lyle, Leffel, Otis & Warwick, used to call the coffee group the "downtown mafia."
The group has met in many locations throughout the years, including Roy's Tavern, Old Mitten and the Hangar.
"I came in 1971 and people had already been going for 30 to 40 years," Reider said. "It's kind of something that's been happening all our lives."
As the group of six settled into their cold bench seats, conversation turned to Wade sharing the humorous story of his move from Alaska to Davenport, with some goading to do so from Johnson.
"I was sick of the snow, so I decided to strap a snow shovel on my pickup and drive south until someone said, 'what do you need that for,'" Wade told his pals. "Like a dumbass, I stopped in Davenport in the summer. That winter we got 50 inches of snow."
Arland then shared that in warmer weather, the group often invites 99-year-old longtime resident Joe Lilje to join the gang.
"He brings in two words of the day, one easy, and one hard," Arland said.
"Very rarely do we get either of them," Johnson said.
Johnson then shared the story of his introduction to Glen Strate at a local cocktail lounge in 1974. Strate was the founder Strate Funeral Home.
"He pulled off his belt, turned it around and held it up to my body...on the back was the markings of a tape measure," Johnson said. He said, 'I was just seeing what size I'd need for ya.'"
The group usually has 6-12 regular attendees depending on the travel of some snowbirds but encouraged anyone from the community to join the fun.
"As you can see, we talk about a lot of different stuff, but we aren't experts on anything," Reider joked.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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