The News-Messenger from Fremont, Ohio • 5

FOCUS: FREMONT SESQUICENTENNIAL as i The News-Messenger, Fremont, Ohio, Wednesday, January 20, 1999 Longtime Fremonters have fond memories of their hometown i ira ft t-P 1 Continued From A1 Fern Wahl, 98, moved to Fremont from Monroeville in 1926, when she was 26 years old. She fondly rememtxsrs the Hotel Fremont. "That was so popular," Wahl said. "We ate and drank there. Their food was outstanding.

That was a loss when that burned down." The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1981. She and husband Harold also liked to dine at Gavitt's Old Elm Tea Room on U.S. 6, which later housed Wagner's Country Inn. "It was a real nice little tea room and they had real good food," Wahl said. "We used to go out there to eat." Dining at those two restaurants was always special.

"That was a real treat," she said. "We thought we were really stepping out." Downtown Fremont was more than just Saturday nights to Fli-hall. "Isaly's," she said, recalling other places. "They had phosphates (carbonated drinks) and milkshakes and they made a grilled cheese sandwich that I thought was out of this world. "And Woolworth's and Kres-ge's, you could get anytliing and A CELEBRATION OF FREMONT 18 4 9 1999 nr upU ahA, Qr History everything you wanted." Then there were the specialty shops, like Peck's Drug Store, Lytle's and Pfisterer's, Grund Drug Store and hat shops.

"I think the thing that bothers me the most is the demise of the ladies' apparel shops Bintz, the Fashion Shoppe, Richard's," Plihall said. She remembers going with her mother to the First National Bank at Front and Croghan streets. "It was such a formal, such a dignified building, with the golden bars in front of the windows where the tellers worked," Plihall said. "And they were all men. I was terrified of them.

Today, we have women (tellers). It's wonderful." Unfortunately, buildings like the Opera House, the Masonic Temple, the Hotel Fremont and even the old City Hall are gone. Plihall said she regrets the loss "Ha Newe-MetaengerAndrew Morrison FERN WAHL, 98, has lived in Fremont 72 years and remembers when she and her husband Harold used to dine out at the Hotel Fremont and Gavitt's Old Elm Tea Room. "That was a real treat," she said. "We thought we were really stepping out." situation.

"My boyfriend at that time had a little Saxon Pup, a little one-seater," Fought said. "He taught me how to drive." While the women all cherish the memories, they also appreciate the modern conveniences of today and aren't ready to go backward. "Even though we may appreciate the past, I'm never to the point where I wish things were as they were," Plihall said. "I'm always looking forward to my life now." leisure, but the radio was always something they could fit in. "On Saturday afternoons, there was sort of a mystery for kids called 'Secretary Plihall said.

"And I used to listen to Rudy Vallee. My brothers thought I was silly." And automobiles drew the fascination of Fremont residents as they did for people across the nation. "The first car my folks had was a seven-passenger Rio," Fought said. "I was just a girl." Later, she recalls a different of the unique architecture of the Masonic, but even though she worked in the City Hall for eight years, she understood there was no money to save it. "When they were tearing it down, I went there and put a little bouquet on the sidewalk," she said.

"But what they have done with that corner, the library standing in the middle like a jewel, I'm glad they did it," Plihall said. The Lake Shore Electric, a train which ran through Fremont on its way from Lima to Cleve land, also was popular, Wahl used the "Interurban," as it was called, to get back to her native Monroeville on weekends. Alice Bonnett, 100, of Fremont grew up in Ballville Township. She rode the train locally when she was young. "For five cents, you could ride," Bonnett said.

"If we didn't have five cents we could still ride. It was just easier than chasing us off." Fremonters were like most Americans in the 1930s and 1940s. Most people had little time for .1 v. -J: "A'v 4 LAtf TT-f-rfA Photo courtesy of the Hayei Presidential Center GAVITT'S OLD ELM TEA ROOM was a popular place to eat. The restaurant was located on U.S.

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