‘I Eat a Sugared Donut with Dad’

By Mary Ellen Pollock-Raneri for Hometown magazine

Strolling through downtown Punxsutawney was such a delight when I was a kid. It was the best entertainment around. Plus, it was free and it was almost the only entertainment for me!

I remember a couple five-and-ten-cent stores, drug stores, Paul Beatty Jewelers, Montgomery Wards, J.C. Penney, the Smart Shop, and Hungers. Cars cruised up and down the main drag and horns blew – especially on a Friday night. At Christmastime, the colorful lights hung zigzagged across that street, and we crunched through the snow as we finished our shopping. On a warm summer night, kids lingered on the corner by Murphy’s, and you could hear some of the Top 40 tunes drift out of open car windows. Yes!

and Harry’s for the best pastries around?

How could we ever forget those brownies, donuts, or the fish special?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I remember occasionally having a burger there after school with my mom. Sometimes, we got a tuna salad sandwich. My girlfriend and I used to stop in for a pop and some conversation about school – just a little break after strolling about the stores and buying nothing. Our family used to go on Fridays for the fish special. You know – that thick and flaky, delicious piece of fried fish with fries. I always got applesauce instead of coleslaw. But, for some reason, my memory always drifts to the visits that Dad and I made to McKenzie’s when I was a little girl. I can still see the counter with the stools, and the waitresses, and Ruth and Harry. And their sugared donuts. So, years later, after his death, I eat a sugared donut with dad – a memory I captured in the following prose poem:

My hands are so small

As I hold his big hand, and we meander down Main Street

And stroll past the old Five and Ten Cent Store

G.C. Murphy’s

With the big picture windows and the glass bins of candy.

I can see lots of people inside

And outside too

That street was the hub of so much activity. Best of all, I loved Ruth and Harry’s restaurant: Mackenzie’s. We all went there – to their first location near the end of the block, and later to the second place, just down the street, a wee bit closer to the epicenter of town. It was simply the place where (like on Cheers) everybody knew your name. What would a night downtown be like without a stop and a snack at Ruth

The hustle and bustle with everyone shopping and saying “Hello.” And I think of my father.

Yes, the thoughts of my dad whiz past in my memory one after another like the young people who cruise in their cars on the only street that runs through our town.

- Continued on page 8

Crispy

Breaded shrimp deep fried to a golden crisp and served with ranch dressing.

$6.45

Paesano Loaded Bread Boule

Our freshly baked Paesano Bread filled with your favorite Soup. $7.95

Chicken Noodle, Wedding Soup, Lobster Bisque (+ $1.00)

Seafood Pizza

It’s back by popular demand!!

Made with our lobster infused cream sauce, mozzarella cheese and your choice of Shrimp, Lobster, Chicken. $2.25 per topping

$15.50

Jumbo Beer Battered Fish n’ Chips

Fresh caught and fried to a golden crisp. Served with Fries, side salad and Fresh Bread

$12.95

Hello, Punxsutawney!

814-249-7200