Pocono Road Trip, first time back since 1991…

Denise and I were married on October 12, 1991 and honeymooned at The Caesar’s Pocono Palace (now Cove Pocono Palace) in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania. Back thru the 1980s I used to pass this resort heading south on Route 209 on my way to visit friends in Harrisburg, PA, . So when Denise and I were planning the honeymoon, I suggested this as a destination. Ideally, I would have loved to make a return trip to the resort in 2021 for our 30th anniversary but the Pandemic interfered and we put it off.

Fast forward to 2023 and I brought up the subject again in early June, right after Memorial Day and we ultimately made reservations for the middle of July and then fate stepped in at the end of June to put a wrench into those plans. We were driving back on a Saturday morning on U.S. Route 1 south in Danvers, Massachusetts from an early breakfast at the Agawam Diner in Rowley when a Deer ran into my 2022 Mazda CX-5. The front corner on the driver’s side of the car was damaged badly and subsequently deemed totaled by the insurance company. This screwed things up for the proposed trip to the Poconos so we cancelled the reservation. By the middle of July we had purchased a 2023 CX-5 and were back in business. So when the dust had settled by the time mid- August rolled around, I proposed to make reservations again for the Pocono trip and it was decided to happen in early September.

So, on September 10th, we set out on our little excursion taking Interstate 84 from Massachusetts thru Connecticut making a breakfast stop at the Vernon Diner in Vernon, CT, a totally convenient and easy off/on from the highway. This diner does a tremendous business, housed in a former Howard Johnson’s Reataurant.

Vernon Diner, Vernon, Connecticut.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We continued on I-84 as far as the western part of Danbury, where we got off the interstate and continued on U.S. Route 6 west crossing the state line at Brewster, NY and took it thru to Port Jervis, NY. I had traveled on parts of this road in New York State but never the whole length (approx. 77 miles). On the way across New York State on Route 6, I stopped to photograph the Olympic Diner in Mahopac, New York.

Olympic Diner, Mahopac, New York.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We arrived in Port Jervis close to 1:00pm and I contacted my friend Maria Pagelos Wall to let her know I was a few minutes away from her diner – the Village Diner of Milford, PA. I first photographed the Village Diner on November 27, 1981. It is a wonderfully preserved late model Mountain View Diner.

Village Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
November 27, 1981 photo by Larry Cultrera

Village Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

I have been “Facebook friends” with Maria for a good ten years or so but we have never met face-to-face. Her family bought the Village Diner in the early 1990s and Maria is currently operating the diner with her brother and a very able staff. We have spoken on the phone a couple of times over the years and the vibes I got from Maria was that she was a very warm and giving person! Denise and I got to the diner a good 15 minutes before Maria arrived. This gave me enough time to take a bunch of new photos before we went in and ordered lunch. We spent some time talking with Maria and we had a very pleasant visit. It was so very nice to finally connect with her!

Maria Wall with Myself and Denise at the Village Diner.
September 10, 2023 photo.

Interior of the Village Diner.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of the Village Diner.
September 10, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

After lunch at the Village we drove about 30 minutes south on Route 209 to the Pocono Palace and checked in. We basically were in for the rest of the day. The next morning after breakfast at the resort, we ventured out toward Stroudsburg. I went searching for the Arlington Diner and got some photos of it.

Arlington Diner, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
September 11, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

On the way back from Stroudsburg, I decided to stop and take photos of the now closed Four Seasons Diner. This was originally a 1970s vintage Kullman Diner known as the Pocono Queen Diner on Route 209 in Marshalls Creek. I first photographed it on March 20, 1982 and actually ate there in October of 1991 when Denise and I were on our honeymoon.

Pocono Queen Diner, Marshalls Creek. Pennsylvania.
March 20, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

Sometime in the 1990s, the diner was completely remodeled by Kullman and made to look like a modern stainless steel retro diner. Unfortunately, it has had a very spotted history since and been operated under at least two or three different names since, (the last being the Four Seasons Diner) and has currently been closed for quite sometime. It is currently sitting derelict and pieces of stainless steel trim are falling off the building.

Four Seasons Diner, Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania.
September 11, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

That same early afternoon we headed back into East Stroudsburg and had an ice cream at Jimmy’s Ice Cream, instead of having a light lunch. While we were in the area I went and located Besecker’s Diner. I had photographed this place back on April 2, 1983. Back then it was a fairly original, late model Silk City Diner from the early 1950s.

Besecker’s Diner, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
April 2, 1983 photo by Larry Cultrera

When I saw it last in 1991, I was saddened to see that they had added on a brick building to the front of the diner, presumably for increased seating. At that time I chose not to photograph it. I decided this time around to document it with a couple of photos.

Besecker’s Diner, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
September 11, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera.
This angle shows that the original diner is
still intact behind the newer addition.

We then got back to the resort and we took a couple of photos by the entrance sign on the road leading into the place. I took one of Denise by the sign and she took one of me. Another couple were riding bicycles in the area and the nice young man stopped and took a photo of both Denise and myself.

Myself and Denise at the entrance sign to the
Pocono Palace. September 11, 2023 photo.

The next morning (Tuesday the 12th of September) we had made plans to meet up with Michael Gabriele to have lunch at the Blairstown Diner in Blairstown, New Jersey. The border with New Jersey is actually the Delaware River and there are three ways to get from that section of Pennsylvania to New Jersey over the river. Two up near Milford, Route 206 just outside Milford heading south on Route 209 and then further south on 209 at Dingman’s Ferry. The third way to get across is by taking the Columbia – Portland Bridge southeast of Stroudsburg, either taking Interstate 80 or Route 611. We ended up going north to Milford and walking around the little downtown area. I managed to get three new photos of the Milford Diner. I first photographed this on February 26, 1982 and then again sometime in November, 1987 (according to the date stamp on the 35mm slide). This is an early 1970s Manno Diner with a brick and mansard facade. It has stayed remarkably intact and pretty original to the way it was built, with the exception of a section added on to the right hand side of the diner.

Milford Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
November, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

Milford Diner, Milford, Pennsylvania.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We took Route 206 over to New Jersey and made our way south toward Blairstown. I knew we would go by a couple of diners I photographed in the 1980s on the way. The first was the former Five Star Diner in Branchville, New Jersey, now operating as Victoria Diner. The first photo is from October, 1987, where the original monitor roof was visible.

Five Star Diner, Branchville, New Jersey.
October, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

When I photographed it this time it had a new hip-roof added over the original, more than likely to help the old diner from leaking in inclement weather.

Victoria Diner, Branchville, New Jersey.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

The next diner we were going by was Yetter’s Diner in Augusta, New Jersey. When I photographed this diner in the 1980s, it was a fairly small 1950s vintage Kullman Diner.

Yetter’s Diner, Augusta, New Jersey.
March 20, 1982 photo by Larry Cultrera

I knew that in the intervening years, the diner was bought by newer owners and they replaced the old Kullman diner with a newer used Mediterranean style diner with stone and mansard exterior as well as arched windows. So I was happy to document this newer version on this bright sunny day….

Yetter’s Diner, Augusta, New Jersey.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

We made it down to Blairstown earlier than anticipated so I stopped across the street to take a bunch of photos of the Blairstown Diner. The light was great and they came out fantastic. I first came across the Blairstown back in the 1980s. I first photographed it on December 29, 1984 and then again in March of 1990. This was a rare model built by Paramount Diners known as the Roadking. The setup was different from 99% of other diners. The cooking area was actually up against the front windows. When one sat at the counter you were facing the grill area and then the front windows beyond. Interesting historical note on the Blairstown Diner, it became famous for appearing in a scene in the 1980 film Friday the 13th

Blairstown Diner, Blairstown, New Jersey.
March, 1990 photo by Larry Cultrera.
The diner as it was with the original exterior before it
was redone by PMC Diners.

In 2005, the owners of the diner wanted to upgrade the appearance and called in Paramount Modular Concepts (PMC Diners), the successor to Paramount Diners and they reconfigured the exterior and updated the interior as well. The doors on the front were replaced by windows and a new door was added slightly off center. All new stainless steel with red stripes and a new parapet were added to the outside. The inside changes included the section of counter and stools on the right hand side were removed and the cinder block dining room & kitchen addition was redone to make it all look factory-built and match the newer updated interior of the diner section. All cooking was removed to a rear kitchen.

Exterior of Blairstown Diner, Blairstown, New Jersey.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of dining room at Blairstown Diner.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of dining room at Blairstown Diner.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Interior of Blairstown Diner with owner
Gary D. Wishnia and Michael Gabriele.
September 12, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

Denise and I outside the Blairstown Diner.
September 12, 2023 photo by Michael Gabriele.

On Wednesday the 13th of September, we started the journey home retracing the route we took down to the Poconos. We checked out of the resort around 7:00am and drove back to Milford for breakfast at the Milford Diner. Then we got back into New York state on Route 6 and I took a little detour when we got to Middletown. I wanted to revisit the Colonial Diner in that town. I actually had lunch there back on March 21, 1987 and the diner was pretty much in original condition at that time, the way it came from the Manno Diner Company.

Colonial Diner, Middletown, New York.
March 21, 1987 photo by Larry Cultrera

The diner went thru an update since I last saw it. It is the same diner but looks completely different now…

Colonial Diner, Middletown, New York.
September 13, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera

After that we made it back toward Connecticut with one stop in Mohegan Lake, New York to photograph the Mohegan Diner. We passed it on the way to the Poconos but it was raining pretty hard so I was happy to get some decent shots on the way home…

Mohegan Diner, Mohegan Lake, New York. September 13, 2023
photo by Larry Cultrera

We had one pit-stop on the way home thru Connecticut when we got off I-84 in Newtown and had a snack at the Blue Colony Diner. After that, it was a straight shot home, arriving back around early afternoon.

A friend’s recent book launch leads to my first real “Diner” road-trip in many years!

As you may have noticed, this is my first blog post in a while. Again I apologize for the infrequent posts but I have been scanning my collection of 35mm slides and prints, which has consumed a lot of spare time for a few years. The slides are all scanned but the prints take more time. The outcome so far is that the digital archive of Diner photos is growing.

Starting this past June, I have officially “Semi-retired” from my job, working only Tuesday thru Thursday, with 4 day weekends. That being said, an opportunity arose to actually plan a road-trip to New Jersey (which took place at the end of September). Now the last time I was even in the Garden State was just over 21 years ago – in June of 1998 to be exact.

The opportunity that presented itself was the publishing of a new book by my friend Michael Gabriele of Clifton, New Jersey. The book is his 5th book overall published by The History Press and 2nd book about New Jersey Diners. The new book is entitled Stories From New Jersey Diners: Monuments To Community. Gabriele had announced within the last couple of months that he would be having an official book launch at the Nutley (NJ) Museum on the evening of September 27th, a Friday night. This fit in perfectly with my new 4-day weekend schedule. I was actually thinking about keeping it a surprise and just showing up, but immediately nixed that idea, mainly because there were a few people I wanted to see when I got down there. So I let Michael Gabriele in on the possibility of my attending and he was extremely enthusiastic about my proposed plan and encouraged me to make the effort.

At the top of the list of people I wanted to get together with was Donald Kaplan, co-author of the very first book on Diners I ever bought, Diners Of The Northeast! I refer to this book along with Diners by John Baeder and American Diner by Richard J.S. Gutman & Elliott Kaufman as the Holy Trinity of Diner books that came out in the late 1970s and into 1980.

Cover of the original edition of Diners Of The Northeast, by
Donald Kaplan and Alan Bellink, the first “Diner” book that
I purchased circa October, 1980.

The cover sleeve of the original hard cover edition of
American Diner by Richard Gutman & Elliott Kaufman.
The second “Diner” book which I purchased in late 1980.

The cover of the first edition of Diners by John Baeder.
This is the third “Diner” book I purchased, circa January, 1981.

Even though I may have been aware of the books authored by John Baeder (Diners) and Richard Gutman (American Diner) had been published in 1978 and 1979 respectively, Donald Kaplan and his co-author Alan (now Allyson) Bellink’s book came out around September of 1980 right at the flash point where my diner awareness was just starting to take hold.

I had been a diner aficionado since I was very young and already started taking Sunday morning road-trips with my pal Steve Repucci since late 1979 to discover (or rediscover) diners for Sunday morning breakfasts. Also, I had just purchased my first 35mm camera and the thought was beginning to form in my brain to document these diners that were fast disappearing from the landscape here in New England. I estimate that I purchased Diners Of The Northeast sometime in October of 1980 and it swung the door wide open for the almost 40 year obsession that followed!

I purchased the other books American Diner and Diners within 3 months and had started taking my first tentative photos as well as expanding my already existent post card collection with a “diner category”. Now early in 1981, I had met and become friends with Richard Gutman and about a year later the same happened with John Baeder. But connecting with the co-authors Kaplan & Bellink did not happen until 1996 when I met briefly with Alan Bellink at a diner-related get together. My budding friendship with Donald Kaplan started much later (2010 or so) thru Facebook. Donald, (who lives in the Bronx) and I have become fast friends in the last couple of years. We speak at least once a week. I of course let Donald Kaplan in on my plans for a trip down toward New York and New Jersey.

So as far as the proposed New Jersey road-trip, I convinced my wife Denise that we should do this. Believe me, that is a very hard sell with her. I got reservations at the Hampton Inn in Carlstadt (near the Meadowlands Sports Complex) which put me in a very central location for where I wanted to be. I had called my old friend Arnie Corrado to let him know of my plans. Arnie, who along with his late father Ralph, owned and operated Rosie’s Diner in Little Ferry, NJ until they sold and closed it in 1990. We had lost touch for a number of years until I made the effort about 6 years ago and we have been in constant contact since.

There were other people I planned to meet up with at the event. These people included Les Cooper (from the family that manufactured Silk City Diners), Gloria Nash from Queens, NY (who I actually met within the last couple of months in Massachusetts), Mark Oberndorf ( a painter of vernacular buildings as well as homes, etc.) and Alex Panko (who, with his family owned and operated the Peterpank Diner in Sayreville, New Jersey).

Which brings us to the weekend of September 27 thru 29th of 2019. Denise and I left Saugus around 3:30 AM on Friday (the27th). We made our first stop for coffee and a bathroom break at the Vernon Diner which is located at Exit 65 right off of I-84 southbound in Connecticut. This place is an easy off/on to the highway and is housed in a former Howard Johnson’s Restaurant. The place is nicely done up as a modern diner including a vast display case of baked goods. Unfortunately, it was dark and I did not get photos.

Our next stop was Exit 10 in Newtown, CT. I wanted to get new photos of the Sandy Hook Diner, a small barrel-roofed diner that probably dates to the 1920s. After those photos, we drove back to the nicely redone Blue Colony Diner at the exit to have another coffee and bathroom break. I had photographed both of these diners back in the early 1980s. The Sandy Hook had not changed significantly but the Blue Colony, originally built by Manno Diners had a complete makeover in the last 20 or so years, done by DeRaffele Diner Company.

The Sandy Hook Diner, Newtown, Connecticut.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 27, 2019

The Blue Colony Diner, Newtown, Connecticut.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 27, 2019

Continuing on, we got back on I-84 and made it to Exit 2B on the western end of Danbury, before the New York state line. Taking U.S. Route 6 to NY Route 22 in Brewster, NY, we continued driving south to North White Plains. We took I-287 west to Exit 1 in Elmsford and got Route 119 south past the Eldorado Diner to the Saw Mill River Parkway and headed south on that road until it became the Henry Hudson Parkway. We got off at Exit 23 and headed south on Broadway through the Bronx to 231st Street. We continued west on 231st to Tibbett Avenue and south one block to the Tibbett Diner, where we met up with Donald Kaplan.

The Tibbett Diner, 3033 Tibbett Avenue, Bronx, New York.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 27, 2019

Donald Kaplan & Larry Cultrera outside the Tibbett Diner.
Photo by Denise Cultrera, September 27, 2019

After meeting up and spending some time with Donald, he convinced me to head a few miles south on Broadway to take the George Washington Bridge over to New Jersey, instead of going back to the Tappan Zee area and taking the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge over to the Garden State. I took his advice and it worked out fine, saving us some time. After crossing the GWB, we headed toward Little Ferry on Route 46 and contacted Arnie Corrado. We made plans to meet at the White Manna Diner in nearby Hackensack. No sooner did I get off the phone with Arnie, Michael Gabriele called to see where we were. I informed him of the White Manna plans and he immediately said he would meet us there…

The White Manna Diner, 358 River Street, Hackensack, New Jersey.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 27, 2019

Michael Gabriele, Larry Cultrera & Arnie Corrado at the White
Manna Diner. Photo by Denise Cultrera, September 27, 2019

Now Michael Gabriele and I have been friends for around 6 years since he contacted me after he contracted to do his first New Jersey diner book for our publisher, The History Press. But until the 27th of September, we had never met face-to-face! At the White Manna, Michael, Arnie and I partook of some wonderful sliders and enjoyed the atmosphere of this fantastically preserved Paramount Diner. Afterward, Michael went home and Denise and I visited with Arnie briefly at his home in Little Ferry before heading to our hotel to check in. After we were settled in our hotel room, we went out and searched for a late lunch and found the Candlewyck Diner in East Rutherford, NJ. The Candlewyck is a circa 1970s vintage Kullman Diner that was renovated on site in recent years and the new look, inside and out represents yet another evolution in diner design!

The Candlewyck Diner 179 Paterson Street,
East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Photograph by Larry Cultrera, September 27, 2019.

Michael Gabriele’s new book published by The History Press.

So, the major reason to come to New Jersey was to attend the launch of Michael Gabriele’s new book at the Nutley Museum. In fact I was slated to give a short slide presentation along with Michael and the other guest speaker, Les Cooper. It was lucky I had spoken with Michael on the afternoon before the trip. He informed me that the Museum’s laptop computer was on the fritz and wondered if I was bringing my own laptop PC. I of course was bringing it to use to get online, etc when I was at the hotel. So the evening of the book launch we setup with the museum’s large screen TV and fired up Power Point….

Gloria Nash, Arnie Corrado and Denise Cultrera attending
book launch event at the Nutley Museum. Photo by
Larry Cultrera, September 27, 2019.

Michael Gabriele speaking at the Nutley Museum.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, Spetember 27, 2019.

I also finally got to meet Alex Panko and Les Cooper both of whom I have known for a few years but had never met. Alex was a trip, pretty much the way I expected, he is extremely outgoing (not to mention a little hyper, he drinks an ton of Coca Cola). Les was also pretty much the person I expected, interesting and well spoken.

Larry Cultrera, Alex Panko and Les Cooper at the Nutley Museum.
Photo by Denise Cultrera, September 27, 2019

The next morning (Saturday the 28th), Denise and I went to have breakfast at the Bendix Diner on Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights. It was wonderful to see all the neon in working order. The diner itself, a rare Master Diner, is really starting to show its age, both inside and out unfortunately. I shot some photos as the morning light was coming up and then revisited it in the early afternoon to get great daytime shots…

Bendix Diner, Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.
Early morning photo by Larry Cultrera, September 28, 2019

Bendix Diner, Route 17 in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.
Early afternoon photo by Larry Cultrera, September 28, 2019

Around mid-morning, Denise and I drove over to Michael Gabriele’s home in Clifton and met his wife Julie as well as one of his sons (sorry Mike, I forgot his name). Then Michael gave us a little tour around the area to let me document some diners that I had not previously photographed. Let me say the light for taking photos this particular weekend was totally perfect and I lucked out. The following places were shot during that little excursion with Michael.

The Colonial Diner, 27 Orient Way in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
This is a 1950 vintage Mountain View Diner modified with that
new roof topper and sign, while maintaining the original design.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 28, 2019.

The Red Hawk Diner located on the campus of
Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersey.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 28, 2019.

The Park West Diner on Route 46. A nicely renovated Kullman
diner, originally known as the Golden Star Diner in the
Woodland Park/Little Falls area.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 28, 2019.

The Little Falls Diner, 11 Paterson Avenue, Little falls, New Jersey.
This place has been closed for many years.

On Sunday morning (the 29th), Denise and I got on the road early and headed north on Route 17. We stopped while it was still dark at the State Line Diner in Mahwah for breakfast! What a great place, I would have loved to get some photos if it were in daylight! We crossed the Hudson on I-287 over the recently completed Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. We reversed our path using the same roads we traveled down on Friday to head back to Connecticut.  On the way up Route 22, we bypassed into Katonah, New York to possibly stop for coffee at the Blue Dolphin Diner. Unfortunately, the diner was not open on Sunday morning and I noticed it is now operating as an upscale bistro. I also noticed the interior was extremely compromised with almost nothing original remaining. Very sad, but at least the outside still looked great.

The Blue Dolphin Diner, 175 Katonah Avenue, Katonah, New York.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, from September 28, 2019.

Just prior to crossing the state line into Connecticut, we stopped at Bob’s Diner in Brewster. It looks the same as the last time I saw it back in the 1980s with the exception of the paint color on the outside. A nice little downtown diner.

Bob’s Diner, 27 Main Street in Brewster, New York.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 28, 2019.

Shortly after crossing the state line, I stopped at the Mill Plain Diner (formerly the Windmill Diner) on Mill Plain Road (U.S. Route 6) in Danbury. I remember this diner as having a brick facade with a mansard roof back in the 1980s. Within the last year or so the place had an extreme makeover, inside and out by DeRaffele Diners and looks fantastic. I heard it is now owned by the same people who have the Blue Colony Diner in Newtown.

The Mill Plain Diner, 14 Mill Plain Road in Danbury, Connecticut.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, Spetmeber 28, 2019.

To finish off this early fall road-trip, we made one last stop in Connecticut before making it back into Massachusetts. We got off the highway briefly in East Hartford and I revisited a diner I had eaten in back in the 1980s, but never photographed. It has been on my bucket list for a while and I finally got my photos. The Triple-A Diner is a 1970s vintage brick diner with mansard roof that on the outside still looks similar to the way I remember it. The interior has gotten an update and is now bright and airy….

The Triple-A Diner, 1209 Main Street in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September 25, 2019.

As I stated earlier, the weather could not have cooperated more than it did for this long-awaited interstate road-trip and I was extremely happy to get the photos I did, as well as meet new friends and reconnect with old friends. I will follow up soon with a review of Michael Gabriele’s book in the near future!