What's in a Name? Traditional Cache
Odie442: I'm going to let this one go and open the area up to others. I may rehide another in the future if one doesn't get put nearby.
Odie
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Congratulations
go out to
Redtailforester
for the FTF!
This cache is
located at a place that is very special to me and like many places
is very well known just by its name. Most places that have been
around as long as this has (even if not in the same location)
usually are very famous just by name. Some places that are famous
just for their names are places like Geno's, Pat's, Dicostanza's,
Jimmy John's (the hot dog place, not the sandwich shop),
Giordano's, and Vesuvio's. I've known this family since I was a
child growing up in Chester, Aston, Twin Oaks area. Joseph was
always a soft spoken gentleman (unless you asked for lettuce on
your sandwich) and Augie was always a good friend. This cache is
sort of a history lesson into how the Hoagie came to be and how a
name got etched into history. After finding the cache, if you want
to taste a part of history, have at it. Now onto the history
lesson.
From the story in the Delaware County Today newspaper as told by
one of moms daughters.
You may not believe this but a gambler was responsible for the
creation of the Hoagie in my mother and father's grocery at 1212 W.
3rd Street in Chester's West End. There was a pool hall about four
doors up the street from Moms store and a group of gamblers held
card games there from Thursday thru Sunday every week. One summer
afternoon back in 1925 one of the men who cut the game decided to
take a break and he walked into the store to get a pack of
cigarettes. Mom was cooking in the back kitchen and the aroma
penetrated throughout the store. The aroma apparently whet the
man's appetite and he asked Mom if she would make him a
sandwich.
"OK, pick out what kind of lunchmeat you want," she said.
He looked into the case and with an Italian hand waving gesture
said:
"Put everything you have in the case on it."
Mom took a long loaf of Vienna bread, sliced it lengthwise and
proceeded to put on all of the lunchmeats. Included were
Proscuitto, Capicola, Salami, Hamcudighino, and Provolone cheese.
She also cut a tomato and onion and wet the roll down with olive
oil and sprinkled it with oregano and salt.
"What are you cooking that smells so good?" The hungry gambler
asked.
"I'm frying sweet and hot peppers," she replied and without asking
she put a few pieces of the pepper on the sandwich. He left and an
hour later the place was filled with hungry gamblers asking for a
sandwich. Mom sold out of everything that day. It was the beginning
of a new creation, soon to become known as the Hoagie.
The next day, Mom went to Earo's Bakery, a shop in the basement of
the Earo home at 3rd and Broomall Streets. All bread then was
hand-rolled and cooked in a brick hearth oven and Mom asked the
baker to make a special roll one foot long and two inches wide. She
then started making Hoagies on her specially designed roll not only
for the gamblers but everyone else in the neighborhood. The
depression was on and not too many people could afford the 25¢ she
charged but for those fortunate to buy one, it was considered a
banquet. There was enough on the sandwich to feed four
people.
In 1932 with the war in Europe brewing, the country started to
slowly come out of the depression. Railroads were moving again, the
yarn mills were spinning the reels, the Ford plant was making cars,
and industry in general was on the upswing. By word of mouth,
workers heard of the Hoagie and began buying them for their
lunches. Some took them to their jobs in Delaware, New Jersey, and
Philadelphia. The Hoagies were very popular with the many men
working on the railroads at the time. War broke out in Europe in
1939 and the draft started in 1940, bringing service men into town
looking for a Hoagie.
Mom's business was doing great. She had two sons — Joseph
& John — and four daughters — Polly, Anna, Rose,
and myself. All of us made sandwiches which were still 25¢ for a
large with Proscuitto costing 10¢ more. Eventually Mom had a
smaller roll made for the 15¢ sandwich and on Friday she had Tuna
Hoagie Specials.
It has been placed with permission from the shops owner (Augie -
Moms Grandson) and if you do happen go inside, say thank you for
allowing us to place a cache here. Please put it back as you found
it.
Disclaimer: I do not force anyone to search for my
caches. You search at your own free will and your own
responsibility. If you do not like this type of cache you can
always just hit the ignore button and more on to the next.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
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