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Every picture tells a story. For the past seven years, I’ve written stories for more than 350 pictures, and for those seven years the story behind this photo had eluded me until now.
A Post Bulletin story dated March 3, 1944, reported that Alfred Witzke, a maintenance worker for 27 years for the Kahler Corporation, was resigning his position. Alfred was entering into a partnership with his son, Harold Witzke, in the ownership and operation of Thurber’s Café located at 19 Second Street SW.
The story stated that the café would be managed by Harold’s wife Lucille and his mother, Eva, after Harold left for his service in the Navy the following week.
Lucille and Eva’s management team must have been successful, for when Harold returned after the war, they teamed up with his brothers Walton and Leonard, and opened the Town House Restaurant in a former livery stable at 15 Second Street SE.
"Lens on History” is a weekly photo feature by Lee Hilgendorf, a volunteer at the History Center of Olmsted County.
