When
it’s December 1st. The old sign is retrieved from the basement, dusted
off, hung in the front window, and plugged in. Click. The sign which
says Tom & Jerry lights up for all to see, announcing to passers by
that the renowned Alpha Café Tom & Jerry holiday drink has been
prepared and is ready to be served to the patrons.
The Alpha Café is a small café/tavern located in downtown Wapakoneta,
Ohio, with a 107-year-old back bar as the leading historical attraction
owned and operated by my grandfather, William (Bill) J. Gutmann. Since
1938, Mr. Gutmann has seen many changes, but one thing that hasn’t
changed is the Christmas time ritual of the Tom & Jerry holiday
drink that is served from December 1st to January 1st.
Why is this
tradition still alive after all these years? What makes it so popular?
What do the people who partake in this yearly holiday event bring to and
take from this experience? What causes these patrons to share this close
bond and interaction at the Alpha but almost nowhere else? Why do they
have this bond in this place? Why do people of very different
occupational status and class systems seem to leave these barriers
behind when they walk through the Alpha doors? What is it about the Tom
& Jerry (T&J) that adds another certain connection at Christmas
time? Where does the T&J custom come from? What draws regulars back
every year to share with others and to bring newcomers to the
experience?
The History
of the Alpha and its owner are steeped in rich tradition, stories, and
personal narratives. The back bar was built in 1893 by Brunswick Balke
Collender Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. The company built three back bars
of this large size, all similar in design, but each unique in its
intricate carvings and shapes. One was destroyed in a fire and the other
still remains in Arizona. The Alpha’s back bar is 24 foot long and is
made of hand carved white oak. The wall on the opposite side of the bar
is lined with a matching 8-foot tall wainscoting with arched mirrors and
the same intricate carvings. At the end of the bar sits a column
supporting a leaded glass partition. The back section of the Alpha is
the café area. A short café style counter with stationary round swivel
stools sits in front of the grill and serving counter. To the rear of
the café counter, against the wall, is an old electric bowling machine.
William
(Bill) Joseph Gutmann started working in the Alpha as a bartender in
1938. In 1948, he bought into the partnership with Joe Miller and Harry
Brunn. Miller had a stroke several years later and Gutmann and Brunn
became joint-owners of the Alpha. In 1962, they moved the back bar and
business from across the street to its present location at 7 East
Auglaize Street. Gutmann bought out the partnership from Harry Brunn on
June 24,1969 to become the sole proprietor. His daughter, Connie S.
Gutmann has been the manager since 1984.
The Alpha is
unique in its appeal to different occupations, ages, and classes. On any
given day you may find a lawyer, a construction worker, a county
engineer, a farmer, a retired bank president, or a shop worker all
sitting around the small café bar discussing the weather, politics,
current events, or recent town gossip. This social interaction is most
evident in the early morning hours with their coffee routines. A group
of four will most likely be sitting at a table playing an old German
card game called Sheephead. What is so unique, is that many of these
people do not socialize elsewhere in this small town other than the
brief encounters of day-to-day business.
Daily
conversation in the Alpha will invariably contain some type of history
and story. An example of a traditional story that has developed over the
years is the story of Harry Schwepe, a former partner of the Alpha with
Joe Miller, being "done away with" during prohibition. Someone
will make a comment like, "I hear he wore cement shoes when he went
fishing at Russel’s Point!" Bill Gutmann will retell the story of
how back in the prohibition days, when gambling and bootlegging were
dominant in the area, there was a feud between Wapakoneta tavern owners
and Russel’s Point tavern owners. Harry Swepe, was in Russel’s Point
when someone "slipped a mickey" in his drink and threw him
into the lake. Another story of the prohibition era is when Al Capone
frequented the Alpha when he was staying at the Valley View Hotel in
Wapakoneta to "get away from Chicago until things cooled
down".
Occasionally, a gray haired, balding man may walk up to Bill and say,
"Do you remember me? I was a paperboy and came in here and drank
Vess Cola!" Sometimes he remembers them and other times not. The
Wapak Daily News building is directly behind the Alpha and on rainy days
the paperboys would come in and wrap their newspapers while sitting on
the bowling machine. Many, now in their fifties, still frequent the
Alpha and bring their children and sometimes even grandchildren in to
meet Bill and "see the Alpha". Bill is proud to say that he
has served five generations now.
When the bar
was moved from across the street, many of the men from town helped in
moving the large pieces of the back bar. On occasion a patron will stop
in and begin telling personal narratives of how he was one of those
volunteers. Bill and the mover will sit and brag how they moved the back
bar on a Sunday, and with all the help of movers, plumbers, and
electricians, "Never missed a day of business".
There are
many sayings that can be heard regularly. Here are some examples:
