John Wunderle first came to Kent in 1929 when the company his father worked for, Domestic Electric, moved to Kent from Cleveland. He went to St. Patricks grade school and Roosevelt High school. John worked for a short time at the new Standard Drug store in Kent and then went to work for Ohio Bell in 1939. During WWII he was an instructor pilot teaching instrument flying. He went on to fly B25s, B-17s, and B-29s. After the war he went back to work for the phone company and retired in 1981.
On April 22, 2011 John passed away. He is missed by all his friends.
A Sample of John's Memoir
50. When Standard had a soda fountain where soda pop and coffee were both 5 cents? An ice cream soda or sundae was 10 cents. A "Blue Plate Special" was 25 cents and contained a meat, a vegetable and a potato. They, also, sold six kinds of wine for 97 cents a bottle. They were Tokay, Burgundy, Sauterne, Sherry, Port and Muscatel.
67. When Kent had three New York/Chicago trains each way on the Erie? Going West, the Erie Limited at 12:37 AM, the Midlander at 11:10 AM and the Pacific Express at 4:48 PM.
75. The big clock on the sidewalk in front of Mr. Elgin's jewelry shop in the basement of the hotel?
Do you know where Dick's Diner was located?
Memories of Kent
John passed away on April 22, 2011. He will be missed by all who knew him. He was a great asset to our community. We will never forget the wonderful, enthusiastic talks he gave on our canal history and the railroads. John was our connection with regional and Kent history.