(Courtesy of Carl Thomas)

Back in August the Best Mart celebrated its “Customer Appreciation Month”. More than 44 years earlier, on Saturday June 11, 1949 to be exact, the first business built on the site was opened, the Cara Farms Dairy Bar, on land bought by Carl and Reno Thomas from Jacob Hetrick who had been saving this land for an eating place to serve the Silk Mill and the general public too. Originally the Dairy Bar, shown above, was a fruit stand down at Carl’s home, and was taken on skids and fixed up at its new site. Vera Thomas ran it during the day, and Carl and Reno took turns running it at night. They sold ice cream, milkshakes, potato chips, candy bars, and chewing gum.

Later a permanent eating place was built, so the stand was closed and moved to the ball diamond where it became the concession stand.

(Can you name at least three business places that later used this site? See next month’s issue!)