Classmates from the 50s Bond Over Weekly Coffee
At 8 a.m. on any given Wednesday, between eight and 18 gray-haired men trickle into a small local diner.
For the past 11 years, members of Leon High School’s Class of 1952 have been meeting for breakfast at Jim & Milt’s Bar-B-Q restaurant on Pensacola Street in Tallahassee, Florida.
The “Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club,” as the group has been affectionately nicknamed, consists of Harvey Sweeney, Ted Williams, Gene Sellers, Charles Strickland, Rick Ruryk, Bob Kennedy, Doug Nichols, Gary Sammons, Jack Chapman, Jimmy Joanos, Phillip Walz, Paul Messer, Jerry Carroll and the late Elwin “Walter” Herold Jr.
The early morning breakfast became a tradition shortly after their 50th class reunion, when it was discovered that Herold had cancer. Sweeney and Williams decided to take him out for breakfast a couple of days after that. The group has been meeting ever since.
A couple of the men have a habit of being late, but there is always a chair open. Having grown up in a world before social media, these men demonstrate their “likes” by showing up in person.
The “Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club,” as the group has been affectionately nicknamed, consists of Harvey Sweeney, Ted Williams, Gene Sellers, Charles Strickland, Rick Ruryk, Bob Kennedy, Doug Nichols, Gary Sammons, Jack Chapman, Jimmy Joanos, Phillip Walz, Paul Messer, Jerry Carroll and the late Elwin “Walter” Herold Jr.
The early morning breakfast became a tradition shortly after their 50th class reunion, when it was discovered that Herold had cancer. Sweeney and Williams decided to take him out for breakfast a couple of days after that. The group has been meeting ever since.
“I come through three or four school zones just to get here. But I enjoy every minute,” said Messer.
The old friends always order the same thing — the special. It comes with two eggs, grits, toast and coffee. They drink coffee and reminisce about an era gone by. They talk about everything from baseball to stocks. Religion and politics are off the table unless you “want to start a fight.”
“We have our seats. The names just aren’t on ’em,” chuckled Sellers.
The Breakfast Club has picked up a few members along the way. Rick Ruryk is not a member of their class but was married to a classmate. After the passing of his wife, Ruryk joined the weekly breakfast.
The Class of 1952 was the first class to graduate at Centennial Field, which is now Cascades Park. Aside from Doug Nichols, who attended Auburn University, most of the men are graduates from Florida State University.
“We were children of the Depression. We didn’t do too much going away for school,” said Joanos.
The once high school football players and band members grew up to be lawyers, accountants, county commissioners and highway patrolmen. They became businessmen and blossomed into family men.
Several members have been married for more than 50 years and have upcoming anniversaries. It is a rare occasion for a wife to come to the breakfast. If they do attend, they have to be “specially invited.”
Having worked most of their lives, the majority of the group is retired. However, a few still keep busy with part-time jobs.
A small piece of paper tacked to the wall of Jim & Milt’s Bar-B-Q keeps track of who paid last. A “high level of decision” is how the men jokingly refer to keeping track of the tab.
The group has even devised a tip system for their waitress of more than a decade, Michaela Powers. Each man puts $2 in the middle of the table as gratitude for a job well done.
“They are hilarious. They’ve come in for years and given everybody a hard time. They whip them into shape,” joked Powers.
The years have an unstoppable way of taking their toll on the body. Elwin “Walter” Herold, the well-loved man who brought this group together, passed away on Oct. 7, 2014. He was the fifth member of the club to leave the earthly realm. The members of the Wednesday Morning Breakfast Club were made honorary pallbearers at his Oct. 13 funeral service.
Despite the loss of Herold, the men still faithfully meet every week.
The biggest decision at breakfast is usually whether or not the group will have butter on their toast.
The Art of Sorting Donations
The goal of Suited for Change is to put our clients in clothing that makes them look and feel their best. The condition of the clothing we provide is crucial to demonstrating the importance we place on our clients.
When you first step foot in the Suited for Change boutique you’ll notice how packed the shelves and racks usually are. This fullness allows clients to have access to a wide range of professional pieces suitable for any job.
The boutique is filled with various sizes and styles from more brands than you can imagine. There are racks with clothes for service industry workers, seasonal racks, and even a small but growing selection of menswear.
Suited for Change takes pride in our ability to provide a selection for clients that not only meets their needs but also matches their personal styles.
We regularly receive donations that are fresh from the dry cleaner, still wrapped in plastic. A fairly large percentage of donations are brand new with tags. It’s not unusual to see donations of St John, Gucci, Ferragamo, Dior, Giuseppe Zanotti, or Manolo Blahnik.
The majority of the donations we receive are in great condition. However, sometimes we receive a bag of clothes that are well past their prime. Items with holes, fraying, stains, or peculiar odors do not have a place in the boutique. Items that are useable but not work appropriate get re-donated to other organizations. Anything that is in too poor of a condition gets thrown away.
When sorting donations, it is extremely important to answer three specific questions:
1. Is this item workplace appropriate?
2. Does this item meet the quality standards of Suited for Change?
3. Is this something someone would be proud to wear?
These questions have to be answered in a rapid-fire succession as donations are sorted very quickly. New volunteers are encouraged to evaluate items based on wearability and practicality.
The boutique is filled with items that have been donated with love, sorted with care, and distributed with pride.
How Big Brands Are High Jacking the Health-Conscious Movement for Profit
In days gone by, people would often cite the price of a gallon of milk when referencing functional living expenses. No longer is that price an agreeable form of metric, as it is lower than it has been in years.
An ever-increasing health-conscious community has proven to be a formidable opponent of the once booming dairy industry.
A prime example is Lucerne Dairy Farms, which has been squeezing the life out of udders since 1904. The company recently added almond milk to its lineup and underwent a branding makeover that included adding limited SKUs and seasonal labeling.
Trinity Brand Group helped the century-old company connect with a changing shopping sphere while maintaining its loyal customer base.
According to the company, it is helping LDF to increase its incremental revenue.
“Through a confident brand strategy and an iconic packaging design system, Trinity helped LDF transcend a commodity stereotype and connect emotionally with consumers.”
Dairy isn’t the only industry desperately trying to figure out ways to appeal to the massive number of consumers who have taken an interest in their overall well-being.
Companies like Tampax, Cotton and Summer’s Eve are just a few of the highly recognizable brands that have switched up a couple ingredients and labeled themselves as natural, sustainable, vegan, etc.
Garnier was one of the first to jump on the bandwagon with its brown bottles labeled as “Whole Blends.” Oddly, the front of the shampoo label lists honey as a main ingredient, while the back lists Yellow 5 and 6, which are banned in countries like Norway and Austria.
Colgate is another potential impostor, as it has been happily selling fluoride-filled toothpaste for years. After natural toothpaste recipes using activated charcoal gained a massive following, suddenly Colgate launched a charcoal paste of its own.
One must ask whether Colgate actually cares if fluoride leads to a calcified pineal gland or if it just wants a piece of the “woke” pie.
Social media, Netflix and good old-fashioned word of mouth have done an incredible job of shaking up the mindset of the masses.
Documentaries like What the Health and Forks Over Knives have changed the way people feel about the Standard American Diet in the span of two hours, while health gurus like Dr. Sebi have people using a pH meter to determine whether their water is, in fact, alkaline.
Many people are now questioning everything they ingest, rub on their hair or skin, use to clean their homes and even what they feed their pets. Nutrition and ingredient labels are being flipped at light speed. The days of blindly trusting the word of the Food and Drug Administration are over.
With companies standing to lose a significant amount of revenue, it’s easy to see the motive behind the sudden urge to make their products more natural and environmentally friendly.
The burden of discernment now rests solely in the hands of the consumers, who must navigate through a veritable sea of “healthy” products.