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Collis Jenkins, son of 'Baby Jim' Jenkins, had the eatery's original snack bar restored as a birthday gift for his dad.
'Baby Jim' Jenkins works in his kiosk, Baby Jim's Snack Bar, in this 1953 photo. Baby Jim's Snack Bar, today. It began in the aluminum trailer in Culpeper some 62 years ago. |
BY DONNIE JOHNSTON
Birthday gifts are always a tough call, especially for adults.
And by the time a man reaches 80, he pretty much has what he needs, which makes gift selection even harder.
For weeks, Collis Jenkins and his mother, Pauline, considered any number of gifts they might give his father and her husband for his 80th birthday.
They settled on a piece of the past.
Sixty-two years ago, at the age of 18, Collis C. "Baby Jim" Jenkins opened a snack bar in a small alley on North Main Street in Culpeper. It was the town's first fast-food carry-out establishment and it was housed in a small aluminum trailer that Jenkins bought used in Northern Virginia for $1,000.
Baby Jim's Snack Bar became so successful that it quickly outgrew its home in the alley, and in 1955 Jenkins moved his business to the basement of a large house about a block away.
That eliminated the need for the aluminum trailer. It was moved to a farm that Jenkins owned, where it sat in the woods for years until it was moved to another farm.
Its days as a fast-food establishment forever gone, the 8- by 9-foot metal structure ceased to have any practical purpose. Still, the trailer where Jenkins began a prosperous business had great sentimental value, so it was not discarded.
At some point, however, even sentiment wanes and there came a time when the structure where Baby Jim dished out hamburgers and hot dogs to hungry customers was turned into a henhouse.
Then, even the chickens abandoned the structure, which had by now really fallen on hard times.
But those days are past and now the original Baby Jim's Snack Bar has experienced a rebirth.
Three weeks ago, the aluminum and steel structure was hauled from the woods to The Sign Shop, where owner Mark Hayes was asked to bring this piece of history to life again.
"We had talked about fixing it up for several years," Collis Jenkins says. "With my father's 80th birthday coming up [on Sept. 16], this was the time."
A COLORFUL REBIRTH
For Hayes, it was a rush job, to say the least, because Collis wanted the trailer completed in time for this afternoon's Fourth of July parade in Culpeper.
"He sure didn't give me much time," Hayes jokes as he smiles at the younger Jenkins. His face is still beaming as he adds, "I could do this every day."
And that is pretty much what has happened. For the past two weeks, Hayes and his assistant worked almost nonstop to restore the structure.
While most of the angle-iron frame was still strong, thanks to a sturdy aluminum roof, the aluminum sides, dented from moves with a farm tractor and a fork lift, had to be completely replaced.
"That part could not be saved," says Jenkins. "There were even holes that were cut to allow the chickens to go in and out."
Hayes estimates that he will have spent about 100 man hours on the restoration project to get it ready for today's parade.
The refurbished snack bar now has a new sink, a new counter and new electrical fixtures. The frame and the roof, however, are original.
And Hayes, who redid the sign at the present Baby Jim's Snack Bar, has used his talents to make the old trailer more colorful than it ever was when new.
A CULPEPER COVER-UP
The project has been completed without Baby Jim's knowledge. The idea is to surprise the snack bar's founder when the trailer appears in today's parade (so don't call him when you read this).
The trick, however, will be getting Baby there this afternoon.
"He knows we have a float in the parade, so I asked him to come and see it," says Collis.
"But he doesn't like crowds, so I don't know if we're going to get him there," adds Pauline.
Well, when all else fails, resort to outright trickery.
"If worse comes to worse, we might get Armstead Banks and Mal Hill, two of his best friends, to pick him up and take him to the parade," says Collis. "I'm pretty sure he will go with them."
So, the 80th birthday surprise is set and his family hopes Baby Jim will be on Main Street to see his original snack bar pass on a flatbed truck.
"We're going to put picnic tables on either side of the old snack bar and have some of our present and former employees sitting on them," Collis Jenkins says.
But what will happen to the original snack bar after today's parade? Obviously it will not be returned to the woods.
First, it will be featured in the town of Culpeper's 250th Anniversary Parade on Sept. 19. Then it could become a museum of sorts.
"We may put it on display in our parking lot beside the picnic tables," Jenkins says.
And if that doesn't work, the Jenkins family may place it in the yard (facing Main Street) just behind their house and above the present snack bar.
Either way, this piece of Culpeper's history will be on display for the public to see.
After 54 years, the original Baby Jim's Snack Bar will be on Main Street again.
Donnie Johnston:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com
"Baby Jim's" real name is Collis Clifford Jenkins Jr. and he was the baby of the family. For some unknown reason, his older siblings began calling him Jim, hence Baby Jim. Jenkins began working in his brother Melvin's Culpeper Diner and saw a need for a carry-out hamburger and hot dog establishment in the town. The original snack bar had a grill and a sink, but no deep fryer. The 1947 menu consisted of only four items--hot dogs, hamburgers, barbecue and ham-and-egg sandwiches. Baby's mother, Verna Dodson Jenkins, and 12-year-old George Bryson were his first employees. The original snack bar was built in Glendale, Calif. Jenkins added a small room onto the back for a freezer and storage. The original Baby Jim's was open from 9 a.m. until midnight (or later) seven days a week. In the beginning, Baby Jim offered charge accounts to businesses so employees could eat now and settle up on payday. According to Pauline Jenkins, the only artifacts left from the original snack bar are one salt shaker, several old Coke bottles and the Coca-Cola cooling box, which is also being restored. |
