Description

Old Fort News, Volume 67, Number 2, 2004 presents a history of the Gardner family restaurants written by Nola G. Marquardt that includes  a written history, copied articles and numerous photographs acquired from various sources.  Francis W. Gardner’s ambition to build successful restaurants, with support from his parents, Willis and Josephine Gardner, and his wife Ilah, is a story of an enterprise that originated in the Depression, and through hard work grew into three influential businesses by the mid twentieth century.  It includes detail that is often lacking in other historical accounts about the way entrepreneurs in Allen County served their customers and created opportunities for themselves and their employees.