TIMES WERE BUSY, BUT SLOWER; SIEVERS REFLECTS ON YEARS AS DOWNTOWN MERCHANT

RAINBOW GRILL STAFF: Employees at the Rainbow Grill restaurant during the 1970s included (from left) Georgia Green, Freda Schweer, Alma Proffer, Greg Colyer, Jen Sievers, Celia Sewing, Sherry Sievers and Linda Chaney.

For three generations, the Sievers family had a presence on the corner of High and Main streets, operating the Ideal Grocery, Palace Theater and, later, the Rainbow Grill

"The only thing I miss are my customers," Jen Sievers reflected, looking back at nearly 20 years as a downtown merchant.

Sievers, who left the business in 1975, two years before her ex-husband Nelson "Butch" Sievers sold out, was involved in the business community during a pivotal growth period in the city's history.

"It was a very busy time," she said. "Homecomers was always something else! People would just line up in there until we closed at 10 p.m. They always held drawings at the stage at 10 p.m."

She became involved when she and Butch bought Ideal Grocery in 1959. A decade later, they bought the old Palace Theater, which had ceased operation a few years earlier. After gutting the interior, they opened it as the Rainbow Grill in 1969.

"Having the store and restaurant really blended in great," she said. "If we ran out of something at the restaurant, we could just run next door and get it.

"I worked both places. At noon I'd run over to help in the restaurant. I did just about everything."

Sievers still has the first dollar spent in the Rainbow Grill. The late Harlan Niswonger paid it. The bill hung on the wall as long as the Sievers owned the business and Niswonger, who died in 1996, remained a loyal customer.

Early Rainbow Grill employees included cooks Ruth Nations, Rose Seyer, Dona Heise and Herb Rauh. Celia Sewing, meanwhile, specialized in pies.

"She did the best job," Sievers said, of Sewing. "The people who worked for us were great. I never considered myself their boss. I considered myself one of them."

Rauh, meanwhile, joined the crew right out of the military.

"You could tell he had been an army cook, the way he slung those pots and pans," Sievers said. "He made the best pot of stew! He put bay leaves in it. Whenever people would ask about the leaves, he would just say, Oh, we left the door open and those leaves blew in.'"

Other employees included Georgia Green, Freda Schweer, Alma Proffer, Greg Colyer, Linda Chaney, Pam Green and the Sievers' daughter Sherry.

"We had good plate lunches, with specials every day," Sievers said. "We had good cooks and reasonable prices."

The other half of the old theater became Fashion Fabric, leased by Colleen Platt. Apartments were put in upstairs.

"I really enjoyed waiting on my customers," Sievers said. "They were really great people. Now I remain on the other side of the counter, as a customer. I hope I am treated like I treated my customers back then."

Sievers preferred the somewhat slower pace of those days.

"We were not open on Sunday," she said. "I always felt six days was enough time to get your shopping done. Today you can shop any day and some stores are open 24 hours, around the clock. Things were a bit slower in the earlier days.

"Nowadays, everyone is always in a hurry. Just about everything is automated or computerized. There's very little personal touch left. You'd be surprised to find out how wonderful the roses smell if you just take time to smell them."