a 1 [A Throughout the next eight decades, most businesses with a hold in downtown Kennewick left or closed, driven away by inclination or hard economic times, including The Great Depression; the Belair name and family business did not. Kennewick was a small, dusty town with a downtown core and little else when the Belair family name first made itself known to its residents. Belair Bakery on Auburn Street took its rightful place among downtown Kennewick businesses. "The name may have changed but the quality remains the same," O'Henry's notes. It changed with the times, and variously its name with it, but always founded in the traditions of a family-run business with a premium on service for its customers and food to meet their tastes. The names had various origins. Most notably, the most recent rendition, "O'Henry's" derived from a conversation Henry Belair was having with a customer who happened to begin her remarks with, "Oh, Henry...." The famous "Oh Henry's" candy bar can be purchased at O'Henry's." Through nearly 80 years, the Belair family business at 20 S. Auburn St. has been known as: ° Belair Bakery ® Kennewick Baker ° Belair's Bakeshop ° Belair's Wholesale & Retail Bakery ° Belair's Retail Shop ° Belair's Donut Shop ° Bel-Air's Ice Cream Parlor ° O'Henry's Go Go p I Lh O'Heniy's, a downtown business landmark since 1927, has been a recipe for success, and the creator of unique recipes to serve its generations of customers. This small cookbook serves to share many of those recipes and a small history of this unique business landmark with customers who have enjoyed the food and atmosphere of O'Henry's through the years, and who O'Henry's has so enjoyed serving. In the private dining room that can seat 20, photos of some of the early-day Kennewick sports teams, including Yakima Valley champions, adorn the walls. As much for its food, O'Henry's is noted for its personality. It has an extensive photo collection of Kennewick High School students dating back to the early decades of the 20th Century. Framed on the walls and peering up at customers through glass-covered tables are the autographed photos of famous celebrities, including many of the great legends of Hollywood. Many have been personally signed for Henry Belair, who owns O'Henry's with his wife, Jeannie. [7 1927 Adelard T. Belair had just celebrated his 35th birthday when he and his wife, Emma, 33, bought Haas Bakery in downtown Kennewick from Mabe] Haas in November 1927. The young couple, both born in Minnesota, Adelard, affectionately known as A.T., in Red Wing on October 28, 1892, and Emma, in Fairmont on May 4, 1894, had sold their Prosser bakery to return to the tiny Tri-Ci ties where Henry was born in Pasco in 1922. They also had a daughter, Lorene, four years older than Henry. Since that 1927 purchase nearly 80 years ago, the shop has remained a family landmark business along a short stretch of Auburn Street between Kennewick Avenue and First Avenue, always with an eye on serving a loyal and dedicated clientele, that in many cases became close family friends. The family lived at the site in the early years, with the family business variously named Belair's Bakery and Kennewick Baking Company in the early years. But, in 1936, with the need for expanding the bakery operations apparent, the family moved to 421W. Kennewick Ave. The present stucco building still serving as O'Henry's, was built on the site where the family had been living. & A.T. had built the small bakery from a small wholesale and retail outlet into a large distributorship of bakery products. During the years of World War II from 1941 to 1945, it had a daily output of 5,000 loaves of bread per day. It started taking a quarterback handoff on the Lions' 37- yard line. Junior cuts behind his blockers, finds an opening through the Zillah line and scampers 63 yards unscathed for a touchdown. It was the beginning of a long day for Zillah on that early-autumn afternoon. As Henry grew to be a teen-ager, he worked in the family business, while becoming an athletic standout at Kennewick High School. One game was particularly significant in his senior year, with the local weekly newspaper, The Kennewick Courier-Reporter taking note. It was Sept. 20, 1940 at the old Kennewick High football field. The Kennewick Lions were playing host to the Zillah Leopards, and "Junior" Belair went on a running back rampage. Henry scoured four more times, including an interception return for a touchdown, and the Lions rolled to a 31-6 win over Zillah. C7 Z942 Six months after Belair graduated from Kennewick High School in 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was attending Washington State College in Pullman at the time. Today it is Washington State University. (Citycrpuat ocUoe) IhSCCB DY UCLL BoaRJ a Tk:.toukn^.« j—.... J 1 I When the United States declared war on Japan after the Pearl Harbor attack, Henry considered enlisting in the U.S. Marines, but the nation was experiencing a shortage of domestic workers and he received a one-year deferment to assist the family bakery business until help could be arranged for the business. In 1942, he entered the U.S. Navy, was assigned to a submarine tender in the submarine service and was sent to war in the Pacific. - iL ji fi ... $ U.WehtowMIU oa Bora. , •!*-**«-» craniF? '1/ -S*) ~ — - » t' . ’ S z (City) a r United States of America *- Office of Price Administration WAIl RATION' BOOK TWO | IDENTIFICATION • , T*iNrt- y 7— # ~. By---_____________________________________ Stcxaturk----7 WARNING • •** *” R-‘^“ IM- V .K. Vnj^ra KATt«U3C K«,.» • »v.,-^,-. *«■ th ickes 55 < taco 5................................55 s DIETER’S SPECIAL.............. 854 soup Ju jour...................554 ’"Tun ■& S'htacl I 1 »Grille "The history of the ice cream soda is also very interesting," Roger Belair continued. The story goes that during the Franklin Institute Celebration in Philadelphia, a concessionaire ran out of flavor for his soda water and bought some ice cream to melt it down and add as flavoring. The customers were coming at such a rate that he did not have time to melt he ice cream and started serving it in chunks with soda water. This new drink was met with such delight by the public and the ice cream soda was born. Continuing, Roger Belair wrote: "Many people in the early days thought that soda water was actually intoxicating, and in Evanston, Illinois, a law was passed prohibiting the sale of ice cream sodas on Sunday, an ingenious drug store operator got around the law by serving just the ice cream and syrups, leaving the soda water out and calling it an 'ice cream Sunday,' later changing the spelling to sundae because the town fathers objected to the naming of an ice cream dish after the Sabbath Day. The ice cream parlor has always been known in America as a fun place to go with your friends to enjoy luscious ice cream dishes and good times to eat. We hope here at Bel-Airs that we can offer all that an ice cream parlor should." -+ ■A ST 2- (* (' n 1 - 8 ICE £KEAM PARLOR --L1 RESTAURANTS ■J- ■ _ \ ---- \--- <7 Z9A4 Cl Henry Belair was never one to stand still when it came to innovative ideas for his business. "A lot of businesses don't want to change and they wonder why business is bad," he once said during difficult economic times. "Mine is better than ever." "The catch was that all the girls had to be at least 60 years old," Henry said. When he put an ad in the newspaper, it caught not only location attention, but state, national and even international, as well. 5 Perhaps no promotion or idea he came up with, from 21 flavors of ice cream to the many and varied autographs pictures of the famous he has displayed at Henry's, could match his Go-Go Girls promotion. Go-Go girls were not a new idea in 1984. His was. Radio stations from across the country contacted him, CBS News ran a story, It came to the attention of nationally-known radio broadcaster Paul Harvey. A Japanese station sent a crew for a documentary. It appeared in the military Stars and Stripes in Germany and Henry received a-letter from a G.I. A public audition in his parking lot brought an audience of 400. When he was asked by a young patron one day: "Where are the dancing girls," Henry decided to take it a step further. That led to the idea for good business. "Everybody who works here is between 65 and 75," he said at the time. "1 figured why not get somebody our age?" Once national exposure took hold, letters flowed in from around the country from would-be applicants. Henry said the idea for the Go-Go Girls was almost happenstance, coming on the heels of a standard joke he used when younger customers came in. He would tell them to wait for their hamburger, and "the dancing girls will be here in a few minutes." Kennewick's own Fran Spooner brought a vitality to Henry's idea as perhaps his most illustrious Go-Go Girl. She had a rich background to draw on as she took to tabletops at then-O'Henry's 21 for a little geriatric can-can. An acrobatic dancer in the 1930s, she had shared Vaudeville stages with such legendary performers as Bob Hope, Jerry Cologna, George Jessel, Burns and Allen, Rudy Vallee, and County Basie. At the close of World War II, she entertained U.S. troops in occupied Germany with her hoop dance. p ■ES?11 Another from New York offered to travel west to be one of his Go-Go Girls. "I read the article in the Examiner about needing grannies to entertain," she wrote on pink stationary. "Well, I think I qualify. I'm over 60 and have 9 grandchildren." One from New Jersey wrote: "It will interest you to know that my mother (who is 76 years old) heartily approves of your promotion of Go-Go Girls of a ripe age." He received a letter from a woman in Encinitas, California from a woman who read about his promotion in a San Diego daily. One thanked him for "giving me hope, for acknowledging that older women are lovely...What a wonderful gift you (unknowingly) gave to so many older ladies...." Many letters came with enclosed pictures of would-be Henry's "Go-Go Girls." SPECIAL gg,. STRAWBERRY SHORT-CAKES. RHUBARB PIE 1# rhubarb Salt 6 teaspoons flour 11/2 cup sugar cube Oleo on top freeze LEMON CHESS 10 eggs 6 cups of sugar add 1# Oleo melted 11/2 cups lemon juice freeze CHUCK'S PEANUT BUTTER PIE 8 oz. cream cheese 12 oz. Eagle Bran 1 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon lemon juice 8 oz Kool Whip Graham 8 oz. Crust freeze STRAWBERRY RHUBARB 1/2 # rhubarb 1/2 # strawberry Salt 6 teaspoons flour 1 1/2 cup sugar cube Oleo on top freeze CHOC CHESS 10 eggs 6 cups of sugar Add 1# Oleo melted 1 1/2 cup Hershey Chocolate salt & vanilla crushed walnuts on top freeze KEY LIME 8 oz. Kool Whip 1 sm Eagle Bran Sweet 4 oz. lime juice green color Graham 9 oz. Crust freeze CUSTARD PIE 14 egg salt vanilla stir 3 1/2 cup sugar 7 cups milk Cook at 375° until done PECAN PIE 8 oz. Flour 8 oz Sugar salt & vanilla 3 eggs 1 gal. corn syrup 4 # pecans freeze EAGLE BRAN PUMPKIN 1 can Libby Pumpkin 14 oz. Eagle Bran 2 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice salt 9" pie shells freeze 7933 SPECIAL^ STRAWBERRY RAISIN OATMEAL 2 1/2 cups Brown Sugar 1/2 cup sugar 1# Oleo 6 eggs 6 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda 1/2 cup oatmeal 2/3 cup raisins Bake 375° 8-10 minutes CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER 1 1/4 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 11/2 stick Oleo 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups chocolate chips 1/2 cup walnuts Bake 375° 9 - 10 minutes SUGAR COOKIES 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1 cup Oleo 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 large egg 2 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon soda 1 teaspoon cream tartar Bake 375° 8-10 minutes OATMEAL BUTTERSCOTCH 11/2 sticks butter or Oleo 3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 1 1/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon soda 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups oatmeal 1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips Bake 375° 8 - 10 minutes PEANUT BUTTER 1 1/2 cup flour 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1 teaspoon soda 1/2 cups Oleo 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 1g egg vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup peanut butter Bake 375° 8 - 10 minutes CHOCOLATE CHIP 1 3/4 cups flour 1 teaspoon soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 2 sticks Oleo or butter 1/2 cup sugar 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons milk 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 1/2 cups oats 2 cups chocolate chips 1 cup nuts (optional) bake 375° 9-10 minutes IF 7933 iw GO! .IRS M Ea-xs I s I am BUCKEYES 1# powdered sugar 11/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup Oleo salt & vanilla 12 oz chocolate chips melt DOP WALNUTS 12 oz chocolate chips 1/4 cup parfin walnuts - as much as you want FUDGE 2 # powdered sugar 4 eggs (cream) 1/2 # Oleo 1# chocolate chips melt PEANUT BUTTER BR1DDLE 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 2 heaping teaspoon of baking soda 1 cup white Karo syrup 1 teaspoon butter 2 cups raw Spanish peanuts Mix sugar, water and Karo syrup. Boil mixture to 275° E then add 2 cups raw Spanish peanuts. Cook to 300° F. and take off fire. Add 1 teaspoon of butter; mix. Then add 2 heaping teaspoons of baking soda. Mix well and pour out onto a table or bread board covered with foil and well greased with butter or spray (PAM). Spread as thin as you can and pull out. ROCKY ROAD 1 pkg chocolate chips 1/2 bag colored marshmallows 1/2 cup pecan pieces ENGLISH TOFFEE 1 cup butter 1/4 cup water 1 cup broken walnuts 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips Combine the first four ingredients in heavy sauce pan. Cook to hard crack stage of 300° E Watch care fully. Infrequent stirring required. Pour into ungreased 13" x 9" pan. Sprinkle top, while hot, with 3 squares of semi sweet chocolate or 11/2 cups of chocolate chips and 1 cup broken pecans or walnuts. Let set for 2 hours then break into pieces. I960 Sei-fiiPs Potato Sread IS NOW THE ONLY POTATO BREAD IN THE TRI-CITES THAT’S . for Try a loaf and you will see why hundreds are asking for Bel-Air’s double wrapped Potato Bread! Stays fresh er longer. Retains the good wholesome flavor longer — There’s nothing to compare with Be!-Air*s P. B. wvUG»M! A.M r. - . & * Pick up a Loaf today at your Local Food Store DO jTx—-/*-»•£> g 3 w A 17 *; ,V-T' ba/m, STRAWBERRY JAM 4 # crushed strawberries 6 # sugar 2 cups water (boiled) 2 pkg MCP Boil 4 minutes 4 BERRY JAM 4 # berries mixed 6 #sugar 2 cups water 2 pkg MCP Boil 4 minutes COWBOY SOUP 1 can bean with bacon Soup 1 # fried onions 1 # fried hamburger IIAWIIAN BEAN 1 can bean with bacon soup 1/2 can pineapple sweet & sour 1 can water PINK LEMONADE JELLY 2 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups water Mix Well to Boil Minute 1 6oz Frozen lemonade (mix well) 1 pkg liquor perltin Add lemonade & perltin CHILI 1 # kidney bean (drained) 1 can whole sweet corn (drained) 1 can condensed tomato soup 2 cups water 1 tablespoon onion 2 teaspoons chili powder 1/2 cup shredded cheese simmer 10 minutes cheese on top

Henry Belair, History and Recipes since 1927

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East Benton County Historical Society | Museum at Keewaydin

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