Tom Angleberger

The New River Valley-based reporter answers your questions Mondays in his column, What's on Your Mind?

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• Help me answer readers' questions
• Mountain road was closed recently

We interrupt the regularly scheduled answers to our Ask the Readers feature to bring you this Ask the Readers emergency!

Well, emergency is a strong word, but I felt it would be a shame to make this question wait for the next round.

Your help is needed now to guide the restoration of the Virginian Railway Station.

"The architect and planners need information about the inside where railway passengers bought tickets and waited for trains," explained Skip Salmon of the Roanoke chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. "We ... would like for you to ask your readers if anyone has photos of the interior that we may borrow."

They have plenty of exterior shots, but no pictures at all of the inside.

Even if you don't have photos, I'll be glad to hear about what you remember of the place. (Use the instructions at the end of this column to respond.) And now back to this week's regularly scheduled answers. ...

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Many readers recalled that the Vinton pizza place that delivered when no one else did was called Q-Pids. And they remembered it fondly:

"It was real good. Thick, kind of greasy," recalled Jeff Weems. "Kind of like the New York pizza."

"Their crust was rolled under at the edges, and [that] made it really soft and delicious," remembered Todd Nicely.

"Best pizza ever!" enthused Cindy Driscoll.

"We're appreciative that people still remember," said Mike Werle.

Werle, his brother Lonnie Werle and their families opened Q-Pids in 1976. The name stood for Quality Pizza Including Delivery Service and possibly a few variations on that. (Former employee Greg Ballengee offered Quick Prompt Instant Delivery Service.) Mike Werle had worked for Domino's before Domino's became the empire it is today. Because there wasn't a Domino's in Vinton -- or any other place that delivered, for that matter -- he used Domino's as a model and even used an adapted version of their pizza recipe.

And so began 10 years of zooming around with pizzas and canned heat in the back of cars, delivering even in the snow and, yes, the big ice storm. They were that desperate for customers, Werle said.

"It was the best of days and the worst of days," he said.

By 1986 they were tired, he said, and Domino's was moving into the market.

"That was the handwriting on the wall."

They sold out the business. But when the Lord closes a pizza place, he opens a window. Mike Werle became a minister.

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Apparently lots of folks used to have a good time down on Patterson Avenue near the West End Center.

Based on the calls I received, that area was home to a number of bars and restaurants including The Commodore, The Rainbow Room, The Roma Rest, The Biltmore, Villa Sorrento, The Jaguar Club, The Chatta Inn and The Zodiac.

(If any of these names or places are a little mixed up, that only means the people were having a really good time.) But most readers agreed that the joint in question was called The Normandy Inn. (Or the Normandie.) A juke joint, a beer joint, a rowdy nightclub, as readers described it.

"Ah, those were the days," reminisced Harriet Little. "We were too young to go in. Always wanted to."

Being too young didn't stop Jack Stilton from patronizing the place.

"When I was a teenager in the '40s, they had curb service, and if you could find someone who could drive, you could buy beer on the curb, no questions asked about your age."

In the '50s, Betty Phillips Rice actually went inside.

"They had wonderful jam sessions there on Sunday nights. I was a student nurse at Jefferson Hospital, and we might have missed the curfew more than once listening to that great music!"

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Remember the fellow who sold Popsicles from a wagon? Danny Gee does. Or at least he remembers the Popsicles. "The ice cream delivery wagons were called 'Jerry the Popsicle Man' and they had a box (blue, I think) built on a wagon frame with balloon tires (instead of the hard rubber that came on wagons) to make them easier to pull, and kept the Popsicles cold with dry ice. They pulled them and rang a hand bell to let you know they were around. They didn't really need the bell, we knew what time of day they usually came. My favorite flavor was the fudge bar, and it was real dark chocolate."

With the help of reader Michael Blankenship and Roanoke Times news researcher Belinda Harris, I was able to get the Popsicle Man's obituary and other information. Jeremiah Holland started selling Popsicles from a wagon in 1933. He eventually upgraded to a jeep, but later went back to pulling a wagon. He retired in 1979 and then died in a fire in 1981 at the age of 90.

Got a question? Or an answer? Drop me a line at woym@roanoke.com. Or leave your question on my voice mail at 777-6476. Please be sure to speak clearly and tell me your answer first, then give your name, the spelling of your name and your phone number.

Look for Tom Angleberger's column on Mondays.