It made me so happy to hear the Oak Tree Restaurant in Woodland would be reopening soon. More good news: The new owners have the recipes for the Oak Tree’s delicious beet salad and the famous stew. I used to own a Woodland restaurant called the Kozy Kafe, which closed long ago. I have such fond memories of the Oak Tree in the 1980s and early 1990s. Some oldies (like myself) may remember a gentleman who used to frequent the place. He always sat at the counter facing the front picture window and parking lot. He rode a motorcycle, which was always parked in close view. There was a little box attached to the back of the cycle with a little dog inside. The man had some kind of microphone connected to the box. When customers passed his motorcycle, the dog would greet them!

“Good morning,” the dog would say. “How are you today?” Of course it was the man inside doing the talking. I don’t know who the gentleman was but if he is still around I doubt he is riding a motorcycle. If he had a son or grandson who could take over, that would be great. It was so fun to watch the startled looks on customers’ faces. Everybody Has a Story welcomes nonfiction contributions, 1,000 words maximum, and relevant photographs. Send to: neighbors@columbian.com or P.O. Box 180, Vancouver WA, 98666. Call “Everybody Has an Editor” Scott Hewitt, 360-735-4525, with questions.

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