eS 1d 1- to ic d 0 d e < . J < 0 SI Sf wr. vy. hw tN RAT SUS Q Vol. 77 No. 2 January 12, 1977 THE SHIFTER: Don’t ask for one in Lancaster City Many residents of Mari- etta and Columbia told us the same embarrassing story. “I got a pretty strange look,’” said John Hinkle. “They didn’t know what I was talking about,” said Bob Spangler. “They acted like I was off my rocker,”” someone else admitted. That’s what will happe: if you try to order a shifter in Lancaster City restau- rants. The shifter sandwich is a distinctively local food, although its popularity is spreading. According to legend, the shifter was created in Columbia back in the hey- day of the railroad busi- ness. The big ‘‘shifting yards’’ in Columbia were full of freight cars waiting to be arranged into separ- ate trains. A small locomo- tive called a ‘‘shifter’’ was used to move the cars from one train to another. When the men who ran the shifter engines got hungry, they ordered sand- wiches from the bars and restaurants on Locust Street. The railroad men worked hard, and they wanted a big sandwich: something with lots of ham, cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise, sweet pickles, tomatoes, and sliced onion. Since the men who ordered the sandwich work- ed on the shifters, every- one began calling the things ‘‘shifter ° sand- wiches.”’ Where is it safe to order a shifter? The Susquehanna Times editor decided to investi- gate the geography and history of the shifter. He cornered an unlucky cub reporter, and ordered the young wretch to start calling restaurants. The reporter decided to get the worst part over with first. He dialed a Lancaster restaurant. ‘““Hello,”” a woman’s voice purred. ‘‘May we help you?" The reporter said, ‘“‘Do you sell shifters?”’ The voice on the phone stopped purring. “This is a restaurant, not a hardware store,” she said. ‘“You've got the wrong number.”’ The man at another Lan- caster restaurant was more helpful. “Oh, that’s an old sandwich,’ he said. ‘““There’s a place on North Queen Street, sold them years ago, but nobody makes them any more.”’ At the Lancaster County Farm Restaurant in Eliza- bethtown, the lady who answered the phone had never heard of a shifter. “In fact,”’ she said, ‘‘there’s quite a few people here that never heard of them.” You can order a shifter at Mount Joy's Lincoln Restaurant, although no- body in that establishment can tell you the history of the sandwich. Surprisingly, shifters are also sold in Millersville at both the Sugar Bowl and the Barn Door. It was intro- duced there by students, professors and chefs from the Columbia area. In Columbia or Marietta, nobody will ever act sur- prised if you order a shifter. The proprietors of the restaurants usually know the story about how the sandwich got its name from the shifting yards at Columbia. Origins of the shifter According to most ex- perts, the late T. W. Olena created the first shifter in his Locust Street restau- rant. We were unable to contact any of Mr. Olena’s relatives for confirmation. The restaurant is now managed by Jane Kreider, who calls the place Janie’s Restaurant. Jane didn’t realize that the legendary avent may have occured (continued on Page 14) L ) \Q Susquehanna Times & The Mount Joy Bulletin MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA. Susquehanna Times staffers Pat (left) and Jody (right) 2 PA . eo Mout! UEHANNA \ ” ] 592 JOY? T'TMES FIFTEEN CENTS attack a pair of shifters. Don’t try to order one in Lancaster City. The late Tuffield W. ‘‘Tuffie’’ Olena, the man credited with creating the first shifter sandwich, sits in his restaurant at 400 Locust Street in this photograph from the 1930's. His wife, the late Mary J. Olena, stands at far left. photo courtesy of Dick Geesey of Columbia. Our thanks to Joe Balt and Tom King for helping to locate the photo.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers