To the Editor:

I read with great interest the letter from Mayor James Gaughan (The Altamont Enterprise, May 25, 2017) describing Altamont’s history project where displays will take to village streets this summer. That’s a fantastic idea and I’d like to see other communities follow suit. A community’s history should be readily accessible for residents and visitors to experience, and not hidden behind archival walls in museums.

However nowhere was there mention of the unique Home Front Café opened by Jack and Cindy Pollard in the 1990s to pay homage to local veterans. The entire café is covered floor to ceiling with ephemera. Viewable under glass at each table are displays of authentic World War II letters and memorabilia donated by patrons in the Altamont area: gasoline ration tickets, medals, letters home from a grunt stationed in the Pacific.

A wall of photographs and yellowed newspaper clippings offers a rare glimpse into the lives and sacrifices of long-gone sailors, soldiers, airmen, and marines.

A decor of military uniforms amid patriotic songs by the Andrews Sisters playing softly in the background allows for a deeper appreciation of a bygone era.

Patrons say that at the Home Front Café, not only is the food good, but it’s like stepping back in time! This small-town gem is Altamont and worthy of a stop along a walking history tour.

Rosemary Christoff Dolan

Wright