Levee
In 1953, the Weaver building, which had been a grocery store in the past, saw new life as The Levee Restaurant. Located on the north side of Main Street on the levee just off showboat pier, the Levee was opened by Peg Bedell and Josephine Bryan.
By 1955, The Levee was operated by Thelma Eickhoff Roth. It quickly became a loved part of town, not just for Showboat week, but all year long. Thelma was known as “Cookie on the Bridge,” with her famous home-cooked meals and delicious pies. Larry Wittenbach, in his memories of the Showboat, described an encounter with Thelma while he was helping Showboat star Dinah Shore; “The day before her Showboat appearance I took her and her manager to the stage to do some rehearsing with the band. Afterwards it was getting dark and I asked if they were hungry. I was thinking where on a Monday night we might go. Then I saw a light in the kitchen of the Levee Restaurant which was on the corner right near the Showboat. It was closed but when I rapped on the front windows the owner Thelma Roth who was making her famous pies in the back came up front, unlocked the door, seated us, and brought coffee and warm pie from the oven. Dinah was genuinely ecstatic about the pie, asked Thelma to sit down, and they talked for an hour or more about their mom’s pies and cooking and Dinah’s upbringing down in Tennessee.” The “Levee Review Club” was a group of eleven retired men who ate breakfast together every day for over 6 years. One of the members wrote the following poems. Levee Review Club The ‘Club’ is an ‘unorganized’ group of ‘makes’ That meet each morning to tell true tales They come each morning by car or truck And worry about those without such luck. There are those that walk through rain and snow They enjoy talking about those they know. They speak about those from far and near Because they are the ones held so dear. They are a happy, humorous crowd Even though they are occasionally loud. they review the present, future and past And usually can answer the questions asked. Their collective minds know no bounds Beau as Erin age, knowledge is found If all of us could follow their leads, Our tribulations would be small, indeed. For those of you who are getting older and grey, Why not stop in and see them someday? You will find them to be meritorious For they are, one and all, Emeritus. We know the ‘God’ is the Supreme Engineer And as each approaches the Glory near, We pray that when ‘He’ makes the final decision ‘That there will be no revision.’ A Toast to Thelma Roth Their hostess is ‘Thelma’ a wonderful girl That serves foods that are like pearls She never forgets their birthday dates And always serves them delicious cakes. On each cake is a candle bright And she hopes that everyone is all right. (Lyle C. Armstrong 1973) The Levee Restaurant closed its doors on Sunday, August 26, 1973, when Thelma Roth retired and served her last customer after 18 years on Main Street. She said she enjoyed the years because of the many friends she made. It wasn’t just the customers, but also the many wonderful fellow business people. Her retirement years were spent active in the community. Not only was she an active part of the Vergennes Co-Operative Club, the Cookie of the Bridge just couldn’t give up baking. Only this time, in August of 1974, she was baking for others. Thelma’s bake sale raised over $200 for the Lowell Rescue Unit and was sold out by 1 p.m. It wasn’t enough to bake and sell goods to benefit the community, but as an enticement to get shoppers to come, she offered coffee, donuts and cookies to those who came by to shop. When she died on January 24, 1984, she was buried at Oakwood Cemetery, just upriver from where she spent so many years of her life, at The Levee. The images show a showboat audience sheltering under the awning of The Levee Restaurant in 1953 and the Levee Review Club in 1973 with Thelma Roth at her restaurant on the corner of Lafayette and Main Street in Lowell. Pictured are: Lyle Armstrong, Oswald Bieri, Dave Clark, George DeGraw, Clyde Kinyon, Tom LaPreze, Charles Shaw, Frank Stephens, James Sullivan, Ray Purchase, Guy Quiggle. "Thelma was my grandma Bebe's (Eunice) best friend...those two were so funny! and would laugh so hard. Lots of car hours with them. They always went to the Senior Neighbors Center together for lunch.
I love these stories." Tracy Hilton-Leson Duell "I loved eating lunch at The Levee. We were in 6th grade at the old junior high."
Terri McCready |