Support your local coffee klatch

It seems that every small town and every community has a coffee klatch, a group of people—typically older—who gather at a chosen place to talk over their morning coffee.

I’ve never had the time to sit in on one of those klatches, which seem to be overflowing with both coffee and wisdom. Yet, for some reason, I know where most of them are in Saratoga. To the best of my knowledge, our little town of less than 2,000 people has at least four coffee groups which meet at different locations and different times.

For example, one of the coffee groups meets at J.W. Hugus & Co. on the north end of Saratoga. This group is composed of the same town fathers as the Hotel Wolf lunch crowd. Joe Glode Randy Raymer and Doug Campbell—at the minimum—meet for coffee here each weekday morning. You want some history on the area and to discuss municipal issues? This is the place to go.

Then there’s the coffee klatch at the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort, which includes none other than local historian and former newspaper publisher Dick Perue. It was also the morning coffee group for the late Teense Willford. Other dignitaries include Everett Grubb, Roger Snell and Don Herold and few other well known Valley characters.

The Country Store, however, is one of the more popular spots for coffee as it hosts two coffee groups at different times.

Head in before 8 a.m. and you'll be liable to find Danny McGuire, Leo Yockum and Bobby Johnston. Leonard Johnson, who is occasionally at the Hugus coffee klatch, will also join this group from time to time. Chuck Davis, the current mayor of Saratoga, and Jerry Fluty, a current member of the town council, may also stop in as well.

Later in the morning it’s time for the ladies, whose attendance seems to be a lot more consistent than the men’s group at The Country Store. Wanda Snell, Joy Hamilton and Joan Thrasher are among the members of this group.

Depending on what time I roll myself out of bed and get into the office, I usually run into one of the two groups at The Country Store. My question to them is often the same as I ask if they’ve solved all the world’s problems yet. I’m usually only half-joking as I tend to think that most of the problems today could be solved if only we sat down and talked over a hot cup of joe. Each time I ask the question, the answer is typically the same. The coffee klatches tell me they’ve nearly solved all the problems.

I wouldn’t be shocked if the answer for world peace came from one of those groups.