08/12/2026
Week #2.....MINI SERIES: 40+ Years, Countless Memories: A Special Look Inside East End with Ron! 🍦🍕
Perspective
Dan and Barb ran East End when I was first hired in the 80s, and they treated their workers like family. If you had worked there and left, you were still welcome, and many times there were former workers who returned to visit or catch up on old times. The changeover to Kathy and Robbie was gradual, and the differences were mainly in personality, although there were a few Conner traits that held solidly, including complaining about suppliers who couldn’t seem to get things or arrive on time, as well as the occasional tricky customer who made the mistake of trying to whine to Dan or Robbie - woe to the one who did so! We learned a lot of new swear words when that happened.
Working at East End has been a privilege and a pleasure. Not all that much has changed in the neighborhood, though some folks have come and gone, and many of our customers have been coming for as long as I’ve been working. Suffice to say, it’s nice to have regulars who can be polite, forgiving, and who know a quality product when they taste it.
Technology is usually the big indicator of time, and the arrival of an online presence, the introduction of ipad cash registers, and taking credit cards only in the past five years has been the biggest change. Even now, the business seems to be relatively the same. If it’s not broken, it doesn’t need to be fixed.
Personality & Passions
In terms of art, I have forever been drawing cartoons, and Dan and Robbie have had me do some quick drawings for them, or made signs and such for new flavors or specials. There are a few customers I know who have had me do some cartoon characters on their pizza boxes, including Scooby Doo, Bluey, and Roger Rabbit. Bringing in a little fun like that has been rewarding.
Being an English teacher means I can legally correct someone’s grammar - I have license to do so, so beware! Frequently in class I’ll bring up a memory or the like from East End which will enhance a lesson, and my experiences there have given students a different perspective on seeking employment as they move into the job market. A few students are shocked to learn how long I’ve been at East End, and one teacher said there were shorter prison terms for murder! Mostly, I quote my dad, whose favorite phrase was, “When I like it, I like it.” Working at the stand is something I do actually enjoy.
There’s very little about Ron Plath that most folks don’t know, as I wear my heart on my sleeve. I draw cartoons, read a lot of books, have a lion costume that I perform in, and I’m a big fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Star Wars. The only kinds of music I don’t like are country (it’s just not my cup of tea) and rap (all I want to do is correct the grammar). I’ve never been married or had kids, I love dogs, and wish I had more time to watch TV. I doubt if anyone went through my house, they wouldn’t blink an eye at the Scooby Doo bedding and stuffed animals in my bedroom, and the amount of toy Daleks wouldn’t be a surprise, either.
Theres still more to come, to be continued...
