DAILY MAIL STAFF
MOUNT HOPE - Floyd Bonifacio has served more sodas, ice creamcones and Cokes than he can count during his days behind the fountainat his Bon Bon Hardware Store here.
Both the combination of soda fountain and hardware store and theunusual name garner attention, though the name really doesn't haveanything to do with candy.
"People don't think about a hardware store having a soda fountainin it, but that's how we started," Bonifacio said.
"I've probably served thousands of ice cream cones," he said."When the kids were in school across the street, they'd come here andget a soda and a hotdog for 25 cents or a chocolate malt or a Cokefor a nickel.
"And ice cream? Well, we served vanilla, chocolate, maple nut,strawberry and sometimes chocolate ripple," Floyd remembered. "AfterWorld War II we couldn't get regular ice cream so we ran soft-servefor a while."
The store was started by his father, Sam, in 1920.
"He was a shoemaker in Glen Jean and at the time Mount Hope was aboomtown," Bonifacio said. "He decided to move here and open a shoeshop. The store also had a soda fountain in it so he partitioned offthe shoe shop to one side with a separate entrance and opened up thesoda shop in the other."
He believes his father played off the family name in coming upwith a name for the store.
In the early days, there were plenty of hard-working miners inMount Hope and, therefore, lots of customers for the store.
"We stayed busy," said Floyd, who was born above the store in1924. "I was 6 years old when I got my first job shining shoes. I got10 cents a shine and did pretty well.
"My dad fixed a lot of shoes in those days because the town was soprosperous," he said. "We'd have miners coming in each day for a sodaor to have their shoes fixed or shined."
When World War II broke out, Floyd was a junior in high school andhe went into the service.
"They were taking just about anyone who wanted to go. I went inthe Navy and was shipped to the Pacific."
His first job after the war was running the soda fountain.
"My dad died in 1941 and my mother, Maria, didn't want to continuethat part of the business," he said. "After I came back in 1946, weclosed up that part and remodeled the store, expanding theconfectionary.
"We sold hot dogs, ice cream, magazines, things like that," herecalled.
"We had marble-topped tables and eight wooden booths and a 1946jukebox that everyone in town loved. I wish I still had it."
The 20-foot-long soda fountain structure is made of marble and hasnickel working parts. "We have found some parts of the fountain thatare stamped 1900 so we guessed that's when it was made," he said.
The marble counter top has a beautiful patina from years of beingshined and polished.
In the 1940s, Cokes were 5 cents and hot dogs were 10 cents.Business was booming from the kids, the families and the coal minerswho frequented the place.
"We got Coke syrup in 50-gallon wooden barrels and we'd set it upwith a wooden faucet. We'd draw up a gallon at a time and fill up thepumps in the fountain," he said.
"We'd pour in a shot (about 3 inches up in a 6-ounce glass) andthen fill the rest of the glass with soda. We could add cherry,vanilla, chocolate or whatever the customer wanted to the glass tomake that soda different."
As the business grew, Floyd decided to branch out and buy themovie theater across the street. The Princess Theater was owned by afilm distribution company that leased it to Bonifacio and his wife,Phyllis.
"After a while, we decided to buy," he said. "I ran the projectionroom while Phyllis worked the front, taking up the money."
The 500-seat theater was nearly always full in the 1950s and 60sand sometimes he or Phyllis would have to run across the street tothe store to get more chairs.
The Bonifacios were having so much fun they decided to buy anothertheater up the street.
"You have to remember that the town was booming at the time," herecalled. "The other place was the Mount Hope Theater. A town thatsupported two movie theaters was a big deal.
"We were showing six pictures a week across the street and six upthe street at the other one. We'd book 40 pictures a month in boththeaters. You have to remember that that's all people had to dothen."
As the town dwindled in size, the mines played out and the minersdied off, the Bonifacios sold the Princess Theater. About 12 yearsago, they sold the Mount Hope Theater.
In addition to his business ventures, Floyd has served 22 years incity government, six years as recorder, four years as city councilmanthen 12 years as mayor.
The focus of the store slowly changed to hardware as the fountainbusiness slacked off. The Bonifacios used to come in at 4 a.m. tostart their day, but now wait until 6:30 and close at 4 p.m. And eventhe hardware business is slow these days.
"People come in now and want four nails instead of dozens,"Bonifacio said. "Business is not what it used to be."
While Bonifacio, 82, has had a few health problems recently, heconsiders himself blessed. He and Phyllis have been married 50 yearsand they have three sons.
"As long as my health holds out, I'll keep going," he said. "Mymother lived to be 101. Maybe I'll make it that long."
Contact writer Mary Childress at maryc@dailymail.com or 348-4879.
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