Text and Photos
By Sheri Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: This is the twenty-first column in the Dives and Diners series in which a small group of Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members and their guests road trip to explore the restaurants of Kosciusko and the surrounding area.

At the end of 1995, I called from Florida to rent an ancient trailer on Sycamore Street in Silver Lake. Sometime that December, I stood in a snowstorm on the corner of SR 15S and SR 14S in a phone booth without panels. My legs froze in the swirling snow while I attempted to get my trailer’s electricity turned on. “Welcome to Indiana,” the operator told me.

These days I live in Warsaw and know Silver Lake mostly as a stoplight on my way to Indianapolis. Each time I drive through, I notice the Silver Inn at 105 E Main St. This 21st Diners and Dives finally gave us the opportunity to step inside. We were not disappointed.

The Wildcards From Silver Lake

“I’m a cow-town kind of girl,” Marilyn Luecke introduced herself with an infectious grin. “I’ve lived here 66 of my 67 years. That’s my whole life. I love Silver Lake.” She greeted several other people in the bar with giant hugs.

Wildcard No. 2 Mike Metzger of Metzger Trucking shook our hands and gave us several nicknames he went by. “When I was a teenager, they wanted someone for an interview for something I don’t even remember. I could at least put a sentence together, so I got the job. And my friends called me Hollywood Mike because of it.”

“And you still have teeth,” Marilyn grinned. “All your teeth AND you can talk, so you’re still Hollywood.”

Wildcard No. 3, a woman in a cool, purple-spotted blouse and curly blonde hair arrived. This was Sandy Rowland, manager of the Lake City Bank Branch directly across the street. “I’ve been here since 2015 maybe?” Sandy pulled out a chair. “I feel like I’ve seen a lot of little kids grow up in front of me. We get to know them real well in this little town. We help them fill out deposit slips.”

Our prominent local 1st Source Banker Paul Finley decided Sandy’s nickname should be “Big Money Sandy.” Sandy shook her head and wondered what on earth she’d gotten herself into at this lunch.

Inside: For reservations call call (260) 352-2870

The long-time Silver Inn is now Jaime’s Silver Inn because Jaime Burkett recently purchased the place. Her sister Jessie welcomed us on a Thursday, Aug. 3, around noon. She paused as we jumped at a loud zip-zip-zip sound. She pointed at a workman with a drill. “We’re getting a brand-new jukebox! The old one had some issues.” She waved around. “We’re renovating the kitchen too. The place needed some love.” Jessie handed us menus and recommended Irish Nachos and Loaded Waffle Fries while we got ourselves comfortable.

“What makes the nachos Irish?” I wondered aloud.

REMAX Realtor Jeff Owens rolled his eyes. “Because of the po-ta-toes, of course?” Irish nachos are potatoes (not corn chips) covered in bacon and cheese. We couldn’t stop eating them.

“Jeff is so ornery,” Marilyn confided as she took a waffle fry. “I’ve known him a long time.” She gave Jeff a warm smile to take away the burn. “But his wife Vicky IS a saint.”

The waitress Jessie grinned to herself as she handed out menu advice. Pork fritters are smaller than tenderloins. Chips come standard with sandwiches. You can choose from several types of cheese. She added, “We’re not sure if we’ll bring back the annual smelt-fry yet or not. That machine needs to be replaced.”

Titus Funeral Planner Brittany Lyon asked if she could swap for cheddar cheese on the “chicken cordon blue”.

I asked, “Wouldn’t it be a chicken cordon yellow, then?”

The food arrived quickly, and we jumped in. My breaded chicken parmesan had just the right amount of sauce and two slices of melted cheese. Brittany sighed “Yum” as she bit into her sandwich. Everyone looked pleased.

After we had happily burned our tongues on hot fried items, talk shifted to the missing element of Silver Lake. The one every adult remembers.

Silver Lake Elementary School

On nice days in Silver Lake back in the fall of 1995 when I lived there, I walked by the Silver Lake Elementary with my dog. Back then kids still went to school there, and school lunches were cooked from scratch. The whole street smelled really good at lunchtime.

But the school building was torn down in the fall of 2022. Residents still feel the hole in the fabric of the community. “I went there for eight years,” Hollywood Mike ruminated as he swirled his drink. “Classes were tiny. People knew each other. Twenty kids in a class was a pretty big one. It’s still a culture shock for me to go to the big town of Warsaw.”

“The school had these enormous, gorgeous wood doors,” Big Money Sandy told us. “They were beautiful. Just gorgeous.” Sandy lives in Warsaw, but clearly adores Silver Lake and the people who live there.

Marilyn nodded. “My dad played the VERY first basketball game in Silver Lake School. Before that, the gym was the room above the liquor store.”

Hollywood Mike shook his head at how fast time had flown. “I’m getting older. Had some health problems last year. Three strokes even.” He paused with a sly look. “It’s a good thing that with three strokes you’re not OUT.”

Marilyn patted his arm affectionately. “Mike has nine kids, 26 grandkids, and six great-grandkids!”

Mike chortled. “Everyone. EVERYONE always asks me if I’m Catholic. I’ve taken to answering, ‘No, just a careless protestant.’”

Marilyn grinned across the table at Sandy. “We sometimes have to censor Mike around here, don’t we?”

Metzger Trucking

After licking our lips and thanking the waitress and the owner Jaime for the delicious food and excellent service, Sandy needed to go back to banking, and Mike wanted to show us around.

As we stood under the tavern awning, Hollywood Mike looked around downtown Silver Lake. He pointed up the street at a white building. “There’s the Metzger Trucking office. There’s not one day since I’ve been out of diapers when I haven’t been in there.” He shook his head. “I used to cook lunch for all of the employees every day too.”

Mike showed us around the impressive Metzger Trucking operation and his favorite trucks — Bonnie Belle (they only made 42 of those for a bi-centennial) and his baby the orange Screaming Eagle. He even let me hop up in the cab and check out the view after showing me the proper handholds for climbing up.

“So, what’s the thing truckers do with hammers and tires?” REMAX Owens asked.

Hollywood Mike’s eyes lit up. He clearly still loves being a trucker. He got out his ball-peen hammer and tapped the tires. “Hear that?” he asked. “The sound is different if the tire is going flat.” He tapped several trucks so we could get the different hollow sounds.

Before heading back to Warsaw, Mike showed us the main office which was stacked with Hershey bars and Marshmallow packages. His office manager Jenni Miller told us, “Those are for the company picnic upcoming.” His traveling dog Stella made an appearance at the office too. Mike is clearly proud to live and work in Silver Lake.

Silver Lake is different than it was when I lived there for a minute in 1995, but the people are just as friendly and interesting.

Thanks for hosting us Metzger Trucking and Jaime’s Silver Lake Inn. We had a wonderful afternoon with you.

Upcoming Live Silver Inn Events

Singer Ricky G every Friday starting Aug. 25.

The Copper Bridges Band Aug. 26.

Randon Trax Band Halloween Party Oct. 28

TIP – The Silver Inn is a smoking bar. At lunchtime, we could sense the smoke in the background, but it was easy to get used to.

Know of an interesting place, restaurant, nonprofit, or person which you’d like to see featured in Dives and Diners or in Profiles behind the scenes someday? Send SB Communications LLC an email at [email protected].