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Indian Chief memories

A favorite from childhood

Sandy Burke Collison so loves the Indian Chief Tavern and Restaurant, a Medford landmark set to close Nov. 18,  that she bought a rather pricey souvenir.

"When I ate lunch there and heard they were closing, I asked if I could buy one of the Indian statues," says Collison, 63, of Southampton, Burlington County. "I paid $100 for it and carted it home. Now it's on my porch."

A retired real estate agent and former Playboy bunny,  Collison began eating at what was then a diner in 1959. She went to the Indian Chief with her parents and brother on Sunday afternoons, and when she moved back to South Jersey 11 years ago after living in Florida, the Route 70 eatery again became a regular stop.

"It just think it had the most beautiful interior, and it never changed," Collison says. "I don't cry a lot, but when I looked around for the last time and took pictures of the booth where I used to sit with my mother and father and brother,  I teared up."

I bet many South Jerseyans can relate. Diners, with or without liquor licenses, are a defining feature of life in this part of the world. I regularly eat with groups of friends at the Westmont, in Haddon Township, and the Legacy,  in Audubon.

And when those traditions come to an end, as all good things eventually must, I'll probably want to take home a souvenir or two.

But I'll opt for a menu. Or perhaps a placemat.

--KEVIN RIORDAN