By MARALINE KUBIK

By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BESSEMER, Pa. -- Everybody has a story, and at the Bessemer Diner the stories patrons banter back and forth are the real-life dreams and struggles that could be fodder for the movies.
Calvin Smith, 71, spent 25 years building his dream home, a 2,000-square-foot log cabin.
Unlike modern manufactured log cabins, Smith's home was built the old-fashioned way, with plenty of back-breaking work and persistence.
He cut poplar trees, each one chosen for its circumference and height, from property surrounding his family homestead along Stymie Road in Poland Township. Then, he stripped branches and bark from the trunks by hand and carefully fitted the logs together.
A soft-spoken man, Smith is an outdoorsman who seemed a little embarrassed when his friend, Robert Slosser, 72, another breakfast regular at the diner, boasted about his friend's accomplishment.
"It's not my house, but you've got to see it, so I'm inviting everybody," Slosser said to the half-dozen or so men and one woman gathered around the table.
A dog, six cats, a 15-year-old swan and "about 100 unwelcome geese" inhabit the lake and 11-acres of property where Smith's log home sits, Slosser continued.
When Smith and his father completed the first phase of the house in 1976, it was featured in The Vindicator, Slosser added.
After Smith married in 1985, the original cabin was too small. So, he doubled its size, adding a dining room, great room and den.
"When I found out he was married, I was shocked," Slosser said, his eyes open wide in amazement. "He was the shyest kid in school."
Slosser and Smith met in seventh or eighth grade and spent every weekend together until they joined the service during the Korean War.
"We'd go hunting and fishing. We even cooked our own fish," Slosser recalled.
"In ninth grade, we played football," Smith added.
The two friends, who had been inseparable, lost touch when Smith joined the Air Force and Blosser joined the Army.
Decades later, their paths crossed again when they found themselves eating at the same restaurant about the same time of day almost every day. Since reconnecting, they've been almost as inseparable as they were when they were boys, Slosser said.
Model visits
Smith's log dream home and rekindling a long-lost friendship weren't the only stories at the table.
Many of the regulars were in the restaurant last week when one of the newest Victoria's Secret runway models, Deanna Miller, visited the restaurant.
Miller, 19, grew up within walking distance of the diner. She and her entourage of photographers were in town filming a segment on Miller's hometown that will air during the Victoria's Secret fashion show Wednesday on CBS.
"I felt so stupid. I didn't even know she was a Victoria's Secret model," said Patti Slosser, Robert Slosser's daughter-in-law and restaurant co-owner.
"Call her mom and tell her we'll buy her a cup of coffee if she comes up," Robert Slosser said, encouraging his daughter-in-law to call the model's mother so the breakfast crew could get the first-hand scoop about Miller's upcoming television debut.
"She can't come now," an unidentified diner interjected. "She drives a school bus and is working now."
Servicemen's pictures
Everybody in the diner knows everybody else. They also know the folks in the photographs that adorn the walls.
Some of the pictures are recent and feature diners enjoying their meals. Others feature area servicemen and women during their tours of duty.
"This guy's up there," Slosser said, pointing to one of his table mates, Clayton Stephenson, and then to a black-and-white, 8-by-10 framed photo of three young men in their military uniforms during the Korean War.
Stephenson, a former Marine, is the only one in the picture still living.
Ensuring that history, especially items regarding the Korean War are preserved accurately and as completely as possible, is one of Stephenson's priorities.
"You won't read about a lot of things that happened in the history books," Stephenson said.
Sgt. Reckless
One incident he remembers vividly is the service of Sgt. Reckless, a mare a soldier bought to help carry packs. The horse later carried ammunition to Marines in battle and was eventually brought to the United States.
Lt. Andrew Geer, whom Stephenson reported to, wrote a book about the horse and shared it with his men.
Stephenson had 500 copies of the book reprinted. He received them last week and already has sold 100 copies. That's his story.
With so many veterans as customers -- and employees -- the patriotic decor is a perfect fit.
Patriotic decor
Patti Slosser said she and her daughter, Sheila Reidy, partners in the business, considered naming their restaurant the Broken Yolk Cafe, "because every time we'd send out an egg the yolk was broken," Patti Slosser said. But after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, she said they knew red, white and blue was the way to go.
They retained the Bessemer Diner name and ordered T-shirts, place mats and tableware embellished with the American flag. They hung red and white striped curtains on the window and topped them with navy blue valances covered with white stars.
Then, they collected photos with historic significance -- soldiers in their uniforms who lived in Bessemer, old class pictures, and local sports teams -- and hung them on the walls.
The photos aren't mere decorations, but glowing reminders of the accomplishments and sacrifices Bessemer residents have made.
kubik@vindy.com