Source : Oswego Palladium-Times
Date : July 29, 1939

Diner Building May Be Future Oswego Industry

A.H. Halladay Jr. has sectional model under way in Tool Works

  An unusual activity is going on in the rear part of the former Nu-Type Tool Corporation building at the foot of West First street. The sound of saws and hammers leads the visitor to the spot where a structure which at first glance resembles the famous ark is taking form. This is no Oswego Noah fearing a flood to follow the drought, however, but the General Diner Manufacturers building a new diner.

  The company was formed by Arthur H. Halladay. Jr., 84 East Sixth Street, and M.H. Whitehouse of Watertown. Like thousands of other young men, they had eaten in diners, but unlike most of the hurried lunchers, they began wondering about their construction, and decided to go into the business.

Mr. Halladay and Mr. Whitehouse have put out  two diners previous to the one now under construction. One of these was sent to Baltimore,Md, and the second is in use at Mapleview. The newest diner has been sold to a Malone restaurant man. and will
be delivered in about two weeks.  It is 36 feet long, 16 feet wide and seven feet high, and will accommodate 50 people.
The framework is now being covered with treated wall board, and a coat of metal sheeting will be placed over this.  Each diner is completely equipped with counter, stools and booths before it leaves the company plant.

About three weeks are required to build a diner, Mr. Halladay said Friday. Three men are at work on the project in the tool company building under Mr. Halladay's supervision, and Mr. Whitehouse will come here sunday. To avoid any such trouble as suffered by the legendary man who built a boat in his cellar and then couldn't get it out, the diners are built in such a way that they are easily knocked down.in sections. They are transported to their places of destination on tractor trailers. when they are placed, it requires only tightening of a few bolts to reunite the sections.

Mr. Halladay states he has tentative orders for several more diners, but has not yet fully decided whether they will be
constructed here or in Watertown where the previous two were made.

Source : Oswego Palladium-Times
Date : May 3, 1940

OSWEGO COMPANY BUILDING DINERS
Harry Johnson Has Ordered One for Forks of Road.

  Opening of a new Diner at the intersection of West Bridge and Seneca streets, which will be operated by Harry M. Johnson, will take place on or about May 25, Mr. Johnson, who conducts a diner at 168 West First street, said Friday he has signed a 10-year lease with an oil company, owner of the property, which has not been operated as a service station for some time.
  The new diner, which is constructed by the General Diner Manufacturing Co., located in the former Oswego Tool Works property recently purchased by Charles W. Dings, from the city of Oswego, will have dimensions of 39x16 feet and will have accommodations for 42 persons. It is a streamlined sectional construction. with the interior to be painted ivory, with brown trim.
The present structure on the property, formerly used as an automobile service station, which is approximately 50x50 feet, will
be used for bunks, showers and a lounging room for the convenience of the truck drivers, and will also house the kitchen connected with the diner. Adequate parking facilities are on hand, Mr. Johnson said. The new structure will be known as the Power Diner. Mr. Johnson will continue to operate his West First street establishment.
  Another diner, which will be located in Syracuse, is now under construction by the General Diner Manufacturing Company, conducted by Arthur H. Halladay Jr. of this city, and M.H. Whitehouse, Watertown.

Source - Oswego Palladium-Times
Date - June 29, 1940

Diner Product of Oswego Concern in Great Demand.
Orders for Several on Books and Many Inquiries are Being Received.

Public demand for popular eating places has proved an impetus for the diner building industry and a rapidly growing General Diner Manufacturing has been enjoying a flourishing business in Oswego for the past year and a half.  The company is located at the Nu-Type Tool building in West First Street, and all construction work is done in the rear of the ????
  Arthur Halladay and M.H. Whitehouse are partners in the diner building firm, which is the low priced company of this ???? in the United States, their product ranging from $5,500 up.  The cheapest diner in the high end priced class is $10,000, they said.  Previous to establishing their company here, Mr. Halladay and Mr Whitehouse carried a similar business in Watertown.
  The diner company employes 14 men at present, excluding the two officials.  After the diners are constructed at the West First Street location, they are shipped in sections to the site on which they are to be erected.  It takes but one day to assemble the building after it is constructed.  The company has its own artist who sketches plans for perspective customers.
  Howard Johnson's new west end diner at the Fork in the roads, was made and erected by General Diner company and will be open for business Thursday July 4.  It's exterior is Chinese red and ivory and the color theme is carried out in the interior, which is modernistic in design.  It has a seating capacity of 42 persons and in addition to the restaurant facilities it has an adjoining wing with bunks and showers for truck drivers.
  Next week, the Oswego diner builders will erect a similar eating place on the east side of the city, opposite Conway Terrace, owner Richard E. Nichols.  Thursday, they finished assembling the Park Diner at Hiawatha Boulevard and Park Street, Syracuse, and next week they will put one at Cortland, N.Y.  They also have an order to build at Glen Cove, L.I., within the next few weeks and have received numerous inquiries from many parts of the United States, including points as distant as Miami, Fla. and Des Moines, Iowa.
  Now only does the Halladay-Whitehouse company construct and assemble diners, but the buildings are completely equipped with booths, stools, counters, modern refrigeration units and dishes and other utensils with which to work.  The only things the owners has to furnish are the cash register and range.

Source - Oswego Palladium-Times
Date - July 16, 1940

General Diner Manufacturers of Oswego, with headquarters at the International Nu-Type Tool Company in West First street,
are confronted with a heavy schedule for the next 10 days with three diners to be shipped out of town and one now in the
process of erection at East 12th and Oneida streets, the last mentioned being the property of Richard Nichols, 112 West Bridge street. Shipments to Glen Cove, L. I., Frankfort, N. Y., and Syracuse are slated during the coming two weeks.
The Syracuse diner will be located in South Salina street opposite the Sears-Roebuck store. Due to increasing business
it has been necessary to enlarge the carpentry staff and officials of the company, Arthur Halladay Jr., and M. H. Whitehouse
report a shortage of workmen at the present time.  Diners are constructed and shipped in sections to the site on which they are to be assembled.

Source - Oswego Palladium-Times
Date - August 28, 1940

  In a little over a year the business of building and installing dining cars has become a brisk one in Oswego, and inquiries are being received from as far away as Florida, M.A. Whitehouse, a partner in the General Diner Manufacturers, said Wednesday.
Twenty workmen are busy at the plant, or in installing diners, Mr. Whitehouse said, and some weeks five diners, ranging
in value from $5,000 to $16,000 each installed, are turned out by the factory which occupies the former building of the Oswego Tool Works, West First street. The diners are built in sections, and can be installed in three hours without equipment,
Mr. Whitehouse said. A diner was erected in Syracuse recently, he said, in a morning. It takes three days to prepare the foundation, he added, and in about a week from the time the diner has been erected it can be placed in operation
  All the work done at Oswego is skilled labor, the partner said, with stainless steel cabinets, counters, electrical work, etc
in the Oswego plant and ready for installation. The diners are built in three sizes, to accomodate 42, 44 and 54 persons.
However, the Oswego plant will turn out "tailor made" diners for special clients.
  Refrigerator and other equipment is installed with the diner, and the person who goes in the restaurant business has no other details to consider.  Mr. Whitehouse said his company even furnishes a chef to start the business with, if the diner proprietor hasn't a cook handy.
  Advantages of the Oswego product are that it is roomier, fire-proof and with lavatories installed, Mr. Whitehouse declared.  The booths are installed together with the counte, are made at the Oswego plant.  Mr. Whitehouse said he was much pleased with the manufacturing facilities at Oswego believes business in the future will warrant the further expansion of his industry. At the present time, as many as five diners are being built at a time, there is room for several more, he said.
  The diner business has picked up a lot, according to Mr. Whitehouse, gasoline stations are installing them as an extra
well paying business. He hopes the Oswego factory will be able to turn out ten of these diners in a week a year from now. A.H. Halladay Jr. is the other partner in the concern.

Source - Oswego Palladium-Times
Date - Sept 25, 1940

Will Start Work on Largest Diner
Local Firm to Build One Seating 62 Persons for Utica Man.

  Work of building their biggest diner yet got underway at the plant of the General Diner Manufacturers this week. The diner
which will seat 62 persons, will be built in Oswego and taken bodily to Utica where it will be assembled in a few hours.
  Purchased by Roy Goetz of Utica, the diner will be 50 feet long and is a special order. Fifteen workmen, among them carpenters and electricians, will build the diner, which must be installed by October 15. Some of the equipment including stainless steel cabinets, will also be constructed in Oswego.
 In Oswego for a little more than a year, anid occupying of the former plant of the Oswego Tool company, General Diner Manufacturers have done considerable business, M. H. Whitehouse and A.H. Halladay Jr. partners in the  concern, said Wednesday.
  Their diners have been sold throughout the state, and one was being delivered in Frankfort Wednesday.  Work is so organized that in three or four hours, the diner can be assembled, and within a week can be in operation.  The concern even furnishes short order cooks to start off the business, if they are required.
  At present, the concern is receiving inquiries from Florida, and a businessman from that state is coming to Oswego soon to look over the production with a view of installing this type of diner in the southern state, it was said.

Source - Oswego Palladium-Times
Date - Oct 7, 1940

Oswego Welcomes New Residents
Murton A. Dings, 157 West Third St. with General Diner Mfg. Co., 2 in family

Source - Oswego Palladium-Times
Date - September 30, 1940

  Residents of Miami, Florida, will soon be eating in an Oswego diner. An order for a large diner was placed over the week-end with the Oswego Diner Manufacturers by two miamians who flew to the north to look over the local plant.
  The men who placed the order are Paul Kless and Leo Osclaveta [unsure of spelling due to quality of copy], who run a chain of cabin camps in Florida, each equipped with a diner.  M.H. Whitehouse, a partner in the Oswego concern, said the diner will be built in Oswego entirely, and shipped to Florida where, upon arrival, it will be erected, within a few hours.