Santiago has always been my family’s town. It was our go-to place while growing up. 

Mabel and Oswald Lee were owners of The General Store. As was common in the early years, they had living quarters above the store.

 Other businesses included Santiago (Sherburne) State Bank, Santiago Locker, the hardware store, Centra Sota Co-op, Santiago Creamery, which later became  The Hanging Kettle restaurant owned by Hilda McLamb (famous for broasted chicken). 

There was also the Country Store (gas station) owned by Virgil Gilyard. My older sister Ruth, and my twin sister Terri and I worked at the Country Store as cashiers in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, a barber had a chair in the back room at the Country Store and came once a week to cut hair. 

Prior to being Country Store, there was a powerful Ford dealer for many years in the same location that was owned by Virgil Gilyard’s uncle (Abner Gilyard). 

There was also a bar on the strip called the Gin Mill in the 1970’s where Bailey Ray’s Roadhouse now sits. 

Food brings people together. Going back to the 1970’s, there was an amazing mom and pop style diner - Tom Sexton’s Cafe - kitty corner from The Country Store. Sadly, Tom Sexton’s burned down the fall of 1976 and was not rebuilt. 

Some of my older sisters (Judy, Gloria and Karen) and my brother Roger’s wife, Sandy (Bakken), were waitresses at Tom Sexton’s and often didn’t get home from their shifts until 5 am. Tom had the best hash browns around. He peeled more than a five gallon pail of potatoes every Saturday. 

My oldest sisters played softball at the ball diamond on the edge of town in the 1960’s and there were so many teams they had to practice at the Blue Hill ball field a few miles away.  

For the past 22 years, husband and wife team, Ray Mulvey and Terry Scheck have owned Bailey Ray’s Roadhouse in Santiago, serving up delicious food and cocktails.

Ray and Terry look forward to retirement and spending more time with their family in their newfound free time. The Mulveys will certainly be missed; yet they are confident the new owners will do a marvelous job carrying on the tradition of delivering scrumptious food and drinks on the strip in Santiago. Many of the current staff at Bailey Ray’s will be retained with the new ownership. 

Supporting local businesses is so important. People realized what a gift it is to spend time with one another after COVID.

I will continue to support Bailey Ray’s and other local businesses. I am grateful for all of the local businesses in our area!