Glenn Wrinkle Sr., founder and operator of Wrink’s Market along Route 66 from 1950 until his death in 2005, was given the Lebanon Community Achievement Award last week.
The honor is given to those “whose lives and careers have had a major beneficial impact on the Laclede County Area.” Wrinkle and four other honorees in last week’s ceremony will be recognized on the Wall of Honor at the Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon that, appropriately enough, sits right off Route 66.
According to the blog of the Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society:
The Wall of Honor Banquet, held in the foyer of the civic center, included videos of each honoree. The music accompanying Wrinkle’s video was the 1933 song, “Shuffle Off to Buffalo.” The Rev. Eddie Wrinkle explained that the song was – unintentionally — his father’s first solo in church at age 6.
Eddie Wrinkle told the crowd about the history of Wrink’s Market and described his dad’s character by using the letters of his name. “G,” he said, stood for Godly and generous, “L” for loving, “E” for energetic,“N” for never met a stranger, and the second “N” for nice.
“Dad was just a nice guy,” he said.
Eddie said the “W” in Wrinkle stood for workaholic. He quoted his father in later years as saying, “If they have to carry me up to the store, I’m going to be there.”
He talked about how Glenn enjoyed representing Lebanon on Route 66 and would climb aboard tour buses to talk about it.
Wrinkle’s son, Terry, reopened the store in 2007 but closed it again two years later when the economy tanked amid the Great Recession. D.C. Decker reopened it in 2011 as a cowboy emporium, but it quickly shuttered, too.
Wrinkle’s granddaughter, Katie Wrinkle Hapner, reopened Wrinks Market two years ago as an antique store, general store and crafts store, as seen on Facebook.
It continues to serve handcrafted sandwiches, much like Glenn made. Late radio host Paul Harvey was such a fan of Wrink’s Market sandwiches, he talked about them on his show.
(Image of Wrink’s Market in Lebanon, Missouri, in 2012 by JymPoiranges via Flickr)