Bill Knapp's

A popular chain of homestyle restaurants, Bill Knapp's opened in Battle Creek, Michigan on July 21, 1948. Known for its celebration cake and birthday discounts, Bill Knapp's filed for bankruptcy in 2011 but the cake is still available in stores.

If you ask longtime Kalamazoo residents about their favorite restaurants, there are few that bring more nostalgic reactions than (Battle Creek') Bill Knapp's and (nationally) Howard Johnson's.

Ah, Radio Shack. The latest in a group of stand-bys in my life that will soon be gone. Funny how it works as you age - things go away! Things that were woven into the fabric of our upbringings that we presumed would always be there. I guess that's called taking them "for granted...