Q. L. Stevens, 83, Muncie's barbecue legend
Hoodoo
By JOY LEIKER
July 30, 2010
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100730/NEWS01/7300305
http://snipurl.com/1000h9 [cmsimg_thestarpress_com]
Q.L. Stevens stirs a vat of barbeque sauce in the back room of Q.L.'s.
MUNCIE -- Q. L. Stevens, Muncie's barbecue legend, died Thursday, three
days after his 83rd birthday.
Famous for the food and sauce he cooked and served for decades from the
no-frills drive-thru restaurant he built block-by-block on Wolfe Street,
Stevens was a man with a magnetic personality. He knew no stranger,
friends and family said Thursday.
The Paducah, Ky., native had undergone minor surgery recently, but died
unexpectedly early Thursday morning. Funeral services, which will be
held in Muncie, are pending with Carmichael Funeral Home of Fort Wayne.
At Q.L.'s Bar-B-Que, Roger Reed was at work in the kitchen Thursday and
the sweet smell of barbecue filled the air.
Reed said with a smile he considered himself an unofficial member of the
Stevens family, and thought hundreds of others would put themselves on
that same large family tree.
"It feels like he's my own grandpa," Reed said.
As a young man, Stevens left Kentucky in search of a career that would
support his family. He first went to work in Richmond and in the 1950s
moved to Muncie with his wife Willa Mae and 4-year-old son. He worked
several jobs over the years, including at the General Motors plant, but
had always loved to cook.
"He knew on his salary at GM he was not going to send his three kids to
college," said Stevens' daughter, Teresa Jeter.
Unable to get a $500 loan from a bank, Stevens bought a few cinder
blocks every payday and began to build the restaurant known as Q.L.'s.
"We'd work until we ran out, and then we'd wait until the next weekend
when we'd go get some more," Stevens told The Muncie Star in 1980.
That was 38 years ago. Now Stevens' grandson, BJ Crumes, does most of
the cooking.
And even though Stevens officially had retired -- he still loved to pop
in -- customers often ask about the barbecue king when they pull into
the homemade drive-thru.
Jeter said, "He had this unique ability ... he was able to relate to the
youngest person and the oldest person. People adopted him as their dad,
their grandfather. People would just flock to him.
"He just made you feel like part of the family," Jeter said.
It was that feeling, as much as the food, that made Q.L.'s a
destination. In 2006 it was one of five Muncie restaurants featured in
Reid Duffy's Guide to Indiana's Favorite Restaurants.
Duffy told The Star Press, "It's a classic."
Stevens is survived by his wife, (Q.L. and Willa Mae celebrated their
60th wedding anniversary in January;) son Wayne; daughters Paula Crumes
and Teresa Jeter; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
And to those who wonder what the death of the patriarch means to the
local business, Jeter said she knows of no reason to worry. Q.L.'s isn't
going anywhere.
There will still be barbecue in Muncie.
And now, there's some in heaven, too.
--
Trout Mask Replica
KFJC.org, WFMU.org, WMSE.org, or WUSB.org;
because the pigoenholed programming of music channels
on Sirius Satellite, and its internet radio player, suck
BobF
Previously on alt.obituaries (Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:07:46 -0500 to be
exact), "A" <aa...@att.net> wrote thusly:
>Is *this* the only thing of "accomplishment" you've done in your life, Mr.
>Hoodoo-DODO?
>Post myriads of obscure a.o. posts, when you could be reading and *learning*
>something?
>Hmmmmmm?
I know, Roy. There he goes again, posting another one of those pesky
obituaries. When will people learn think like you and treat
alt.obituaries as a classroom where the uninformed gather at your feet
to learn about The Wacky World of Roy.
********
"Sorry to disabuse you to the real facts about what Government (i.e.,
sneaky, conninving, stealing politicians and paper-shuffling bureau-rats)
can and can't do, and the LAW of UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES--it will hurt your
body all over--within just a short time if this Government-imposed system is
rammed down our throats after they already have massively imposed HUGE COSTS
(which you pay for but blame private markets for!) with Medicare, Medicaid,
and Social Insecurity on the unsuspecting, naive population that is now
waking up to the truth!"
- From "The Sayings of Roy"
Charlene
> On Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:07:46 -0500, "An Unemployed Eight-Year-Old
> Girl" <aa...@att.net> wrote:
>
>> Is *this* the only thing of "accomplishment" you've done in your
> > life, Mr.
>> Hoodoo-DODO?
>> Post myriads of obscure a.o. posts, when you could be reading and
> > *learning*
>> something?
>
There's a lot of that going around today.
--
wd46, usenettin' on the iPad
Hoodoo
Time), spoke thusly:
> Is *this* the only thing of "accomplishment" you've done in your
> life, Mr. Hoodoo-DODO? Post myriads of obscure a.o. posts, when you
> could be reading and *learning* something? Hmmmmmm?
I'd venture to guess that I've accomplished far more in my lifetime than
you have during the extent of your useless existence.
Posting on-topic content into this newsgroup is one accomplishment I
have over you.
> "Hoodoo" <ver...@objectmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4C530615...@objectmail.com...
Charlene
> A <aa...@att.net>, on Sat Jul 31 2010 00:07:46 GMT-0500 (Central
> Daylight
> Time), spoke thusly:
>
>> Is *this* the only thing of "accomplishment" you've done in your
>> life, Mr. Hoodoo-DODO? Post myriads of obscure a.o. posts, when you
>> could be reading and *learning* something? Hmmmmmm?
>
> I'd venture to guess that I've accomplished far more in my lifetime
> than you have during the extent of your useless existence.
>
> Posting on-topic content into this newsgroup is one accomplishment I
> have over you.
Is he actually calling you out for posting obituaries on alt.obituaries?
BobF
Previously on alt.obituaries (Sun, 01 Aug 2010 16:32:40 GMT to be
exact), Charlene <charlene...@gmail.com> wrote thusly:
But that would be irrational, silly and just plain crazy ...
--
"What age did you first start reading the morning newspaper
and comprehending large words, SEVEN? Beat you by at least three years;
and an aunt of mine told me it was *before* I was yet FOUR! Meow!"
Hoodoo
GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time), spoke thusly:
> Hoodoo<ver...@objectmail.com> wrote:
>> A<aa...@att.net>, on Sat Jul 31 2010 00:07:46 GMT-0500 (Central
>> Daylight Time), spoke thusly:
>>
>>> Is *this* the only thing of "accomplishment" you've done in your
>>> life, Mr. Hoodoo-DODO? Post myriads of obscure a.o. posts, when
>>> you could be reading and *learning* something? Hmmmmmm?
>>
>> I'd venture to guess that I've accomplished far more in my
>> lifetime than you have during the extent of your useless
>> existence.
>>
>> Posting on-topic content into this newsgroup is one accomplishment
>> I have over you.
>
> Is he actually calling you out for posting obituaries on
> alt.obituaries?
As irrational and asinine as that seems, yes, he is.
I guess by his (lack of) standards, I should stop doing that.