Matriarch of The Driftwood made it the place to be in Ligonier Township
Share this post:
Growing up with Eliza Bacher as one’s mother was a little like growing up with one’s boss.
Mrs. Bacher owned and operated The Driftwood in Ligonier Township with her husband, Fred, for more than 60 years. Together, they attracted a following of faithful local customers, as well as travelers on the Lincoln Highway, U.S. Route 30.
The restaurant was family operated, with the Bachers’ children, Randy and Debra, helping.
“Randy and I were always involved in everything — preparing the foods for banquets or for dinner, decorating for the Christmas banquet or New Year’s. It was always a family affair,” Debra Rhoad said.
Mrs. Bacher was the main cook and tended bar, according to her son.
“My mother was very personable. She could relate well to people. She was very quick-witted,” Randy Bacher said.
Eliza May Bacher of Ligonier died Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. She was 90.
Born in Ligonier on May 21, 1929, she was a daughter of the late Paul and Esther (Shanefelt) Nicely. She graduated from Latrobe High School in 1947.
During her senior year, the family moved to Ligonier because of a house fire. “She ended up riding the train back and forth to Latrobe until graduation,” her son said.
Mrs. Bacher went to school with and knew Fred Rogers and Arnold Palmer, Rhoad said. “(Palmer) sat behind her in home room, and they double dated. Fred Rogers was one year older than her.”
She got involved with The Driftwood after marrying her husband, Fred, in 1952. The family lived in the same building as the restaurant.
“Our lives revolved around operating the business,” Randy Bacher said. “My mother tended bar. My dad did other things. Mom would open the bar and tend bar until he came home, and then he’d take over.”
Mrs. Bacher was the head cook for dinners and banquets at The Driftwood. “She had said repeatedly over the last few years, ‘I don’t know how we did it,’ ” Rhoad said.
When Fred Bacher died in 2013, Mrs. Bacher continued with the business until it closed about 2017, Randy Bacher said.
The Driftwood was known as the place to be in December, especially around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, her children said.
Mrs. Bacher was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick J. “Fred” Bacher.
She is survived by her daughter, Debra B. Rhoad, and her husband, Fred, of Charlotte, N.C.; her son, Randy F. Bacher and his wife, Dorothea of New Alexandria; and a granddaughter, Paula Kirk of Greenville, S.C.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at McCabe Funeral Home, 300 W. Third Ave., Derry.