Right on the corner of Seventh and Marie avenues in South St. Paul sits the Sunlight Restaurant, an old-school establishment serving up everything from omelets to sandwiches to waffles all morning into the early afternoon.
The atmosphere is warm — with lots of conversation and laughter around steaming coffee — and everyone seems to know everyone. Old photographs line the pastel pink walls, and tables and booths are squished together as customers mingle. One woman walks around greeting old friends and offering them freshly-baked cookies. The staff know the regulars by first name, and vice versa.
One of the more remarkable things about the place has nothing to do with the cozy décor or the delicious egg sandwiches, but rather a group of four Korean War-era veterans who have met here almost every month for the past five years to catch up and reminisce.
The group’s monthly meetings started by accident when Ray Rangel, 91, and Manuel Capiz, 90, visited the restaurant a while back.
Al Schlief, 90, Ray Rangel, 91, Manuel Capiz, 90, and Jerry Vasquez, 91, look over old photos that Rangel and Vasquez brought to the group’s lunch at the Sunlight Restaurant in South St. Paul on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
“One day I came in with Manny because he lives nearby, and then we saw Al sitting at that same table. They always sit at the same table,” Rangel said. “‘What are you doing here?’ And then I brought Jerry over.”
On top of their monthly catch-up sessions, Rangel, Capiz and the two others, Al Schlief, 90, and Jerry Vasquez, 91, share a bond as Army veterans and have ties stretching back long before they started meeting at the restaurant.
St. Paul upbringings
All four attended St. Paul’s Mechanic Arts High School — the now-closed school that boasts alumni such as civil rights leader Roy Wilkins and Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun — and graduated with the Class of 1952.
Despite the school’s large size, all four knew at least one of the others while they were students. Rangel, Capiz and Vasquez all grew up in the same neighborhood on Grove Street and knew each other, while Schlief grew up on Seven Corners. While Schlief did not know Capiz or Vasquez, he knew Rangel.
“I actually knew Ray, I remembered him,” Schlief said. “Everybody knew Ray. Ray was the organizer; he still is.”
Raymond “Ray” Rangel as a senior in high school in 1952. (Courtesy of Ray Rangel)
Grove Street itself saw many people serve in the military, Rangel said. On his street alone, he counted 40 neighborhood boys who later enlisted. Like many of the others on Grove Street, Rangel and Capiz in particular said they came from military families, and serving in one of the branches was an important aspect of their upbringing.
Besides academics, the four participated in Mechanic Arts’ extracurriculars, especially sports.
Vasquez played basketball and football for the school, but said he “mostly got into history classes.” Capiz played football, tennis and ran track with Rangel. Tennis in particular played a role for Capiz in his professional life.
“I love tennis and my whole life I played tennis,” Capiz said. “I met a lot of people, a lot of important people. … That was part of my life, and believe it or not, I made all my contacts in business playing tennis.”
Schlief said he worked a lot during his upbringing, and started shining shoes when he was 10 years old and was able to pay his way to a Catholic grade school.
Shortly after high school, all four of the men went on to serve in the U.S. Army for two years, each in different parts of Germany during the Cold War.
Manuel “Manny” Capiz served in the U.S. Army for two years during the Korean War. (Courtesy of Manuel Capiz)
After the war
After finishing their military service, all four veterans worked in separate fields before fully reuniting decades later at the restaurant.
Capiz and his wife moved to California for four years before coming back to St. Paul, where he worked as a graphic designer. He also started and ran a travel agency with his wife for 20 years.
“We went all over the world,” Capiz said. “We went everywhere ’cause everything was free back then for travel agents.”
Schlief worked at a local meat-packing plant for 20 years before working in parks and recreation in West St. Paul for 24 years. Similarly, Vasquez worked for the city of St. Paul’s Parks and Recreations Department and on the playgrounds, and he also worked for Swift & Co., another meat-packing plant.
Rangel worked at a variety of local companies, including Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Ecolab in a supervisor role. He said he quit working at Ecolab because the company wanted to send him to Las Vegas, and he went on to work for the Minnesota Department of Corrections in Lino Lakes and later, Oak Park Heights.
Rangel said he worked in corrections until he was 65, despite the mandatory retirement age being 55, because he wanted to stay longer and his employer did not want him to leave.
“I never collected one unemployment check in my life, because I always had two jobs,” Rangel said.
Veterans Al Schlief, 90, left, and Ray Rangel, 91, talk about their time in the U.S. Army during a lunch at the Sunlight Restaurant in South St. Paul on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
After his military service and years working, Rangel also started the American Veterans-Mexican American Post #5 on St. Paul’s West Side in 1999 and was quite active with it. Within one year, the veterans post had 100 members. In four years, the post started work on a memorial on Harriet Island that was unveiled in 2012.
Despite the varied paths each of the veterans took in life, the meetings at the Sunlight Restaurant serve as a way for them to catch up with each other and stay connected.
“I spend a lot of time with my friends, you know? Like … Ray and Jerry and Al,” Capiz said. “Just kind of enjoying life together with my good friends.”
Related Articles
New Minnesota Military and Veterans Museum taking shape next to Camp Ripley
States go after ‘claim sharks’ that charge vets for help with disability claims
Snelling Company gives furnace, air conditioner to St. Paul veteran
MN attorney general warns of claim sharks scam targeting veterans benefits
Brandon Pugh: The battlefield requires individuals with STEM backgrounds
Leave a Reply