Family, friends share memories of hard-working, easygoing Clayton Friedl
By Todd Mishler
Copy editor
Clayton Friedl didn’t earn the nickname of “Mr. Whitewater” from sitting around and spinning yarns.
However, some of his friends and/or former customers might agree to differ, at least occasionally.
Friedl and his buddies from the area usually gathered Tuesday and Thursday mornings at Jessica’s Restaurant on Main Street in Whitewater.
Many of them will continue to hold court at the iconic downtown eatery, although Friedl won’t be joining them anymore.
Friedl, 75, suffered serious injuries in a single-vehicle accident June 8 and passed away at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison on June 16.
Longtime waitress Bridget Edwards said that Friedl sometimes arrived at Jessica’s in time to catch the early arrivals before they left— the restaurant opens at 6 a.m. daily except Sundays — but typically he joined a second wave of regulars around 8 or so.
And he ordered the same breakfast every time: two eggs, over easy, with hash browns but no toast.
“He was more quiet and not as boisterous as most of these guys,” Edwards said, taking a jab at several patrons Tuesday morning. “He was more of a listener.”
For more about Friedl see the June 28 Whitewater Register.
