PARTRIDGE � For Kenneth McFarland, there are few constants as a farmer, except at noon at the Partridge Cafe.



It�s where, for years, he finds good food, good conversation and Ruth Jones.



�I�m here every day except Sunday, � he said with a hearty laugh of the only day the cafe isn�t open.



The Nickerson-area farmer and his hired man, Larry Belote, Sylvia, pulled up chairs at one of the handful of metal tables here. Belote ordered the $3.50 special � pork chops and rice � and McFarland requested potatoes and chocolate cake as he told Jones he needs to watch his diet.



Jones smiled and headed back to the kitchen as a small wave of folks began to bustle into her little cafe in this little Reno County town of 250 people.



It is here, in the little white building on Partridge�s main street, that customers swap stories over fried chicken and homemade blueberry pie. It�s where the cash register is still a wooden machine and local events at the town�s churches and school are pinned to the bulletin board.



And, it is where, for 51 years, the 80-year-old Jones has served the folks of Partridge a home-cooked meal.



It�s been her life since 1964. Most days, Jones walks from her home across the street to the Partridge Cafe, turning on the lights and coffee pot by 5 a.m.



Throughout the day, folks sprinkle in � some for breakfast of sausage and eggs, some for a lunchtime hamburger or her daily special. Nothing usually costs more than $3.50 � including her most popular special � fried chicken every Friday. Breakfast meals aren�t more than $2.50.



Jones said she learned to cook growing up on a Maryland farm. But it was in Kansas she has lived most of her life � meeting her husband, Jimmie, by chance while walking home from the midnight movie after moving to the state.



Jones said she was working at the drive-in movie theater in Lyons when she and Jimmie decided to buy the cafe in Partridge, which was built in 1949. Their two children were in elementary school.



Jimmie also worked at the local elevator in town. He died in 1989.



Jones, however, didn�t quit. She continued to get up early every morning, opening the restaurant, which hasn�t changed much over the years. Customers eat amid a table lined with condiments, surrounded by freezers and Jones� sundry of clutter.



In the past, she�s had help. However, these days, she is a one-woman operation. She cooks. She cleans. She waits tables and runs the register.



�It�s just me,� she said. �It�s a lot of work, but I�m used to it. I don�t mind. Some days it is hectic. Then other days it is slow.�



She�s had a few people inquire about jobs, but they always have demands.



�They tell me what they don�t want to do,� Jones said. �They don�t want to wash dishes or pick up dirty dishes. That doesn�t leave much left to do.�



Jones talks of retirement, even mentioning she wouldn�t mind selling the cafe.



But in a little town like Partridge, there aren�t many takers. She keeps going because she is devoted to the town that she has called home for so long.



�It is just one of those things, I hate to see it close,� she said. �You close up a place and the town goes downhill. It would be a shame.



�I�m going to keep going another year, anyway,� Jones said.



The people she meets, like McFarland and Belote, keep her going.



�You meet some of the same people who come every day, but you meet new people,� said Jones, adding that her career, �It�s been enjoyable, most of the time.�



The food isn�t expensive, and customers say they make up for it in by leaving good tips.



In fact, said Belote, the price is cheaper than McDonald�s.



�And it is better food, too,� he said.



Devon Beachy, who works at an auto repair shop across the street, said he is among the regulars.



�You get good food, you can visit with the people you know while eating it,� Beachy said, adding he usually gets the special.



Ron Hirst, who was eating with his wife, Betty, said they come over on occasion to eat and see Jones. Hirst said it was his grandparents, Bert and Nita Hirst, who built and opened the restaurant.



Many people support it, he said, noting that locals even help Jones when she needs repairs done on her establishment.



After all, said Betty Hirst, residents want to see the cafe stay open.



�A lot of farmers depend on Ruth for their meals,� Betty Hirst said.



McFarland depends on her. He frequents the place every day at noon, bringing his hired men, including his summertime crew. Also, he said, sometimes farmers carry out lunches to take to the harvest field. And, at 7 a.m. every Saturday, he meets his family for breakfast.



�My wife would have to go back to cooking,� he said with a chuckle if Jones ever closed. �It�s important to have Ruth still here for food.�