SIDNEY — The death of rock and roll star Gregg Allman, who died May 27, brought back memories for a local resident of the day Allman and his band stopped at the Dutch Pantry for a meal in July 1976.

“I worked as a waitress there,” said Della Shaffer. “I was seven-months pregnant at the time with my son and his wife, Cher, was nine-months pregnant.”

Shaffer said when Allman and his band walked in, he sat at a table by himself and the others sat at together.

“He waved me over and said ‘sit and talk with me,’” said Shaffer. “He was a very nice, polite man.”

At the time, said Shaffer, Allman was faced with a choice of prison or testifying in a drug case. That was the reason, she said, he was sitting by himself.

“When he walked in, I thought he looked like Cher’s husband,” said Shaffer. “I was a fan of Cher, so I asked him if he was married to Cher.” Shaffer received a positive response from Allman.

“When he left, he waved me over again and thanked me for waiting on him,” she said. “He left us a good tip. He left $50 and he told the manager to divide it up among all the waitresses.”