Nestled in North Wales, Pennsylvania, Pumpernick’s Deli is a culinary time machine. It’s where your taste buds go to party like it’s 1959, and the Reuben is the guest of honor.

My old friend, retired farmer Don VanMeer, often confided that he had set two ambitions in his golden years. The first was to reach the age of 90 and the second to remain living in his home on ...