On The Sly

Well...well...well...You sure are exposing your age Mr. G. Some of us youngsters were much too young for the wild night life of the 60's! But bring back the good old fashion beer blast of the Office bar and we can join in! As for the "pony tail" ....one quick question? Do real men go to the "BARBER" OR TO THE BEAUTY SALON? Keep us posted with your wisdom! J

Jim....WOW.....The Sunday Dreamers- now there is a name that I had completely forgotten. Too much Rock and Roll. I know this is off the subject Foxy, but how cool it would be to see who remembers those old bands. Plattsburgh was and still is a breeding ground for great musicians. Hap Lamare, Herbie Rock, Bob Harp, Chet Lavalley,I had the pleasure to work with these great musicians on and off for many years at Kays' Nightclub in Morrisonville around 1965. hehe I was 13 OMG..... This would be a whole new Blog. I may be a Rock & roll Doctor But I loved the Jazz I used to play with those seasoned veterans. It is one of my fondest memories. I am still a rocker but the seeds they planted will never go away!!

Hey "Mushrat", get that hotel of yours ready. I'll be up for my neice's graduation from the High School in late June and will need suitable accomodations for the misses and me. I'm retired now and the first thing I do-even before I put the cat out-is read Foxy's blog.

Hey Randy, didn't the Sunday Dreamers play at the Cumberland? I remember frat brother Steve Beebie played horn. Now there was a rockin' band. And what about the Cumberland's schahoobie (sp?) ... Ripple poured into a $1 pitcher of lager?

Jim.... You are absolutely right it was indeed the Grandview. And yes the 13 Morgans was later called The Caberet and I was playing there when the place burned to the ground. Lost a great set of drums that night. AHHH the memories!!

All this talk of the old bars in town brings back a lot of memories. Several years ago I was in a high end gift shop antique store in Clifton Park not far from where I now live. They display a lot of memorabilia from many places. While I was wandering around I saw a neon sign that looked very familiar. I looked and looked and thought about it. Finally, I found the owner and asked if the sign came from Plattsburgh. She told me that, yes, it had. It was the sign that hung in the front of the Rainbow!! Some things are so deeply implanted in one's memory!!! I am also glad someone mentioned the Union hotel. I remember standing out front the morning after it was taken from us. I recall a number of others standing around stunned in disbelief.

I can't believe I forgot to mention the Union Hotel! My cousins, Buck & Isabelle DeFore were the owners and later their son Bob ran it until it burned down. Kenny, the bartender, used to make me Shirley Temples when I was a child, and pour me beers when I was a young adult. That's also where I first met Butch Cokely.
I briefly tended bar at the Cumberland Hotel upstairs bar. There was great live music going on there, especially a very talented PSUC student, Keith Wheeler. I think his band included Spencer Bosworth, but I don't remember if it was The Stowaways (after Bentley Austin left for college in Indiana) or if it was some other name. Or maybe I'm just confusing band members.
Another of my hang outs was the seasonal summer business, Canata Lodge, in Port Kent. Live music, lots of people, the lake, cold beer... it was darn near perfect. The downside? Having to drive home from Port Kent afterwards!

Wasn't the name of the dance place on Route 9 north of the city the Grand View? And the other place to rock south of the city on Route 9 was 13 Morgans. But Fox, you've forgotten one of the most popular gin mills downtown: the Union Hotel. What a place! Then there was the Crest on Margaret St. next to National Army Store. And who can forget Goober's Ragtime on Oak St., right around the corner from the Press-Republican on Clinton St.?

Oh My... As a local musician for more years than I care to remember.... I too had the pleasure of playing at just about any establishment that ever had bands in and around Plattsburgh...including The Egg and Machine shop when the Hell's Angels were in town. The one I haven't heard mentioned yet was on route 9 North just past the shopping center on the west side of the road. Can anyone name it? And oh yes I had many a Pepper Steaks at BJ's at 4:00 in the morning.. haha Talk about health food!!

(Foxy's note: I'm pretty sure I can name that place on Route 9 North, Randy, because we had some frat parties there around 1968-69. But I'll leave this question up for grabs for the blog readers.)

Wasn't the bar from the Royal torn out and now used in another establishment?? I could talk about my Plattsburgh bar days here, but I don't want to use up all the hard drive space!! My fondest memories were of the Tijuana Jail, and other establishments running to the pay phone to give Gordie Little news tips.

Foxy,
What a response to the eateries!! WOW, I so wish I could share some experiences but alas, I must admit as the "Tom a Hawk" has surmised I led a sheltered life, only taking in basketball games live or via the golden voices of Sidney J. and the North Country's Ambassador of Athletics Mike Mannix. What was it like to save that $1.99 for that peppered steak or go over to the Pizzeria for the Broasted Chicken after Brodi's closed and the Benson brothers escorted you out after a quiet evening with the airmen from PAFB. Great BLOG, Foxy just wish this snot nosed punk kid could have had those experiences that my esteemed colleagues had.

Hey, W: You must have had one or two too many at the L&M since the country-western bar on that corner was the 'Rainbow' and the L&M was at the next intersection. If you kept going towards the 'Crick' you could have three or more at the 'Trade-Winds'.

I have always heard about some of these places growing up. What were places like the egg and the machine shop like? I think hearing about restaurants and taverns people used to frequent in Plattsburgh are really interesting. These are great Blog's Foxy. Keep up the good work.

One of life's great mysteries is what we consider our "fondest" memories. Downtown Plattsburgh at 3:00 a.m. was the best (I choose to not remember how I felt the next day, but it was nothing a greasy hamburger, Pepsi and a bag of chips for breakfast would not fix!). It was early 70's for me and I was (and still am) in love with the coolest cop in town (now coolest retired cop in town). Let's not forget the Bistro and all the fun everyone had after some of the fantastic PBA basketball tournaments. Well, I'm getting off topic, but Foxy - thanks for the memories! I love our hometown. (P.S. - I can't believe that someone else remembers the tuna subs from Jerry's Sub Shop - they were the best) and I absolutely agree that Bobby's pepper steaks bring it all back.) diane

Speaking of 3AM, who can forget Alan Henry’s Stardust, or the Super 87 or Border Drive ins? They all had snack bars and if you were still hungry after the movie you could pull into Tony Longe’s Orange Julep on Route 9 north. It was originally located next to Dan Shea’s Trading Post near Gus’s but was moved by truck to its final resting spot across from where McDonalds is today. I remember the frosty Root Beer mugs at the A&W drive-in next to the ‘Crick’ on Route 9 and country western music and a tall one, or two at Larry Carpenter’s L&M where Margaret Street and Sailey Avenue intersect. It’s good they didn’t have cholesterol screening back in those days.

Since we are discussing the fine dining establishments of the 60's and even 50's, it would be remiss not to mention Lena and Arlene's on Montcalm Avenue. How about the Crystal on Oak St? Or Gene's Busy Corner on the Corner of Margaret and Clinton? I can barely remember the soda fountain at Meyer Drugs downtown. Rollerland on N.Beekman St had great hotdogs and some top performers too.

Y'all are bringing back some memories! In the mid-'60s I often visited my Aunt, who lived at 41 Draper Ave, across the street from the college tennis courts. In my teens I loved to spend time at the college pond. At night the lights on the fountain were spectacular. I attended St. John's Acadeny for my sophomore year, 1966-67 - I knew your brother Goose back then. My hang-outs were The Pizza Corner (God bless Mike), Nelson's Music Center and the YMCA. I loved the Y dances when The Stowaways played. After graduating from high school in Maryland I went back to P'Burgh for college at the brand new Clinton Community College in 1969, which was its first year of operation. Big John's was happenin' then, as was my home away from home Filion's, the Monopole, and Egg & Machine. There was a sub shop at Margaret & Protection or Margaret & Court - Brett Heiss owned it and they made the best tuna subs. In the '60s there was a place near Brodi's (McKinley Ave?) that served "Broasted Chicken", but I have never been able to remember the name of the place. I'm not sure if it was on US Ave or not, but somewhere in the Brodi's/Flight Line (Flight Path?) area. Clare & Carl's was my favorite for Michigans. And the Tea House on Sailly Ave? was my favorite for Chinese. As you can see, it's been a lot of years since I lived there and some memories are not as clear as they used to be, but I'll never forget those days.

How about a Michigan at Francis Broderick’s ‘Creamy B’ on South Catherine or ‘Ma’s kitchen’ in Dannemora, or a pizza at Dick Well’s ‘Roman Gardens’ in Plattsburgh Plaza, or a Friday night fish fry at Hap Lamare’s ‘store’ on Montcalm Ave? I was a youngster drinking cherry cokes and root beer floats at the pizza corner on Margaret Street while you were spending late nights hustling the bars back-in-the-day so I can’t relate so much to all those fine dining establishments.

p.s. Did you hear that “W” caught the bird flu while drawing cartoons in Denmark last week. He should have stayed on the campaign trail, and what happened to Bullet, didn’t he ever eat-out?

wow, ma coakley's kitchen. that brings back memories from the olden days. city hall place was the place to be even if you were a long haired college kid.

Whew!! Get out the Rolaids...or Tums!! Glad you feel young again, though, Fox. That's the name of the game!!! Whatever it takes...ponytail and hot pepper steaks. What a combo!!!