It was, mainly, a hang out for the Irish "just off the boat" crowd. We were seniors at Visitation High School at the time and being first generation Irish American we would be known as "narrowbacks" - a somewhat perjorative word supposedly reflecting the fact that first generation men were not as strong doing manual labor as the Irish fellow who recently left the Ould Sod.
Jack Hanley, the owner, was from the same area of Galway as my dad so he was, for sure, a "regular" at the bar. When Mary Alice and I would go in dad would take us around and introduce us to his cronies who would always want to buy us drinks. Pretty soon we 17 year olds would have a table filled to capacity with 15 to 20 glasses of "highballs" and "7 & 7's" - the ladies drinks of the time.
Hanley's was the southside Irish "place to be" in its day, especially after the St. Patrick's Day parade but, also, on any weekend with the standing room crowds, the live music and dancing.
How great would it be to stop by once more and see dad sitting at his favorite bar stool in the middle of telling one of his infamous "tall tales" and see his face light up as Mary Alice and I strolled in, all dolled up in our sheath dresses, high heels and beehives and 'have him introduce his "little girl" around again.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment