Legions, Historical Society, NFL Playoffs, Bloody Marys and Beer

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20

Met Kevin and Kelly at Johnny's Cafe in Fox Lake, Illinois.  There are new owners there.  But still good food at reasonable prices.  Then went to the Fox Lake American Legion for 50-50.  We also have pull tabs for drink prices: 50 cents, half price and full price.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21

Went to the Fox Lake/Grant Township Historical Society meeting at the museum on Washington Street in Ingleside.  Met Frank and Lian there.  Today's topic was show and tell and a lot of the talk was about the old Pupper Bar/ Eagle Point Park, where I worked several yerars as house deejay until it closed.  That was one really fun place.  Imagine getting paid to have a good time.

Later, in the afternoon, I went to Sunnyside Tavern in Johnsburg to watch NFL playoff games and had a nice talk with Wayne and Angie who are now at the McHenry Moose Laodge, but for many years at Stucky's.  Wayne sponsored me joining the Moose Lodge there.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 22

I went to the Polish Legion of American Vets in McHenry for the $2.75 Bloody Marys and had a good time talking with folks.  Then to the McHenry American Legion which was packed.  Watched NFL playoff games at both places, then went to Saylor Mick's in Spring Grove and enjoyed half-price BLT pizza (this time with no sugar) and $1 Hamm's pints.  Had a nice talk with Dan and Chuck who live in Spring Grove as well.

--RoadDog

POINTS TO PONDER:  Why are there interstate highways in Hawaii?

No More Boating For Us-- Part 4: The Boat Took A Beating

From August 17, 2019.

That poor first boat, the Imperial, took a beating, not only as we were learning how to drive it and tie up at piers, but also we had two rather bad storms that hit it hard.

We first kept it by Neptune's Cove on Fox Lake (where I deejayed) and when they sold the place, we moved to the nearby Golden Nugget (later Costello's).  We were in a sheltered channel at Neptune's, but out on the lake at the second place.

The first beating the boat took resulted in its sinking during a storm that had a F-1 category tornado that came across Nippersink Lake.  Liz had the boat out that day (I was deejaying at the Puppet Bar), but fortunately was tied  up at Leisure Point on that lake when it hit.  So they were inside.  As the storm passed the Puppet Bar the windows seemed to move inward and the wind did blow hard.

When it lightened up enough to see outside at Leisure Point (today it is El Puerto), Liz could only see the top of the windshield.  She plopped a hundred dollar bill on the bar and said that drinks were on her for anybody that would get the boat out of the water.  A bunch of guys jumped up, ran out to the water, got in and eventually got the boat up onto land.

Money Well Spent.  What Some Guyd Won't Do for Drinkin' Money.   --RoadDog

Good Thing We Got Out of Boating Last Year

From the April 22, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Uncertainty for Lake County boating season" by Karie Angell Luc.

Looks like we times getting out of boating very well, having sold our third and last boat just this past June.  We were boating fanatics for many years, buying our first boat in 1985 because I was deejaying at Neptune's Cove and the Puppet Bar on the Chain of Lakes every weekend and those folks coming in off those boats were having just too much fun.  Thirty-three years of boating fun.

But, in the last eight years,it seemed like we were getting the boat our later and later each year and we weren't having as much fun as before.  Between fewer bars on the Chain of Lakes, bigger and faster boats and the water cop presence, the good times were waning.  And, of course we were getting older, so getting in and out of the boat and covering it up was becoming more of a problem.

And, then, the weather has been horrible the last several seasons.  The Chain was closed for much of 2017 and in 2018, we were late getting the boat out in July and then had one mechanical issue after another, so much in fact that we didn't get out at all.  That's when we decided the time for boating had passed us by.

Plus, it was funny to all watching me trying to back the boat up to launch it since I only did that once a year.  Once in the water, it stayed in the water.

So, we sold it.

Now this year, the weather has been absolutely horrible all spring with the exception of maybe there days.  Plus, now we have the "V" thing going on.  The few bars and restaurants left on the Chain can't open until the end of May, so the big Memorial Day weekend party is gone.  And, of course, boating is a social thing and this be the age of social you-know-whating.

So, Looking Like a less Than Fun Boating Season Coming.  --RoadDog

LAUGHTER HELPS WITH THE "V":  If you're having trouble with locating toilet paper, here's a life hack.  When you return a book to the library, they almost never count the pages.  (But, wait!!  libraries are all closed now, so where does that get you?)

After 33 Years, the Boat's Probably Gone-- Part 1

Kind of a sad, but happy day for us yesterday as I took our 19.5 foot Bayliner Capri open bow, i/o over to a local place who will attempt to sell it for us.

We bought out first boat in 1985, an 17-foot Imperial modified tri-hull.  In 1900, we bought a 19-ft Four Winns and in 2013 the present boat.

I had always thought having a boat was ridiculous growing up.  Our family never had one.  However, when I started deejaying at the Puppet Bar on Pistakee Lake and Neptune's Cove on Fox Lake in the early 1980s there were a lot of boaters and they were having really big fun, so I decided we'd have to get one for ourselves.

I didn't get one right away as I knew that with a boat, I'd have to learn how to tie at least one knot.  Knots are something I am not good at and a reason I never got past being a Tenderfoot in the Boy Scouts as I had to know my knots.  That just wasn't going to happen.  No problem, though, as the main reason I was in Scouts was for the camp outs.  Now those were a whole lot of fun.

Anyhow, the owner of the Puppet Bar (Eagle Point Park), Joe Gates, showed me a simple knot and after about a month I had "mastered" it.

So, I could now get a boat.

A Boating We Go.  --RoadDog

A PLETHORA OF TIDBITS:  Before Sir Thomas More was beheaded in 1535, he moved his lengthy beard aside, saying it "had never committed any treason."   A Man and His Beard.

Fish Fry, Business Expo, Bars and a Chili Cookoff Last Weekend

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

Went to the Grant Township annual Fish Fry at the Fox Lake American Legion.

SATURDAY, MARCH 10

Went to the McHenry Business Expo and ran into friend Pam who used to own the Puppet Var where I deejayed for so many years.  Then went to the Polish Legion in McHenry (Illinois) and watched the Blackhawks game, Half-Times in Johnsburg where we watched the Scotland-Ireland and part of the England-France rugby games.

We went to Sunnyside, but it was so crowded we left.  Ended up at Tommy's in Spring Grove and saw some more of the England-France rugby game.

SUNDAY, MARCH 11

I went to the art show at Turtle Creek in Spring Grove.  Then we went to the Moose Lodge in McHenry for their chili cookoff where I judged.  Then to Sunnyside.

--RoadDog

Glen Campbell's "William Tell Overture"-- Part 3: Ride 'Em Cowboy at the OldPuppet bar in Fox Lake, Illinois

And then, there was Glen Campbell's "William Tell Overture," the theme of "The Lone Ranger" as he rode the horse which gave us the idea for Riding the Horse.  You should really, at this point if not familiar with Campbell's version of it, go to You Tube and watch it.  How anyone could play a guitar that fast is beyond me.

Anyway, we'd explain to the people that if someone rides up to you on the stick horse and handed it to you, it was now your job to take it, ride it over to someone else and hand it off.

Now, we really had a great time doing this and some people REALLY got into riding that horse.  We'd go through a stick horse every couple months.

And, if a girl thought she'd avoid riding it by running into the bathroom, she'd be followed in to the consternation of people already in there.

(There was a cut out of an Indian brave in the women's room with a cloth loincloth.  Should a patron lift it up to see what was under, a buzzer would go off and lights would start flashing in the bar.  Some mighty embarrassed ladies would come out of the bathroom.)

Anyway, Like I Said, Ya Couldn't Beat Fun at the Old Puppet Bar.  Wish It Was Still There.--RoadDog

Glen Campbell's "William Tell Overture"-- Part 2: "Bobbing For Beer" and the Funnel Club at the Puppet Bar

Continued from August 10.

Now, being the deejay, I was the one who did all these things when i was there, which was very often.

Yep, we sure had a good old time at the Old Puppet Bar.  Not only did we have the "God Bless America" flag/sparkler thing and the puppets doing their thing, but also guys doing their best cheerleader routines to "YMCA."  Big ol' drunk guys showing what they got.  Oh well!!

There was also "Bobbing for Beer"  which we had Thursdays during the summer.  Import bottles of beer were placed in an old bathtub filled with ice and ice water and for a buck, you could see if you could bob for them.  It was a buck savings and worth it if you didn't chip a tooth.  They got me to do it once and putting my face in the water made me think that hell isn't all that hot because I sure was in  it.

Then there was the Funnel Club where you had to get a quarter placed on your forehead into a funnel which was placed spout down on the inside of your pants.  People who succeeded would get a red funnel with their name placed on the wall behind the bar.  Of course, as you tried to flip that quarter, someone would come up and pour water down the funnel.

One thing that didn't work out too well was Musical Chairs for adults.  Sounded like a good idea, but in reality, getting a bunch of drunk adults to do this is not a good idea.

Like I said, this was one really fun place.  And, I promise I will tell you about "The William Tell Overture" by Glen Campbell.

Some Folks Also Did Not Like Their Initiation Into the Funnel Club For Some Reason.  --RoadDog

CUBS-SOX CROSSTOWN RIVALRY:  Cubs Fan to Sox Fan--  "Cubs are the sound foundation from which grows a mighty bear."

Glen Campbell's "William Tell Overture"-- Part 1: A Big Part of the Fun At the Old Puppet Bar in Fox Lake

Back in the 1980s I was deejaying on a regular basis at the old Puppet Bar (Eagle Point Park) in Fox Lake, Illinois, on the Chain of Lakes' Pistakee Lake.  We sure had a great time there and I played all sorts of music, the more different the better.

Of course, the place got its name from the 100+ puppets we had that would be activated whenever one particular polka song was played.  That was a lot of fun, but not for the people working there.  You could only hear that song "Mr. Polka" so many times and then it would be ad nauseum.

We had all sorts of little things we'd do during the course of an afternoon or night including playing Connie Francis singing "God Bless America" where sparklers would be passed out and a big U.S. flag would be pulled down from the ceiling and everyone singing as loudly as they could and cheering "Blackhawks-style" at the end of it.

I am sitting here right now listening to her sing "God Bless America" on You Tube and it is bringing back memories.

I'll write about Glen Campbell's "William Tell Overture" the next post about him, after I finish the WLS Top 40 for August 11, 1967.  I promise.

The Puppet Bar, a Real Good Time!!  --RoadDog

Dem Bands on the Chain

Chain of Lakes, that is. Great place to be anytime of the year, but especially during the summer when the boating season is in full swing. I've heard that the Chain of Lakes, which is about 45 miles northwest of Chicago, near the Wisconsin border, is the second busiest boating place in the US, right behind the Intercoastal Waterway.

I do my boating during the week and leave the weekends to the "weekend warriors" as we locals call them. I do go to places by car to enjoy the bands, and we have quite a few really good ones.

Saturday, I went to the American Legion which is on the shore of Nippersink Lake. It has a great old classic sign and is right across historic US Route 12 (which goes from Detroit to the Pacific Ocean at Aberdeen, Washington) from an art deco sevice station dating back to the 30s.

The MICHAEL LESCHER BAND was playing outside under the pavillion and sounding as good as ever. They are the only band I know that incorporates a lot of the Who and Styx in their shows. They were playing for the people on the poker run which, unfortunately, I was unable to do.

Michael Lescher is involved in Fox Lake politics and is a well-known real estate agent specializing in waterfront property. I was sitting with a group of people I just met, and one said she was a waitress for him when he owned the Settle Inn on Eagle Point Road. It was a great place to go back in the 80s when I used to deejay at Eagle Point Park, better known as the Puppet Bar. At one point in the show, he mentioned that he had had a band since 1978.

Unfortunately, it turned quite cool and most of the people left by 9 (they played from 5:30 to 9:30). Even with just a few people, they put on an inspired show.

The ONLY SONS at CAPTAIN"S QUARTERS- Sunday

Where else do you want to be on a fantastic Sunday afternoon than at Captain's. I met Bill, Klaus, and Kora there and sat at a picnic table enjoying Bloody Marys and Mudslides-a Captain specialty. As usual, it was hard to find a seat, even at one of the picnic tables out in the grove. The wait staff sure earn their money; they are nonstop.

I've seen the Only Sons for quite a few years with the exception of two when they didn't play at Captain's. This is probably the best band on the Chain or in the Chicagoland area where they usually play. They also play a wide variety of songs. Some that they played: Me and Julio Down at the Schoolyard, Cecilia, I'm a Believer, Brown-Eyed Girl, Mr. Jones, Footloose, Save the Horse Ride the Cowboy, Keep Your Hands to Yourself, then the owner got up and sang Midnight Train to Georgia and did quite a job on it.

Out on the Chain and Feeling No Pain. 'Fessa Parrot as I go by on the Fun on the Fox Forum.

www.funonthefox.com

Jus' Out Having Fun.  --RoaDog