Where Everyone Knows your name

I was born in a small town in Schuylkill County located in the Anthracite coal mining region of Northeast Pennsylvania. This area is known for its hard workers, hard drinkers, great food, and ethnic diversity. It is also the home of Yuengling Brewery, America’s Oldest Brewery.

This area is comprised of descendants of Slovak and Italian immigrants, and really know how to party. Almost weekly during the summer months there are "block parties" sponsored either by the local churches or by the numerous fire halls. At these parties whole town blocks are corded off for fun, food, and of course, beer. The beer (always Yuengling Premium) flows freely. It is part of the culture that has led this area to be the biggest consumer of Beer per-capita in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Another thing that is unique to this area is these bars that are almost impossible to find unless you know someone who goes there, usually this bar is located in someone’s house. No signs are located outside the bar to invite you in, but no invitation is needed. Just come in and take a load off.

The bar I frequent is located in my birth-town, and is down an unpaved road. This bar has no signs, and no indication that it is a bar whatsoever. It is located in a small two story house. If you didn’t know better you would assume that it is just a regular house. The whole downstairs, with the exception of the kitchen is the bar. It is like visiting some friend that has a bar in their living room. The kitchen adjoins the bar room, and during supper you can smell what they are preparing for their dinner. It is their home, and they welcome you.

Their beer selection is small, they only have Gennessee on draught and only a half a dozen or so different domestics in the cooler. They carry no imports, no "malt beverages", and no wine coolers. The point of this bar is not to drink the best beers in the world, but to drink the beer you got with people you love to be around. The people who go there drink the beer, love the beer, and more importantly love the camaraderie. It’s about the company, and drinking a cold .50 cent draught. Everyone takes turn buying rounds.

Many world problems have been solved over a few fifty-cent draught. World politics, women, and of course the ongoing problem of Penn State football are all fair game.

The tap system is also a sight to behold. The beer is kept at room temperature in the basement. Powered by electric compressor, it flows through 40 feet of coiled stainless steel tubing housed in a copper box filled with ice. The ice cools the beer to a perfect drinking temperature. It is not too cold! The old air compressor in the basement supplies the pressure. The system is all original and was installed in 1929.

This bar opened during prohibition as a speakeasy. The current owner often tells tales of her mother, who opened the bar, making her own moonshine and beer. Very often she was called in front of the“revenuers”. One time when the judge asked her why she was distilling whiskey she said it was "for her cough". It is truly a piece of history.

This bar is a dying breed. As the aging owners of these bars die, the bars close. Plus the draconian alcohol laws force a lot of these bars to close. I relish every minute I am in this bar. It is a step back in time. The way things used to be. No big fancy bars with flashy lights. No wet t-shirt promotions, no commercialization. Not even an electric cash register (just an old brass National with big buttons) Just good beer, good company, and appreciation for a good time.

Posted by psugrad98 at February 19, 2004 06:57 PM