Saturday, January 01, 2011

THANKS Salivating in Absentia!

How exciting! I have a new blogger friend for 2011.

"Salivating in Absentia" the nom de blog of the proprietor of A Camera in Some Hands, the blog dedicated to the work of David Wojnarowicz has sent me this exciting reference to The Whaler Bar from the July 17 1940 edition of Reading Eagle. (That's Reading as in Reading PA. It's not like, an eagle who can read. Although I expect if anybody would know one of them it would be Willie. Although more likely the Drinking Eagle.)

You can read SiA's comment on my post Willies & gob sticks.

Looks like Willie has another fan!

Thanks Salivating! (Unless you have another name you'd prefer I use? Let me know!)

Here's the Eagle shout-out:
"Burton F. White, manager of a string of hotels, visiting in New Bedford a few years ago, was captivated by the atmosphere of the Whaler Bar there. It's a clever reproduction of the interior of an old New Bedford whaling ship. A mechanical device gives you the rocking of the ship in a mild swell at sea.

White hunted up Architect Marshall Martin, of Rehobeth, Mass, who had designed the bar, and, with permission and friendly co-operation of the New Bedford folk, had the room duplicated, down to the last harpoon, in his Midston hotel in Madison avenue.

In New Bedford, such a place in which to spend an evening is a means of clinging to a reality, celebrating the very local past. In New York it's another chance to escape the reality of the city life and imagine you're out after whales."

The actual Whaler Bar origins story! Wheee! Now if only I could learn more about the Willie the Whaler artist.