bottlebugs
Well-Known Member
My high school years were spent in Ottawa. As a teenager my friends and I went to our first bar, across the river in what was once called Hull. To avoid complications, we either ordered Ex
(Molson Export Ale) or Cinquante (Labatt's 50 Ale). 50 was easier as you simply held up a 5
dollar bill and five fingers. "Take 5 for cinquante was the expression of the day".
A great hook up place was at the Chaudiere Hotel, in Hull. At first we all went to the Rose Room. It was a dance hall, but was full of disco balls and disco music so some of us real beer drinkers sought out an alternative. We were also tired of being interrupted by the flower girls selling roses. You were to bring it to a girl and ask her for a dance. Dance schmance I wasn't there for romance.
My twin asked me to join him with a few of his friends at a bar below the Rose Room. It was called the Green Door. It was infamous for the tough clientele and the equally tough bouncer, Gerry Barber. He was as big as a refrigerator. We kept to ourselves and only looked up to order another beer. They only sold quarts and you never saw a disco ball there.
I was surprised to make the connection last night. All this talk of bootlegging and prohibition lately must have sparked some memories. The name Green Door was synonymous with speakeasies. During prohibition, you could find a speakeasy by its distinctive green door. It got its name from an equally famous author named O. Henry. Behind the Green Door you could find a world with which to escape from the day to day grind.
On St. Patty's Day you could order a green beer - even at the Green Door. I woke up suddenly
last night and remembered an even older story taught to me in Grade 9. It was about gateways
to other worldly places where leprechauns lived. It inspired many folk tales and perhaps even
O. Henry himself. I wouldn't be surprised if The Secret Garden had its roots in this tale.
The first book about The Green Door I studied was before I read O. Henry. It was called "The Green Door", by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. Both stories were published only 4 years apart. Once again, it was a place to escape the earthly realm. I wonder if it had its roots in leprechauns and Solomon's Green Genie, El-Kadhir. I think I need a beer. The green labeled 50 will do just fine.
(Molson Export Ale) or Cinquante (Labatt's 50 Ale). 50 was easier as you simply held up a 5
dollar bill and five fingers. "Take 5 for cinquante was the expression of the day".
A great hook up place was at the Chaudiere Hotel, in Hull. At first we all went to the Rose Room. It was a dance hall, but was full of disco balls and disco music so some of us real beer drinkers sought out an alternative. We were also tired of being interrupted by the flower girls selling roses. You were to bring it to a girl and ask her for a dance. Dance schmance I wasn't there for romance.
My twin asked me to join him with a few of his friends at a bar below the Rose Room. It was called the Green Door. It was infamous for the tough clientele and the equally tough bouncer, Gerry Barber. He was as big as a refrigerator. We kept to ourselves and only looked up to order another beer. They only sold quarts and you never saw a disco ball there.
I was surprised to make the connection last night. All this talk of bootlegging and prohibition lately must have sparked some memories. The name Green Door was synonymous with speakeasies. During prohibition, you could find a speakeasy by its distinctive green door. It got its name from an equally famous author named O. Henry. Behind the Green Door you could find a world with which to escape from the day to day grind.
On St. Patty's Day you could order a green beer - even at the Green Door. I woke up suddenly
last night and remembered an even older story taught to me in Grade 9. It was about gateways
to other worldly places where leprechauns lived. It inspired many folk tales and perhaps even
O. Henry himself. I wouldn't be surprised if The Secret Garden had its roots in this tale.
The first book about The Green Door I studied was before I read O. Henry. It was called "The Green Door", by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. Both stories were published only 4 years apart. Once again, it was a place to escape the earthly realm. I wonder if it had its roots in leprechauns and Solomon's Green Genie, El-Kadhir. I think I need a beer. The green labeled 50 will do just fine.
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