C5

300 Block West King Street, 12/13/07

You are looking at a Weather.com satellite photo of the neighborhood. The picture is laid out as you would expect with north at the top and east on the right. Thus the north side of West KIng Street, the odd numbers is on the upper portion of the picture. Left to right, west to east, one finds Buch's Drug Store, the DiEugenio's, the neighbors, the BatCave (home of who else? - Batman & Robin), the old lady's big house (last ocuppied by Jeff Wibberly), after an alley, the forester's and Lou's Grocery. On the south side (even numbers), 342 (owned by frequent complaintent, Mrs. Betty Garman and home of Dave & Jeffie), 340-338, the landlord's business, 328, Sleepy Hollow, Dr. Schreder's and the laundramat. The Rendevous was one block to the east in the 200 block; while the Lauzus was two blocks to the west in the 500 block.

Harold T.F. Martin, Esquire - Landlord, 328 Club

The 328 Club landlord was a scuzy, past his prime, lawyer with a reputation of being a slumlord. His office was in the 100 or maybe the 200 block of East King (approximately 5 or 6 blocks from the property that I - and the gang - was eyeing.) I might have been alone or perhaps City L (Tim Getzloff) was with me. I/we were greeted by an elderly women, ostensibly the secretary, who escorted me/us into a cluttered office full of books, papers, files, papers, books, files and dust. After a few moments a bespeckled 'younger than her but more than twice my 23 years' man entered the room and sat behind his mess at his desk. He was eying me/us up and i/we were doing the same. After an exchange of pleasantries, a few questions from him, a few assurances sought by us, he presented a lease which I/we promptly signed. I do not recall the amount but my guess would be $200 per month. I don't remember what I paid that day but my guess would be $400 including security deposit. I would only see him and pay him one more time in the year that I was his tenant.

As I said earlier, me, Sil Simpson, Danny Joyce, and the two Tims - Getzloff & Lutter - moved into the 328 Club and immediately proceeded to have the time of our lives. Splitting rent, utilities, and the like five ways made for some extra cash even at a substitute teacher's pay rate ($39 per day). The fact that the place was a dump didn't effect our love for the freedom but it certainly made it difficult to walk the rent check those six blocks down King Street. So ... we didn't.

We didn't in September; we didn't in October; we didn't in November. We were having a great time. Beer. Women within reach (but, in my case, not conquered) and good clean fun. The 328 Club was always an adventure. With five of us in the house all drawing some sort of income - even City L who was still a student - but not in a career path or too far down a career path there was always someone to go for a beer.

We had a dog - Champ; a black lab/shepherd and a cat - Hoppity Hooper and, despite our noisy habits, great neighbors a man and his 85 year old mom. Bars, corner stores, movie houses, cars, the rents only three miles away for washing clothes and a meal in a pinch, it was great and then ...

One night when what seems in my memory all of us were sitting around the vent in the living room floor on a late fall night all of suddent in our midst, like the Lord in the upper room, was Harold "the fuck' Martin, our landlord. Bummer, bummer.

Mr. Martin was calm but wanted his rent check. We discussed things. The lack of a bannister on the stairway. It was an obvious code violation so we both had cards to play. Especially after Mr. Martin realized that Sil's pop was not only also a barrister; but a very well respected one. Details are hazy but Mr. Martin left that night with less than the three or four months rent that we owed him and not without promising to make repairs before we were to pay him again. He didn't. We didn't. I don't believe I ever saw him again. Sil did. City L did. But thats a story for another day when the next summer's sun was ruling the sky.

Bargain Matinees

Living within walking distance of North Queen Street made it easy to attend a lot of movies. Frequently, we would go to the bargain matinees at the Eric in the Brunswick and at the other theater in the 200 block of North Queen. 

I remember a large gang assembling at the 328 and walking down to see the opening of Roller Ball one afternoon. I think Tee may have quit a job to go to the movie. The movie was a disappointment, but it was a good afternoon.

My favorite double feature of all time was Zardoz and Phantom Of The Paradise. 

Bring back the Bargain Matinee, please. 

City L and Wrestling

City L apparently had a rather deprived childhood because when he arrived on West King Street, he had never watched real wrestling. I remember him enjoying the antics of the great Buggsy McGraw, and saying that it was the first time he had ever watched wrestling. 

We may not have done much for the betterment of mankind on West King Street, but creating a wrestling fan is certainly a way to improve a person's life. 

From the Poet Laureate

Teeth by Christopher Joyce

Come five years what will be different?
How about prices and life for a starter
What thing would be different for the good of the nation?
Will it still be Jimmy Carter?



fyi - I just hung up with Chris Joyce himself and he selected the particular song - Let It Be.

Dismounted Cavalry to the Rescue

One Sunday afternoon around 5:00 we decided to dine at our favorite restaurant,the Rendezvous. The close proximity of this eating establishment had made the 340 kitchen obsolete except of course for Sil.
There might have been 10-12 of us and for various reasons we dallied around long enough that Tee and Woody decided they could not wait and went to the "Vous" themselves. A few minutes later the 340 phone rang and whoever answered it quickly slammed the receiver down and announced,"Woody is in a fight".
We rushed out of the club en masse and charged ala a cavalry unit down West King Street. The sidewalks were covered in ice left by a recent storm but the group advanced un-deterred, Louie Wickersham, a big burly fellow, leading the way. He slipped several times as did most of us but nobody wiped out. Sitting in the parking lot on the corner of W.King and N.Mulberry was a patrol car belonging to Lancaster's finest. What he thought when he saw a dozen guys running full tilt toward the Rendezvous we will never know because he did not investigate.
We burst into the eatery and saw Woody and Tee calmly dining on their cheesesteaks with sly grins on their faces.We asked Woody why he called and he said,"I just wanted to see how long it would take you to get here".
Seeing there was no trouble we joined them for dinner.

October 30, 1974

Glued to the radio, myself, Tim Lutter and Tom Partridge listened intently as Muhammad Ali painted his masterpiece - Rumble in the Jungle - in the wee hours of the morning in Kinshasa, Zaire. Immediately after Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission Chairman (ya learn somethin' every day here folks!)Zack Clayton counted big George Foreman out the three of us were out the door and up West King Street to celebrate with some Carlsbergs at the Lauzus Hotel.

September 15, 1974

The music speaks for itself ... a legendary concert at Lock Haven State College ... Rush and Kiss on their maiden tours and a five guitar finale of Blue Oyster Cult's ME262. Myself, future 340 Club resident Dave Petkosh and solid rocker Dave Harnish made this trip.

Origins

Tricky resigned just about the same time that I was looking for my initial housing outside of the bedroom I was raised in ... after college, I had hitchhiked across the country and back but other than that 70 day trip had not yet drifted far from the nest ... I was a commuter during my four years (yeah, I know ... what was the rush, Getzloff took five or so years and Kenneff -hope the dirt isn't scanning the Blogs - is still working on his baccalaureate) so it was about time ... I scoured the papers and found several nice (meaning five or so bedrooms and some large common areas) possible abodes in the City of Lancaster. One place, on West King Street, stood out, it was big, cavernous, had a little yard, and was conveniently located only three blocks from the town center and near bars, corner stores, and my employment (I was a substitute school teacher for the School District of Lancaster). I sought counsel in my buds regarding sharing room & board and found six others of like mind. High school classmates Dan Joyce & Dick Lichty; Millersville State College buddies Tim Lutter and Tim Getzloff (also a high school friend one year behind me), and two old men Sil Simpson and Geoff Renshaw (actually they, along with Tim Lutter, were one year older than me, Dan & Dick with Tim G being a year younger). All of us (or our proxies) met one night at Geoff's to seal the deal. Geoff wished us luck and Dick was in love and not ready to commit to an obvious zany venture so the other five, after discussing finances, nuances, and the common good, cast lots for room selection rights. Tim Lutter drew #1 and took a 2nd floor suite once removed from the street. I drew #2 and took the room, right in front of him, on King Street. I suspect Dan & Sil were next and not knowing the inefficiencies of the heating system took the two rooms on the 3rd floor. Last, I assume (this is a mix between memory, assumptions and fill in the blanks), Tim Getzloff took the curious undefined space between Timmy L's room and the rear. The bathroom was in the rear meaning all four of us - all but City L/Tim G - had to go down the front stairs and up the back stairs to the bathroom. It was into this house - 328 West King Street - that the Iggle first landed. Before there was a 340 there was a 328 Club. Long live rock.




Phil says the 340 Club was beer and music ... well through the internet we have figured out half of the equation ... now can somebody bring me a beer.

121212

(Philip please help me get off this jag ... I know I should leave the poetry to Clack ... I need to give him a computer - I will give him a computer ... Randy too ... help)

Music can be judged by how far ahead of its time it is/was. For example, Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones which debuted in the mid-sixties is still fresh, raw, and meaningful today. There are countless examples of rock standards older or newer than that however as I was experimenting tonight I found only one group whose song were further ahead of their time than December 12, 2012. I don't pretend to know what it means ... I don claim it has anything to do with the Mayan Calendar or anything of the sort. What I do know is this; these are the only two songs that I can find that are so far ahead of the time - from a purely measured scientific basis, of course - so as to be relevant after 12/12/12.

Never mind the Bollocks, here are the songs -







I know I said two but there appears to be more and Phil didn't help yet ... Randy?

Warning; Rock Lyrics Can Be Dangerous

Nothing to post today cept to celebrate that YouTube is more than pornography (and soft porn at that, dammit). Beginning with yesterday's reverse cover of a Bonnie Parker concert and continuing until I run out of songs (and, after all, it ain't 1984 anymore this is the internet) I will post a YouTube (or Yahoo) video of a song that appeared on the mighty 340 Juke Box or was covered by The Bonnie Parker Band or symbolized the era of the 340 Club. Unfortunately for you folks in the censored world (i.e. DCED where I work) you need to look up these classics on your own since our firewalls do not all such to penetrate ... in any case and without any further ay doo, punching C1 and M7, here are a couple of Tex-Mex classics dedicated to my co-worker Ashley Gunn who celebrated a birthday just last week on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe:

The Greatest Day in Rock - Part Two

Bonnie Parker, Rudy Valentino and an unidentified wormer at Dunes Till Dawn , June 18, 1978.













After the Stones the gang (joined by others who did not attend the Stones concert) pushed on the the Jersey shore to more beer, a good meal, little if any sleep and then finally after midnight a club called Dunes Till Dawn. This was an all-nite club that featured the best rock n' roll on the east coast. On this particular morning that feature was The Bonnie Parker Band. The unknown wormer in the above photo is, of course, me and it is my recollection that my life was saved (from those Jersey bouncers) by Kenny Giltner, 340 Club, and Bonnie Parker, herself, who alerted two burly gorillas that I was cool and that the worm was a staple of the act, at least when the band played The Village in Lancaster. Below is a repesentative Bonnie Parker setlist:

Mean Old Queen of Rock n Roll (original)
Do Ya Wanna Touch - covering Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Do Ya - ELO
Gimmee Shelter/Let's Spend the Night Together/Brown Sugar
Tobacco Road - Nashville Teens
All Coked Up (original)
All Day and All of the Night/You Really Got Me
I Just Wanna Make Love to You - Foghat
Lookin’ for a true love - J. Giels Band
Tie Your Mother Down - Queen
Rock n Roll - Led Zeppelin

The Greatest Day in Rock - Part One

The morning of June 17, 1978 (the greatest day in rock) broke gloriously on West King Street. The previous night's bash had ended only a few hours prior when Bobby Soder's van pulled up to load up with beer, booze, contraband, chicks, and the gang. To the best of my memory I rode with Bobby, his lady Pam, Wayne and Cindi Lou, Chris Lake and maybe Crazee Mitch (although he likely was with The Bonnie Parker Band as a roadie). Another vehicle contained Phil, Woody, Jimmy Z, Sybil and Kenny. I believe Mike Heller made the trip. (PHIL PLEASE CORRECT, ADD OR WHATEVER VIA COMMENTS. THIS POST WILL EVOLVE AS OTHERS ASSIST MY MEMORY).

The destination that day, that wekend was two fold:

1. JFK Stadium, Philadelphia - Rolling Stones
2. Dunes Till Dawn, Margate, NJ - The Bonnie Parker Band

First, Philly. The Stones at the time consisted of Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger. Mick was a little under the weather and the show lacked the usual energy but few in the crowd and none of us noticed:

Here is the setlist from that show:

Let It Rock
All Down the Line
Honky Tonk Women
Starfucker
When the Whip Comes Down
Miss You
Just My Imagination
Respectable
Beast of Burden
Respectable
Far Away Eyes
Love in Vain
Shattered
Satisfaction
Happy
Sweet Little Sixteen
Brown Sugar
Jumping Jack Flash

Prior to the Stones we slept through Peter Tosh and half of us slept through Foreigner.

Heating The 328 Club

Primitive is the best word to describe the "system". It consisted of a furnace in the basement and One (1) heating duct - a large opening in the center of the living room. The theory that heat rises is correct. Unfortunately, heat doesn't spread out horizontally very well, and it doesn't go up stairwells either. To reach my room, the heat would have had to gu up two sets of stairs, then make a hard right turn. It didn't. 

So, the living room was basically the only warm spot in the house. Space heaters were the only invention that made habitation of the third floor, occupied by the Red Fox (front) and me (back) possible.  

Our beloved cat at 340 was Hoppity Hooper. 

Interview with a 340 "Casualty"

Despite all the antics during our decade on W.King Street, only two incidents resulted in any major injuries to the best of my recollection. Our next door neighbor,"Biker Bob" swung a glass beer mug at a fellow partyer, breaking a woman's jaw if memory serves me correct. The particulars of that event are very hazy for me and better left for a future post by someone who has a clearer recall of that night.
The other injury was to George Reed. I had an opportunity to talk to George this morning at the 7th Ward Club.
Phil: Hi George !
George: How's Phil ?
Phil: Great !
Phil: How many times were you at the 340 Club ?
George: Not sure. I think only once.
Phil: Can you describe the sequence of events leading up to the dart incident ?
George: There was a dart game going on in the kitchen.
Phil: Was it a party ?
George: Yea. I ducked behind the fridge waiting for the darts to be thrown before I got another beer.
Phil: Then what happened ?
George: I thought they were done shooting so I stuck my head up and WHAM the last dart stuck in my head.
Phil: Where exactly did the dart hit you ?
George: In my forehead,right between my eyes.
Phil: Was it in pretty deep ?
George: Deep enough. I remember it hurt like hell.
Phil: Who threw it ?
George: My cousin,John Wickersham.
Phil: I can recall you coming into the living room with this dart protruding from your head.
George: John was more upset than me..I wanted to just pull it out.
Phil: I remember we told you not to and urged you to go to the ER.
George: Yea, so John took me to the hospital.
Phil: Which one ?
George: St. Joe's
Phil: What did the ER doctors say ?
George: They laughed.
Phil: What kind of treatment did you receive ?
George: Don't remember..I know I got a tetanus shot.
Phil: Did they X-ray ?
George: Don't remember that either,if they did all they would find would be air (laughing)
Phil: Did you come back to the party ?
George: Of course...Now that I think of it I might have been to the 340 Club a couple of other times.
Phil: Any other recollections of that night ?
George: That was many moons ago. I don't remember.
Phil: Are you considering coming to the re-union. I can assure you there will be no dart boards.
George: I just might.
Phil: Ok,thanks for taking time to chat.
George: Your welcome.

Trivia Questions 6-10

There will be some trivia questions posed at the reunion in June. To help you prep for such an event from time to time questions will be posed here in the Blog so you can revive some old memories and rev up your response time. To that end here are a few questions:

THIS WEEK'S QUESTIONS:
6. What was the name of the cat who resided at the 340 ?
7. What bar hosted an APBA Baseball tournament in October 1983?
8. Who won that tournament?
9. What was the most popular brand of beer at the 340 Club? Serena Kirchner had the local distribution rights.
10. Within $1.00, how much was the 340 Juke Boxes largest daily take?

LAST WEEK'S Q & A

1. What was the name of the dog that lived at the 328 Club? Champ
2. Who was the only 340 visitor to ever get a dart embedded in his head? PHIL, PLEASE LEAVE THIS ANSWER AND ANY DETAILS AS A COMMENT TO THIS POST SINCE I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER
3. What was the final monthly rent level at the 338 when the second coming came to an end? $300
4. What was the name of the church that allowed 340 residents to use their parking lot (except Sundays of course)? Grace Evangelical
5. Which 340 Club member was known to run in 100 mile races? John Emswiler