The Feast Day

I was due to be born on the Ides of March 1951 but my mum – an O’Neill – carried me for an additional 37 hours so as to have me on Saint Parick's Day. At 1:00 a.m., Saturday, March 17th, 1951 at Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I came in to this world as Theodore Patrick Knorr. Saved by 60 minutes of being Theodore Linus Knorr, Junior.

So, Wednesday, March 17th, 1976, was my 25th birthday and I remember nothing of significance except I believe I might have hurled at the Paragon after ol’ Dan’l bought me a few too many shots of the Jamieson. Annie didn’t appear to mind. It was not my fault; it never is. It was my mom’s fault.

This year will be the 37th annual Saint Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl that I have participated in. I will start the forced march in Harrisburg at Garrason’s Tavern at 2:00 p.m.; feel free to join me.

#3 The Passion Queen

I met #3 at the Paragon Bar one Monday evening, likely March 8th, in 1976. I’m pretty sure she picked me up; she was with a fellow librarian out for smokes and beers. I was out having a few brews. The Paragon was one of the great bars of its time with a waitress named Annie who had served me one of my first legal beers in that very bar almost four years earlier. One of the resident drinkers at the bar was a man named Daniel Boone. It along with the aforementioned Wheatland Inn, Millersville’s Barn Door, as well as the neighborhood haunts Luckee’s Elbow Room, the Lauzus Hotel, Johnny’s Tavern, Bates Tavern, and the Hi-Fi were among my favorite watering holes. Like I hope I made clear earlier I was no playboy; I might have thrown a lot of darts but rarely hit the bull’s eye. After all that is why we are discussing #3 rather than #33 at this juncture.

#3, though, was a doozy. You know what they say about librarians. I don’t remember much about that first night cept we went back to her place and she schooled me. I had left the Paragon a naive teenager – despite my almost 25 years – and quietly entered the 340 Club at sunup the next morn an educated man. I remember telling Phil she was the prettiest woman I’d ever been with and – one of us – named her “the Passion Queen.”

Turned out she was married, quite convenient for my sentiments, to the Dean of Men at Millersville State College where I had not only graduated from but had been disciplined by none other than the Dean of Men. Whooboy! I was back at her apartment after taking her to dinner on Thursday and back again on Saturday only that was where the fun ended. For not only was she married (separated) but she had a boy friend (apparently not separated). No sooner had we turned the lights off – she was a lights on kinda girl – than there came a poundin’ from the fire escape. That’s when she told me about the boyfriend. After that noise subsided the knockin’ now came from the front door to the apartment. She calmly told me to stay still and he would go away. Well, he did stop knockin’ … and started kickin’. Next thing you know the door had obviously been breached and we could hear him cursin’ coming down the hall way. I braced for the worst and soon the lights were on –he was a lights on kinda guy – and he was standing over the bed. “I got no beef with you buddy” he said “I just wanna talk to my girl for a few minutes … you can come back when I’m done.”

Well, given the choice between heel or hero I opted for the former. I was in my pants and an unbuttoned shirt, carryin’ my shoes, before he gave the circumstances a second though. I’m sure I said some kind of goodnight to the Passion Queen. She was anxious for me to get out of there just as much as I was. As I headed down the stairs I heard him beginning to “talk” to his girl.

Remarkably it all worked out. The “talk” apparently wasn’t all that hard on her. I was welcome in her bed whenever the spirit moved her; which it did for several years and me and her boyfriend became friends.

MH2

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman debuted on January 6, 1976 and immediately became the top rated show at the 340 Club. It was a satirical look at soap operas that actually, other than its 11:30 p.m. time slot, wasn’t very different from the standard daytime fare. It became a ritual, perhaps keeping me (and Phil) out of the bars, every night before retiring we would gather in the living room and watch this trendy, cultish Norman Lear vehicle. Here is a summary of episode #1:

Mary is watching TV in the kitchen. Her sister, Cathy Shumway, enters the house. Cathy and Mary talk about yellow build up, and debate if the floor has any on it. Loretta Haggers enters. She says that the Lombardi family was murdered along with their two goats and eight chickens, and soon they debate what the name of the street is that they live on. A reporter from the Fernwood local newspaper enters the house. He asks them some questions about the Lombardis. Meanwhile, at the workplace, Tom Hartman and Charlie Haggers are eating. They turn on the radio and hear about the Lombardi murder. Charlie quickly turns it off because he's eating and does not want to hear about the murder of people. George Shumway, father of Mary and Cathy, enters. They talk about the Lombardis. The father of the family had worked at the plant but only for a short time. Charlie talks about Lombardi's radio, and how good his wife Loretta would sound on it. Meanwhile, at the Hartman residence, the phone rings. Mary picks it up. It's the police station. They have caught the Fernwood Flasher...it's Grandpa Larkin! Mary, in a daze, walks out of the house to pick Grandpa Larkin up.

WIKPEDIA LINK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Hartman,_Mary_Hartman

From the Mighty 340 Juke Box: D5

1975

The story so far ...
1/75 Mitchell, Erhlichman, Haldeman all guilty of criminal acts
2/75 #1
4/75 Saigon Falls
6/75 APBAcon II
8/75 Simpson Day
9/75 President Ford dodges two assassination attempts
10/75 Phil moves to 340
12/75 #2

1975 in the Book
President Gerald Ford
Governor Milton Shapp
Mayor Dick Scott
CPI 53.8
U.R. 8.5%
Life exp 72.6
Violent crime 53.0 per1000
World Population: 4.086B
U.S. Population: 216M (3% of the world)
Ted's # 2
Best Picture The Godfather, Part II

NCAA BK UCLA 92-85 over Kentucky
Indy 500 Bobby Unser for the 3rd time
NBA Golden State 4-0 over Washington Bullets
NHL Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 over Buffalo Sabres
MLB Cincinnati Reds 4-3 over Boston Red Sox & Fisk’s HR
Horse of Year Forego, back to back
Hvwt Champ Muhammad Ali
NCAA F Oklahoma 11-1
NFL Pittsburgh Steelers 21-17 over Dallas Cowboys

Happy New Year! Happy 200th Birthday to the USA!
340 Club has operated for 467 days!!!

Welcome to the 340 Club

Lancaster, Pennsylvania ... the seventies, downtown, 340 West King Street, three blocks from Penn Square - the city's center - a three story house inhabited by five virile young men. Sex, beer, rock n roll. As the landlord described it: "extreme disorganized and general misconduct."

This blog seeks your assistance in planning a commemoration, a reunion if you will, a celebration of the 340 Club. Accordingly, this is your blog. As a former resident, 340 Club cardholder, or someone who lived in the Red Rose City in the 70s who has fond memories of late nights and/or early mornings at the 340 please feel free to make your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas known as this bash is planned. Visit this blog often. It is a tool to promote, coordinate, communicate, facilitate and plan a celebration that commemorates, celebrates, touts, and reminisces about the 340 Club. The gathering is tentatively scheduled for June 6th and 7th, 2008, in Lancaster, PA at the Knights of Columbus. Presently and tentatively, the weekend shapes up as follows:

June 6, 2008 - $27 will get you a game ticket and a picnic ticket to an Atlantic Baseball League contest between the Bridgeport Bluefish and the Lancaster Barnstormers at Clipper Stadium. Prior and during the game there will be a two-hour, all you can eat, buffet picnic at Coors Light Picnic Pavilion featuring: BBQ Chicken, Grilled Hamburgers, Kunzler Hot Dogs, Deli Salad, Baked Beans, Corn on the Cob, Potato Chips, Cookies and Assorted Fountain Sodas. Unfortunately the beer will need to be purchased separately. After the game I feel confident that the gang will retreat to a local pub to continue quaffing the golden beverage.

June 7, 2008 - an evolving bash that at that will be put on at cost ($20) that will feature free beer and open bar, munchies, DJ, and more (including trivia,PowerPoint, 340 artifacts, new 340 cards, buttons and Tee shirts). In addition there will be features and specialties that the 340 Club was known for. It is this event for which this Blog seeks your input. What do you see as a 2008 340 Club Party? In an ideal world, we would rent 340 West King Street in Lancaster and convene sometime around 2 am on Saturday morning with everyone bringing enough beer and munchies to get us through to daybreak when we would break for a bit until gathering again that afternoon when we would watch sports on TV and nap to prepare for doing it again Saturday night. Alas, due to many factors this was not possible so we needed to rent the Knights.

To that extent please help us out with both party ideas as well as sharing your reminiscences of the 340 Club.

From the Poet Laureate

The Poet Laureate is on vacation this week and I am pinch-hitting with a very rare poem of mine written in the summer of 1974 immediately preceding the formation of the 328 Club. It was written about a dear friend of mine whom I knew for only a very short time a long time ago. She may have been my last childhood crush. She went on to marry another very good friend of mine who I’m afraid I let the events of that summer dampen that friendship. In any case it is a poem about unrequited love. It is dedicated to Walt & Anne. Congratulations on over 30 year’s happiness in complementing each other. I hope this finds you in excellent spirits, health and circumstance. God bless you and your family. - Tee Knorr, January 23, 2008

“Pleasant dreams while I slumber
Supported by faith in promises, desired
But not asked for

A relationship undefined
A one-way street without a sign
Traveled east and west

A sign is hung
Definition is provided
Now traffic flows only towards the setting sun

Shattered faith provides
A basis for nightmares
While I lie restless”

I took the message and I took it wrong
I refuse to listen to that ugly song
I change the words so they suit me right
Stars in the day; sun in the night

“Tomorrow is another day
She’ll love me then
That’s what I will say

I will violate the law
I will go down the street
Toward the sunrise

If I get caught
What is the loss?
The rising sun is worth most any cost

Promises still desired but unnecessary
Faith in love can still give sleep a chance
And from sleep – dreams”

She said she didn’t love me and I said that’s ok
Said I could wait for another day
She said that I shouldn’t and I said that I must
She said that I wouldn’t and I ask for her trust.

Fact or Confused

I am starting to think my vague recollection of Young Ted prior to 340 is a product of old age or brain cell loss. Two events have recently come to mind,both involved Ted and Sil.
1) In the winter of '73 or early '74 there was a major snowstorm. The 328 Club didn't open its doors until Fall of '74 so Sil still lived with me at Wabank Apartments.
The movie,The Exorcist was released on 12/26/73, it may have not reached the Red Rose City until early the next year. Sil and I decided to walk into town to see it. Ted got wind of it and I remember waiting for him on the Millersville Pike until he hoofed it in from Quaker Hills.
We saw the movie and I suggested we go to Zangari's for some of those free cheesesteaks Ted alluded to. Sil did not accompany us,I dunno if he was "vegan" yet or not, he probably went to the YMCA.
Anyhow Tee and I went to the pizza shop on West Lemon,cautiously peering down each dark alley we came to before we crossed it to make sure we would not be needing an Exorcism ourselves. I have no clue how we got home.

2) The Paragon Bar, now the House of Pasta had some ridiculous special on Monday nights,something like five draft beers for a dollar. This could have been during the 340 era but I doubt it. The three of us went there armed with the Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia where we engaged the regulars there in friendly trivia for beers.
The "Bible",as the Encyclopedia was known was of course the final answer. We usually fielded all their questions flawlessly and accepted our just rewards of another draft beer. One patron seemed to be getting a little incensed so he posed this question,"Who had the largest male member in Major League history ?". Of course that kind of info was unavailable in the "Bible" so we gave in. He said it was Chuck Hinton, an Outfielder who played for Cleveland and Washington. Apparently he had a friend or relative who played baseball and told him. We cheerfully bought him a beer. How confused am I on these two stories ?

How to Stick Trip

Here I am stick tripping in the 338 penthouse.

Again, it is nothing more than focused daydreaming with a prop. Here are five easy steps:

1. Find a good stick … has to be the right length, balance point early in the stick, minimal splinters, correct weight, and comfort … durable

2. Grip the stick in your left hand, strike your right palm

3. Imagine discovering America or playing six man football or running for president

4. Concentrate, focus, imagine … whack your hand (repeat as often as necessary until mission accomplished)

5. If someone asks what the fuck you are doing and they can’t see you tell them you are “typing” … if they see you tell them you are stick tripping and simply act as if it is as normal as typing.

Stick Tripping

After having lived at 340 now for a couple of months I was introduced to the art of "Stick Tripping". Tee can explain it fully but I want to give my perspective of it. Living underneath Ted's bedroom I kept hearing an incessant "whack","whack", "whack" at various times.

I asked Ted what is that noise. He said,"I was stick tripping". In simplistic terms, Ted would take a stick or some other object and beat it into his palm. The whole time he would be fantasizing,usually about sports or music. He could conjure up an entire career as a player or coach in ANY sport with complete statistics.
He has been the Heavyweight boxing champ,coached Notre Dame or some other college,had an illustrious career in Street Hockey,usually as a Goalie,I believe, not to mention Hall of Fame type numbers for Baseball,Football and Basketball players.. Musically,I can never remember the last name but he was the lead singer for Theotis Christ and the Christians.

Unfortunately he could never "stick trip" about sexual fantasies. I can recall times when Ted would find a new stick or other object and gleefully exclaim,"This will be great for Stick Tripping". He no doubt wore a few out or they broke due to the excessive pounding. Callouses on his palms were the norm. There are times when I miss that methodical "whack,whack,whack".

Was I A Jinx?

On Sunday, December 14, 1975, Tim Lutter & I drove to Baltimore to see the Colts win their 8th straight game – after a 1-4 start – with a rousing overtime win, 10-7, over the Miami Dolphins on Toni Linhart’s 31 yard field goal. Timmy (Baltimore) and I (Pittsburgh, which actually was the nickname Tim first knew me by) had also attended game seven of the 1971 series together. You think he would figure out I was a jinx. Although on this day I wasn’t. but as I hated both the Colts and the Dolphins overtime was an enjoyable circumstance as someone had to win. A couple of weeks later it was a different story. As Tim recalls, and I truly don’t, we hitchhiked to Pittsburgh (as City L and I had done the year before) to see an AFC playoff game. As the below piece indicates, my Pgh/Balt jinx was in effect:

Pittsburgh Steelers 28, Baltimore Colts 10
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1 2 3 4 Total
Colts 0 7 3 0 10
Steelers7 0 7 14 28

The Steelers defense forced 4 turnovers and held the Colts to 154 total yards of offense, while Pittsburgh's Franco Harris shredded Baltimore's defense with 153 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Steelers scored first after linebacker Jack Ham's interception set up running back Harris' 8-yard rushing touchdown. Baltimore responded when Lloyd Mumphord returned a 58-yard interception to set up Glenn Doughty's 5-yard touchdown reception. With the Colts leading 10-7 in the third quarter, Pittsburgh cornerback Mel Blount intercepted a pass and returned to the Baltimore 7-yard line. From there, Rocky Bleier scored on a 7-yard rushing touchdown. Quarterback Terry Bradshaw recorded a 2-yard touchdown run, and Andy Russell picked up a Colts fumble and returned it for an NFL playoff record 93 yards to the end zone.

Scoring
PIT - Harris 8 run (Gerela kick) PIT 7-0
BAL - Doughty 5 pass from Domres (Linhart kick) 7-7
BAL - field goal Linhart 27 BAL 10-7
PIT - Bleier 7 run (Gerela kick) PIT 14-10
PIT - Bradshaw 2 run (Gerela kick) PIT 21-10
PIT - Russell 93 fumble return (Gerela kick) PIT 28-10

2

As I mentioned previously, Phil moved in October and at some point in time began to keep a list of both women that I pined after or had crushes on and (I know, I know, it is both sexist and immature) later a list of women that I knew intimately. Assuming Phil began such a habit when he moved in the intimate list would have had only one entry. Well, it doubled in December. Sadly I do not recall her name. I had ended 1974 at zero and ended 1975 at two. Number three would prove to be a doozy.

As an aside, Phil & I did not know each other very well when he moved in to the 340. AS Phil himself tells it: “I have only vague recollections of young Ted prior to 340.” However, I knew him more than he knew me … this was due to a couple of reasons: 1) he was one of the big shots being a member of the class of ’68; he was of the class that initiated me (a ‘69er) at Lancaster Catholic High (Dwight Fetterhof, his cousin I believe, actually doing the honors) as such I looked up to both him and Sil (also ’68) as heroes of sorts. In my memory, their reputations as sports buffs preceded them and I was thrilled to meet the pair of them at a party (circa 1970) at Tim Bucher’s house, and; 2) he made the best cheese steaks for the right price at Zangari’s on Lemon Street. For some reason he – despite his vague recollections of me - gave me free cheese steaks.

After meeting Phil & Sil at Buchers my next memory of the pair of them was their competing in a draft APBA baseball league at Millersville State College in the spring of 1973. While I don’t remember anything about the draft; I do have my scorebook of games my team played. Phil, at least in my memory, was a part time student, drove a VW beetle, and hung at the SMAC (Student Union) which is where many of the APBA games were played. Later that summer Sil, Phil & I attended the initial APBA Conference together. After that Phil & Sil both appeared, perhaps not regularly, at game nights coinciding with Monday Night Football in ’73 and very early in ’74 season. By winter 1975, we were fast friends with Sil having been my roomy for over a year and Phil keeping a list of my dalliances like he knew me forever. 1976 loomed.

A Day in the Life: 2008 (Part Three)

I drove to the Knights via South Duke Street (regretfully, I did not think to check out my old neighborhood - 72 Howard Avenue - until right now as I type this) checking out my old stomping rounds ... Crispus Attucks, Elks, South Pole (a vacant lot), Mrs. Curry's yard with puppy, Helen Jefferson's home (directly across from Daisy Hilton's aka #44), Buchanon's grave, the Creamy, Z-South, deadman's curve and - finally - the Knights of Columbus. I greeted the relatively new manager with trepidation afraid that prices quoted in December might have moved northward now that it was time to sign the contract. I was pleasantly surprised when that turned out not to be the case. Oh things changed but they were negotiated and mutually acceptable. So, I want to take this opportunity to officially announce the following:

340 Club Reunion
June 7, 2007
Knights of Columbus
Lancaster, PA
$20 per person
150 person limit ... but early!!!
See Phil or call me (238 5151)

cold cut buffet, i.e. eat dinner before you come
Pabst beer
DJ
Program booklet
340 Club Cards
buttons
tee shirts available for sale
340 Museum
powerpoint

Be there

After I left the Knights I drove through Quaker Hills and concluded my quick visit to Lancaster by stopping at my church, St. Philips, said a prayer, continued on past Mecca and on to the burg. See all of you in 138 days!!!

A Day in the Life: 2008 (Part Two)

I entered the Alley Cat and found a bustling place with perhaps 40 diners even though the lunch hour was in its back end. I ordered the $8.48 lunch buffet which features a bottomless soda, soup, salad and all the "famous pizza" you can eat. I then opened up the briefcase got out my dice, boards, cards and score sheet and played a game of APBA. 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates 13, All-Time Harrisburg Giants 1. Deacon Law got the win behind an 18 hit attack (3 each by Groat & Clemente) featuring homers by Nelson & Hoak. A fuller description of this game will soon appear on my baseball blog at: http://blog.pennlive.com/gloryoftheirtimes/.

I have to concede to the Zangari name that Alice's fare is not Zangari's nor is it as good as it used to be ... after all it has been almost ten years since she was coached by a true keeper of the recipe. However, after 15 slices I must testify that it is pretty good and a reasonable facsimile.

I should mention that the Alley Cat not only has imitation Zangari Pizza but by necessity it imitates Joe Cassidy's Tavern; it can't help but do so since it exists in the same space some 20 years or so after Mr. Cassidy left the business. There are ghosts there. I could imagine the bar where it used to be, there was ol' Phil in his cups at the bar, Dicky behind the bar, Huntz Hall bouncing checks, quoits flying down the lane (wait, is that me body bowling?), there is Glenny Schneider and Desi Deeter at the bar ... no, wait, that is no ghost. I approached the bar and asked a familiar looking face ... do you work for Verizon? The gentleman said: "No" and then paused "but I used to, I retired three years ago". I immediately stuck out my hand saying "Tee Knorr. How are you doing Glen?". Next thing you know from across the bar comes a "Tee Knorr!" It was Desi Deeter. I spent about 15-20 minutes reminiscing with a pair of greats adding to what had already been a great time. I told Desi he was just recently referred to in a trivia question regarding Craps being the most popular dice game at the 340. Desi, not contradicting that fact, added "and APBA Horseracing cuz we could bet on it!" :) I hated to turn down Desi's offer of a beer but had to leave to meet with the Knight's of Columbus regarding the reunion. See A Day in the Life: 2008 (Part Three).

A Day in the Life: 2008 (Part One)

Two views of the 340 Club as it exists today in 2008

Today being a holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I took a drive to Lancaster ... visited Phil & Cisco at 48 Seymour, briefly toured the City, walked the 300 block West King Street, had lunch at Alley Cat, and completed - quite sucessfully - negotiations with the Knights of Columbus for the June 7th reunion.

It was my first meeting with Cisco and, lets just say, he is a nice puppy.

The City - Lancaster - looked to me like it has a long way to go. Phil insisted, however, that during the day - particularily at lunch time - it is a happening place. We both agreed that one the Convention Center is complete the area between the Square and the ballpark will boom with regard to resturaunts, bars etc. If the City has a long way to go - the 300 block of West King Street has much further to go. As we walked the block it was hard to miss the "No Tresspassing", "Beware of Dog", "Private Property" and "Keep Out" signs. What a difference twenty years make. After I left Philip - he took 50 pictures which will pop up on the blog from time to time - at his home and proceeded back up town to the Alley Cat for some Zangari Pizza. Currently, the best Zangari Pizza can be found at the 7th WArd Republican Club prepared by Phil himself. According to Phil, I assume, the 2nd through 99th best Zangari Pizza exists only in private homes or in a new shop I'm not aware of but .... truth be told ex-Z South cook Alice Rittenhouse does make a fairly good imitation of (as they call it) "famous pizza".

AS THIS POST IS GETTING TOO LONG, SEE A Day in the Life: 2008 (Part Two)

Curator's Corner 5: the 45s

The above record jacket, ironically, contained a record that never made it into the juke box. It is Bonnie Parker's cover of Eve of Destruction. I received it from Sybil Zangari who had gotten it from either Beth Ann Jones or Sissy Williams who had gotten it from Bonnie with the expressed purpose being to put it on the 340 juke box. Alas, it was a British style 45 with a small spindle hole - like a 33 RPM album - and was not formatted properly for the juke box.

Last week, Curator's Corner featured the Rockola 432 Juke Box that served the 340 from April 1981 to the end of the second coming in 1984. This week, the records that could be found in the 340 are the feature.

INSERT PICTURE #2 HOPEFULLY BY TOMORROW

There are 500 45 RPM records in the 340 Club collection. All the more reason why the Juke Box needs to be repaired or replaced. It is my intention to have the DJ (on June 7th) limit there selection to just those records; actually a subset of perhaps 150 or so of the greatest hits of the 340 Juke Box. Here is an in progress look at a typical setup of the mighty mighty 340 Juke Box. I will endeavor to fill in all the bins with records. Feel free to comment on what records are must play for the June 7th bash -

A1 The T-Bones: No Matter What Shape
A3 Napoleon XIV: They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!
A5 Johnny Sea: Day for Decision
A7 Barry McGuire: Eve of Destruction
B1 SSGT Barry Sadler: The Ballad of the Green Berets
B3 The Kingsmen: (You Got) The Gamma Goochee, Jolly Green Giant
B5 Senator Everett McKinley/Senator Bobby: Wild Thing
B7 Perry Como: Delaware
C1 The Vapors: Turning Japanese
C3 Johnny Horton: The Battle of New Orleans
C5 Tommy James & the Shondells: Hanky Panky/Mony Mony/Crimson & Clover/& more
C7 The Magnificient Men: Peace of Mind, Sweet Soul Medley, You Changed My Life
D1 Devo
D3 Marvin Gaye
D5 Bachman-Turner Overdrive
D7 Buddy Holly & the Crickets
E1 Queen
E3 The Shangri-Las: Leader of the Pack,
E5 Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes
E7 Englebet Humperdink
F1 The Monkees
F3 Kim Carnes: Betty Davis Eyes
F5 Bobby Vinton: Mr. Lonley
F7 KISS
G1 Trini Lopez: If I Had A Hammer, Lemon Tree
G3 Bob Lind
G5 The Kinks
G7 Manfred Mann
H1 The 4 Seasons
H3 The Who
H5 Thin Lizzy
H7 The McCoys
I1 The Jordan Brothers
I3 The Rascals
I5 Sweet
I7 Styx
J1 The Bee Gees
J3 Simon & Garfunkel
J5 Tommy Roe
J7 Bill Haley and his Comets
K1 Chubby Checker
K3 The Moody Blues: Go Now, Nights in White Satin
K5 The Wonder Who
K7 The Capitols: Cool Jerk
L1 Blondie
L3 The K-Otics
L5 The Fantastic Johnny C: Boogaloo Down Broadway
L7 The Beach Boys
M1 Donovan
M3 The Vanilla Fudge
M5 King Curtis
M7 Led Zeppelin
N1 Herman’s Hermits
N3 Neil Diamond
N5 Aerosmith
N7 The Kit Kats
O1 The Turtles
O3 Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels
O5 Mott the Hoople
O7 Percy Sledge
P1 Four Tops
P3 The Supremes
P5 The Rolling Stones
P7 The Beatles
Q1 The Temptations
Q3 MeatLoaf
Q5 The Mama’s and the Papas
Q7 Spyder Turner
R1 The Lovin’ Spoonful
R3 Alice Cooper
R5 The Toys
R7 Paul Revere & the Raiders
S1 The Jackson 5
S3 The Dave Clark Five
S5 The Tokens
S7 Prince & the Revolution
T1 The Animals
T3 The Byrds
T5 James & Bobby Purify
T7 Swinging Medallions

Others include -
Three Dog Night
The Clash
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Rare Earth
The Parliaments
Sly & the Family Stone
John Fred & His Playboy Band
Heart
Dobie Gray
Strawberry Alarm Clock
Arthur Conley
Los Bravos
The Righteous Brothers
Sonny & Cher
Billy Joe Royal
The Human Bienz
Nancy Sinatra
Shades of Blue
Jewel Aikens
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Billy Stewart
Sam the Sham
CSNY
Robert Knight
Police

West King Street Virgin

From April,1973 until August 1975 I lived at Wabank Apartments. When that "gig" ended I moved back home to my parents house on Ruby Street. Sil was one of my roomies at the apartment but he had an "Epiphany" and discovered the essence of life and eventually moved into the 328 Club.
I was not as fortunate, in fact,maybe Sil and Tee can verify this. I do not recall ever even visiting the initial West King Street abode. Any how after being out on my own,living with my folks seemed a little restraining.
I can remember Tee persistently calling me saying they had a vacant room. Why I waited the whole month of September to make up my mind was either due to my reluctance or maybe October 1st worked better instead of pro-rating rent.
When I made my decision to lose my W.King Street virginity I was amazed that neither Sil,Tee or Jim Shay took the second floor front bedroom overlooking King Street. It was a location I held both in the Second Coming of 340 in 1981 and at the 338 Club.
I don't remember who helped me move but I do remember that Tee,Jim and myself went down the street a block to Soldern's Tavern the very first day. It was a great place, women were not allowed to sit at the bar and two hard-boiled eggs were only 25 cents. We drank a few pitchers of beer. We sat at a table, I guess because we knew we weren't going to meet any women sitting at the bar.
I was working at Royster Chemical Farm products at the time, a normal 8-4:30 day shift most of the time until February when the farmers needed their fertilizers and it became a mandatory 12 hour day until April. The Wheatland Inn was my favorite beer garden during these days so a 8:00 AM starting time for work allowed me to indulge to the wee hours.
Most everything else of my early times at 340 are rather "blurry". Work,the Wheatland Inn,sleep and then do it again the next day. Perhaps my memory will be jogged with some additional posts by Tee and Sil.

Trivia 25-28

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:
25. Which 340 Club tenant had the shortest tenure?
26. What two 340 Club members lived at all four (328, 340, 340 again and 338) addresses?
27. What 328 Club member met his wife at a West King Street bash?
28. What future husband and wife couple cohabitated at the 340 Club prior to entering into a life of wedded bliss?

Last Week’s Questions:
21) Who was the "maestro" of the Great Fish Fry, two large grills set up cooking a large quantity of Boston Blue Fish, held on the 340 Club's sidewalk, one summer evening? Maurice "Geno" DiEugenio maestroed the fish fry

22) Who was the only 340 member to turn his card in because of inappropriate behavior?
Louie Wickersham turned in his card because he tried to fight the black guy who brought the Hackman girl to a 340 party

23) What type of beverage was responsible for this inappropriate behavior?
He drank a bottle of ginger brandy perhaps the cause of his behavior

24) What was the most popular dice game played on the 340 bar? Hint: It wasn't APBA

Craps...we played it a lot, late 340...Boasky and Desi were the big players

October 1975 - Joining the Rat Race

Sadly, my chances of ever becoming a parking lot attendant suffered a fatal blow when the Bureau of Employment Security - with whom I had been working since April - referred me to a job interview at Columbia School District. I interviewed with the legendary Elmer Krieser, Principal and former football and basketball coach, and Ron Caulwell, Vice-Principal. They were seeking to set up an alternative classroom for disruptive youth in their secondary education program. The position was funded by the Federal CETA program which meant it was guaranteed for only one year but hopefully would be picked up full-time by the district if the program demonstrated sucess. Following my interview, I was hired along with Mike Burke, former Columbia + Millersville QB, to run the program and Jan Bartlett was hired to provide supplementary counseling services. It turned out to be one of the most difficult challenges of my life ... the program's students were those who for one reason or another were not being reached by the traditional methods. Approximately 50 students were in and out of the program during the year with 25 or so in attendance on an average day. A 12 to 1 student/teacher ratio, particularily when all students were deemed incorigible by the mainstream, proved to be quite the challenge.

From that point forward, actually from the summer playground assignment earlier that year, I was, depending on your point of view, either gainfully employed or stuck in the rat race. I have been employed fulltime since that point at Columbia, City Hall Lancaster and currently with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Another event happened that same month with larger implications with regard to the 340 Club. During the months of July and August, Sil, Jim Shay, and I held down the fort but there was an empty bedroom on the 2nd floor on the street. Prime location in my book ... it was not long until we had a tenant.

APBAcon II

Another significant event of 1975 that I have overlooked was the second APBA Convention held in June at New York City’s Commodore Hotel. Due to the abundance of Rupert’s, Ballentine, Knickerbocker in the Big Apple I cannot recall too much of the conference nor do I know who attended from Lancaster and/or the 340. I do recall that Phil, Sil and I attended the inaugural conference in Philadelphia at the Bellevue Stratford in 1973. I know Phil & I attended in ’75 but I’m not sure if Sil did. Over 400 APBA enthusiasts attended this conference.

The highlight of the conference was the attendance of a certain Clifford Van Beek who invented the game – National Pastime – that a young Dick Seitz played in 1932 upon which during and after WWII Mr. Seitz based his “invention” of the APBA Major League Baseball Game.