The 3rd periodic 340 Club Reunion has been postponed indefinitely

Before there was an Animal House there was a 340 Club; before there was a Dean Wormer there was a Harold "the fuck" Martin; before there was John Blutarsky or a Daniel Simpson Day there was Tim Lutter, Sil Simpson, Dan Joyce, Tim Getzloff, Dick Lichty, Jim Shay, Phil Zangari, Chris Joyce, Dave Petkosh, Mitch Herr, Kenny Giltner, Dean Staherski, Randy Brown, John Emswiler, Sue Krimmell Emswiler and myself; before there were any Delta Tau Chi pledge pins, there were 340 Club cards; before Otis Day & the Knights, the 340 Jukebox; before there were Delta Brothers there were the usual gang of idiots that congregated at 328, 340 (twice) and 338 West King Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a decade beginning in August 1974. This blog is dedicated to those idiots and those times. God bless Kenny, Mitch and Chris; may they rest in peace.

















virtual 340 Club members

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Lancaster's Bars: circa 1978

The following was intended to be a list of the bars of Lancaster. Unfortunately, it is undated. I believe it to be prior to the second coming; in fact, noting its absence it must have been created before Zangari's South. I would say Spring '78.
(apologize for the long list but three columns collapsed under my formatting skills)

Anne’s Café
Kramer’s
Hall’s
Armand’s (Dick & Kathy’s)
Lauzus
Rendezvous (W & S)
Manor Inn
Luckee’s Elbo Room
Red Rose
Bob’s Café
Miller
Gemini
Capri
Royal House
Jade Tiki
Cassidy’s
Shamrock
Bentley’s
Catalina
Shenk’s
Barrell’s, Whisky & Rhyme
Country Place
His & Her
House of Pasta
Donnelly’s Corner
Silver Dollar
Kegel’s
Drift Inn
Soldner’s
Obie Millers
Double R
Spread Eagle (Ground Floor)
Steinbacher’s
Fiddler
Sundown
Sam’s
Franklin
Matthews
Swan Hotel
Fulton
Swamp Fox
Tom Paine’s (2)
Gio’s
Tally Ho
Patsy’s
Groffs
Little Dutch
Wonder Bar
Hi-Fi
Town Tavern
Graver’s (Sunny's)
Hill Café
The Village
Brau Haus
Horse Inn
White’s
Gaslight
Jim’s
Weaver’s
Fairmount House
Johnny’s
Denny’s
Gimbels
Buchanon Lounge
Hildy’s
Joe Capp’s
Rose Bowl
Brunswick (3)
J & J
Lombardo’s
Rehms
Italian Villa
Givants
A-M
B & B
The End

Friday, March 21, 2008

3/22; 4/1, 4

Tomorrow night at The Village Nite Club, Lancaster, PA - The Sharks BE THERE!
April 1- Shine a Light ... soundtrack available (see below)
April 4 - Shine a Light ... movie opens

SHINE A LIGHT (soundtrack)
Disc 1
Jumping Jack Flash
Shattered
She Was Hot
All Down the Line
Loving Cup (with Jack White III)
As Tears Go By
Some Girls
Just My Imagination
Faraway Eyes
Champagne & Reefer (with Buddy Guy)
Tumbling Dice
Band introductions
You Got the Silver
Connection

Disc 2
Martin Scorsese Intro
Sympathy for the Devil
Live With Me with (Christina Aguilera)
Start Me Up
Brown Sugar
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Paint it Black
Little T&A
I'm Free
Shine A Light

From the Mighty 340 Club Juke Box

Tonight, a tribute to the Chestnut Street Street Hockey Team




Thursday, March 20, 2008

Why World of Sports & other sporting fringe items

Apparently, in the late winter of 1981, I was striving to achieve some semblance of being in shape. As anyone who knows me knows I have never been in shape; however I did participate in some five mile runs in that winter/spring culminating in my running in that year's annual Red Rose Run. Here is a press release on my new found athletic prowess written by City Hall's spokesperson (and hockey goaltender) Fred Smedley:

WHY WORLD OF SPORTS
Information Service
CONTACT: Fred Smedley
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -

LANCASTER - Lancaster athletic star Theodore P. Knorr, whose scholastic and collegiate careers are legendary among local sports buffs, has announced his intention to return to active competition in the area's tough track circuit.

Knorr's first public appearance will be March 28 (1981) when he will compete in the March of Dimes Five-Mile Run. A special press conference and "coming out" party has been scheduled for that evening in the urban Xanadu occupied by his press agent, Fred Smedley, at 137 Howard Avenue.

Provided Knorr survives the run, and is not nominated as poster child for this year's March of Dimes campaign immediately following his endeavor, the conference will begin at 8:30 p.m. Since liquor will be flowing throughout the conference, and the party itself will get underway immediately thereafter, reporters are urged to arrive on time if they hope to get a few intelligible words from the local legend.

While the March of Dimes run will be Knorr's initial competitive foray into Lancaster's road-racing circuit, he has reportedly set his sights on finishing the grueling Red Rose Five-Mile Run set for June 13.

Knorr, of course, is no stranger to the Red Rose Run. Under his direction the run evolved into the notable event it is. It was Knorr who was able to coax foreign runners to Lancaster. When other countries were denying South African Sydney Maree the chance to compete solely for political reasons, Knorr stated, "He can run in Lancaster." Maree consequently won that race and his career has been on the rise since.

Last year Knorr was involved with the run but was overcome by an acute case of blood poisoning the night before the race and was unable to attend the affair itself.

Knorr's athletic accomplishments at Lancaster Catholic High School in the mid 1960's were minimal enough to capture the hearts and minds of many fans.

In 1965 "Terrible Ted" Knorr occpied the center spot for the Crusader's offensive line and was the scourge of defensive linemen and Catholic High quarterback's alike. The fact that Knorr was entrusted with the most important position in football -- that of beginning each play -- displays the faith his coaches had in him as a human being. The additional fact that Knorr never started and rarely played attests to the total lack of confidence his coaches had in his abilities. Nevertheless, Knorr's spiritual leadership is often singled out as the main motivating force behind Catholic High's impressive 6-2 record that year.

Unfortunately, the spectre that looms behind ll athletes -- common sense -- got the better of Knorr and he withdrew from the sports arena. But he could never extinguish those competitive fires and in 1969 he was coaxed back into sports, this time on the mats. As the varsity wrestling team's student manager, Knorr performed all the behind-the-scenes work that enabled the Crusaders to compile a big 9-3-1 slate.

Realizing he had little chance of topping that accomplishment Knorr again retired from athletic competition, or at least the group participation sports, and embarked on a course that brought him much personal satisfaction.

Earlier this year, however, Knorr became determined to make a second comeback. He immediately joined the City's prestigious 340 Club and worked at regaining the svelte physical form he had lost over the years.

Athletes who have heard of Knorr's proposed re-entry into the sports scene expressed enthusiasm about having the opportunity to once again view Knorr's talents.

Hockey immortal Phil Zangari, contacted at the fashionable dinner club he operates on the City's South side, remarked, "Anytime you can watch a graceful athlete who lost it all make a comeback and again do his thing, it's a beautiful sight."

Zangari, however, said he would be interested to see if age has been kind to Knorr's body, especially his knees. "We're just waiting to see him, " Zangari cautioned.

Professional wrestler Gorilla Monsoon, who once turned down a challenge to meet on the mats with Knorr, noted, "I'm just glad he decided to take up runing. He's an awesome force."

And Maree, who owes much of his success to Knorr, observed, "Well, at least with him out on the course with me I won't have to worry about what my wife is doing."

---30---


Just a footnote, I ran on March 28th and several other times prior to June 13th. On that day I became the first person to run the Red Rose Run after having ran it as race director. Another comment, Fred had a great party that Saturday night but there was a party one week later at the "prestigious" 340 Club that began a meteoric rise of ppularity, chic and hipness at that West King Street abode that - at its culmination - found Fred's former employer, the Intelligencer Journal, officially ranking the 340 Club as the County's 3rd best nightclub behind only the Old Colony and The Village Night Club. Despite the fact that tomorrow at the virtual club is April Fool's Day 1981; that ranking is factual and certified forever in articles in the Intell that will be reproduced here shortly. Stay tuned.

One more coincidental note - on June 7th the 340 Club celebrates its reunion and - wait for it (drum roll) - the City holds its annual Red Rose Run. Will Knorr return to the roadways?!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

From the Poet Laureate

What did you say? by Christopher E. Joyce

Is a thought a word
or is a word a thought
with no separation there
would confusion be nought

But a thought is a thought
and a word is a word,
as is that of the truth,
as opposed to what's heard

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

If I looked this bad before my 1st beer!!!



Imagine how I looked after a eleven hour, 14 bar, 25 beer walk ... I survived

Monday, March 17, 2008

A Question from the Left Coast

The Coach of the Year, 340 member, Don Kuhns, who lives out in Anaheim, California keeps tabs on events happening back in his old home town..He saw this and was quite concerned.

"I saw this morning on national news that Lancaster has made the news with a naked man running thru willow valley mall. Sounds like the 340 reunion already has started! It wasnt Tee, was it?"

Curator's Corner - In Memoriam


Kenny Giltner - 1978



Kenny and Paulie Ressell with Steve Troop behind them, Steve Lesher (left) and Woody Kleinhaus (right) with backs turned. 1979



Kenny "The Gilt" Giltner (RIP) is the only West King Street residence to have departed this life. As Tee mentioned in an earlier post,Kenny had a lot of weight fluctuations in his life as noted in these two pics only a year apart.The Gilt certainly knew where to find the "party" and if he couldn't he would start one.




Here is the late Bobby Hawthorne giving the "devil horns" to fellow 340 member John Wickersham in Leominster,Mass. in 1979



Bobby was a great guy to down a beer with. A heart attack claimed him much too early.

This Date in 340 Club History

Happy Birthday to me! Top of the Mornin’ to the World! O’Bama for President!
Erin go Bragh! God Bless us all! Long live the 340!

Today I walk for the 37th time in Paddy O’Neill’s [Me mum’s an O’Neill and me middle name is Patrick, hence Paddy O’Neill] Saint Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl. Several of the previous forays have emanated from the 340 Club, to wit:

1975, the only 328 Club birthday, it was a Monday which given the fact that, as a substitute teacher, I worked when I wanted to this one was likely a doozy with my birthday not too distinguishable from any of the days of that weekend, say, Friday, March 14th through late Tuesday afternoon.

1976, a Wednesday, the initial 340 Club St. Pat’s, I’m sure I taught school that day in Columbia and enjoyed a relatively sober evening walk. No School, of course, on the 18th.

1977, a Thursday, 340 Club, this classis was chronicled earlier and famously on the blog. Perhaps the pinnacle of Patty’s Day events for me. Probably put a half day in at City Hall and then got tuned up for Tim Kelly’s party (where I got lucky with #25). The next day is was off to NYC and a weekend adventure with Accu Jack Kelly, Tim’s brother, which eventually led to an encounter with one of the Big Apple’s finest professionals (#26) this side of The Emperor’s Club.

1978, a Friday, 340 Club, given the festive mood at the Club those days this also musta been a classic kick out the jams sort of affair.

Sadly, 1979 and 1980 the 340 was dark and the walk began elsewhere. Nonetheless memorable, beer, sex (#46) and rock n’ roll was present.

1981, a Tuesday, was a joyous, triumphant tour de force of which no memories, notes or records exist. The memories were probably gone along with the brain cells.

1982, a Wednesday, 340 Club, no memory, no notes. All I can say about these early 80s walks is “these were the days of Accu Jack Kelly (and Michael Hauck). These, despite the lack of testimony, were spectacular affairs.

1983, a Thursday, final 340 Club start, got laid (#107)

1984, a Saturday, just prior to the fall of the 338, no notes or memories.

So, there you have it; there were eight dates in 340 Club history where the Pub Crawl began at the various 340 Clubs; today is the first to begin at the virtual 340 Club. It all
begins in about 13 hours … for the 11th straight year it will be in Harrisburg; here is this year’s lineup:

1:48 Garrason’s Tavern
2:10 The Tap Room
2:30 Club Wanda
2:50 Al’s Café
3:10 Shady McGrady’s
3:30 Midtown Tavern
4:00 Firehouse
4:30 Zembie’s
5:00 Sawyer’s Diner
6:00 The Pep Grille
6:30 Molly Brannigan’s
7:00 Scott’s Grille
7:30 McGrath’s
8:00 Stock’s
8:30 Ceolta’s
9:00 The Quarter

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Trivia 63-65

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:
63) Which 340 Club address had the longest period – 328, 340 I, 340 II, or 338?
64) What seven 340 Club members spent over a year residing on West King Street?
65) What contemporary/future elected officials visited 340 Club?

LAST WEEK'S QUESTIONS and ANSWERS:
59) What was John Emswiler's favorite brand of beer at the Club? Straub's: no Salt, no sugar and no preservatives. Later, John needed to give up Straub’s because it went down too easy and he drank too much.

60)How much would it cost you if you wanted to just play Bette Davis Eyes, by Kim Carnes, on the Mighty 340 Juke Box? One thin dime...10 cents.

61) What did Tee usually order "cold" while waiting for his cheese steak at the Rendezvous?
Usually two slices of pizza but occasionally just one (and occasionally three).

62) The musical duo of Cook and Cosey played often at Cassidy’s, what were their first names?
Al Cook and Rick Cosey

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