A number of my slices of life took part in an old pool hall in the little town of Monroe, Oregon. We Gins boys got to spend some summers there, while staying with the grand folk. My Granddad Hibby owned the pool hall. Before I relate any of the occurrences, I should take you back in time to the 1950s and give you a personal tour of the place.
It was a fairly large wooden building with some big windows up front, though they were treated with something so that you couldn't see through them all that well. (Privacy for all the customers in there, I guess.)
There was a sign on the door that read "No Minors Allowed" but for some reason Granddad would let us kids in. When I first visited the place, I was young enough to where I could read but my spelling was way off. I thought the sign meant miners. Now why wouldn't they be allowed in?
Step through the big wooden door and the first thing to assail you would be the smell. Best described as a mixture of beer, vanilla, air conditioning Freon, tobacco, chocolate, oil (the wooden floor was treated with it) and pool cube chalk.
A few steps in and the counter, or bar if you will, was situated on the left, running east to west. It wasn't very big but it was ample enough to serve beer to four or five customers seated on bar stools. On top was a box of Dutch Masters Cigars, bags of Planters Peanuts, some packets of beef jerky and the cash register of course. Located on the wall behind the counter was a refrigerated storage area for bottles of beer and soda pop, such as Coke, Root Beer and Seven Up. Built into the back of the counter itself was a freezer unit that held big tubs of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice-cream.
If you walked to the opposite wall you would come across a big glassed in candy display case. All the familiar brands were there, such as Three Musketeers, York Peppermint Patties, Milky Way bars, Snickers and the like. Magazines were displayed along the wall. I can't remember any titles, but there were a few girlie magazines there. (Fairly tame stuff but still fun to look at, when you're a kid.) There was also a revolving rack that displayed paperback books. There was an automated, stand up bowling machine by the wall. You slid a puck type of object down the 'lane' and sensor wires would elevate the plastic pins upwards, according to how well you angled it in.
In the middle of the establishment were two big pool tables and beyond them some felt covered card tables with wooden chairs. Above them, on the far wall sat an old, black and white television. A highly popular feature, especially if there was a boxing match going on during business hours.
There was a door in the back of the pool hall and once you walked through it, you were outside. A small pathway took you past a storage room and then the bathroom, a pretty simple affair with toilet, toilet paper, a small sink to wash hands with and a paper towel dispenser. That back area was a small, open court, only aside from the storeroom and bathroom, there was nothing there, no roof or anything. The ground was paved with hundreds of pop bottle caps. They were all pounded into the ground, to keep weeds from growing, I guess.
And that's it. I think I've about covered it all. Oh, yeah, what brand of beer did Granddad serve? Well, there was a nifty, electric powered advertisement sign hanging on the wall behind the counter. It showed a shimmering, animated waterfall for Olympia Beer. "It's the Water"
