February 2010

Hello and welcome to February.

If you look down to the post below this one you will see it was a lonnnnnng time ago.

Over the past yr or so I put this site in simmer mode as I accomplished some personal and professional objectives.

Now that they are completed I will again get the ball rolling. The purpose of this site is unchanged - to document America's vanishing smalltown pubs. These homegrown businesses are most certainly MORE threatened now than they were when I launched this site - increased DUI pressures, more home entertainment options, ever-increasing costs to eat and drink out, etc - all work to make running a tavern a very risky and stressful occupation.

One of my new goals is to interview more owners and managers and to include more photos.

I have pretty much given up on using the new website. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and buy a brand new copy of Dreamweaver and learn it the right way.

For now, I will continue to manage the site on the antiquated Microsoft Frontpage software.

Thought? Comment? Email me at tom@americantom.com

Thanks -
Tom

October is almost gone...

Hello folks!

One half year has slipped by since I last blogged. That hardly seems possible.

For now, I have given up on getting the new website running. It cost me $500 and uses DREAMWEAVER which is radically different from the utterly simpl FRONTPAGE that I now use.
Essentially, my own stupidity has down this new idea in.

So, I am back and chasing stories and bars and will just keep this old layout.

Maybe I will have the time over Christmas to take another stab at learning how to make the new site work.

Thanks for your patience

AMERICANTOM

NEW WEBSITE - Almost

Time sure does fly.

The new website is almost done and should go live by 1May08.

To be honest, I am going to miss my old one just because it was something I created from knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about setting up a page.

The new site is far more professional and will make it easier on the readers. It has some functionality that is very different from what I have now.

Once its running please tell me what you think.

T

I'm A Cop - Not!

A few weeks ago I was in Reading and encountered some friction from a pub-ful of people who apparently had reached a consensus that I was an undercover cop.

This decision came to a head when one of the patrons actually followed me outside to ask me to show him that I was NOT wearing a concealed firearm. I guess he expected me to go around the corner and climb into my unmarked Crown Vic. Sorry buddy, no piece today and all I was driving away in was my 10 year old jalopy.

Well, advance forward and I am sitting in a bar in Lancaster - the guy next to me is eyeballing me. I hate being eyeballed.

Wanna guess what he was wondering? You guessed it - if i was an undercover cop. This line is growing old.

He left, I had another beer or two. Then I left in the snow to my 10 year old jalopy.

Maybe some feature of my face has changed and I suddenly have a look that makes everyone think I am law enforcement.

Who knows.

Logan's Roadhouse

One of the strongest themes about my website is that I am want small town taverns to survive.

There are several factors that challenge these taprooms but one of the biggest ones is the constant pressure and competition from chain bar/restraurants.

So, I have vowed to not patronize the never-ending stream of these cookie-cutter businesses.

This weekend I was taken to the Logan's Roadhouse in York, PA. The feel is the same as just about every other box - whether that be a Damon's or Friday's or Fuddruckers.

The food was fairly good but quite slow to arrive. I did not order beer (figured I had to spend money there to eat so I might as well not give them my beer money too).

Many people were eating, drinking and talking - seemingly happy in an artificial environment. That just isn't my style.

Lebanon, PA - Giant Boloney Drop

Happy New Year!

Last night I rang in 2008 by watching Lebanon's gigantico bologna drop from a ladder truck.

This 12ft long, 150 pound behemoth lumbered to the ground as 100s of people stood in a parking lot cheering it on.

Lowering something odd to celebrate the new year is an inherently happy event. I had a good time but Lebanon sure could have done more in the lead-up. A DJ played some good music but the only hot drinks were free coffee or hot chocolate from the Salvation Army but there was no food and no other activities beforehand. Not a single local mini-mart of coffee shop was open.

Other towns have kids events, displays, hey - maybe even free boloney samples.

Something to consider for the future?

There WERE bars open nearby. Looked like fun inside as i peered through their front windows. I want to get to Lebanon soon to check out some of the downtime places.

Happy New Year all!

Pallets Of Straub's In Philly

One of my resolutions is to explore Philly more often. For living roughly an hour from the city I sure haven't done much there.

So, a daytrip led to some adventures and memories.

I was driving down a street and looked over and saw this pallet of Straub's sitting by the roadway. Mmmm, Straub's!