September 9, 2006—I Love This Bar
Wisconsin is known for some major breweries. Maybe it’s because of this that it has a peculiarity we’ve never seen before. It’s filled with bars, saloons, and supper clubs. Now bars are usually bars, but in Wisconsin, not only are they in terrifically prolific numbers, but they are very different than a hard-core drinking hole. For one thing, most allow children to not only enter, but to “belly up to the bar” so to speak. The first time we saw this we about fell off our chairs! We’ve been told that’s because the bars also serve food and in fact, many are named “xxx Bar & Grill”. Quite a few that are scattered about the countryside in rural areas call themselves Supper Clubs or Inns. As that name would imply, some are very old and do indeed have histories that date back to post road times when they were both tavern and lodging.
Most bars here are open throughout the day and I’ve not seen one yet that doesn’t have a crowd of cars and trucks and most especially motorcycles, outside at any given time. Surprisingly however, we don’t hear of a lot of drunken driving arrests. Either the police are missing them, or the patrons know their limits. And finally, most bars aren’t a decorator’s epitome of the newest fashion or Yuppie havens—these are the real deal, worn down and a little rough around the edges but filled with the memorabilia of the ages, usually adding a kitsch no side show could hope to match.
As I started thinking about the Toby Keith song “I Love This Bar” and how appropriate it could be for a photo story of some of these marvelous places, I collected photos in our travels that now represent a fun collage to a slice of character of the state. So step inside, and enjoy the tour. Oh, and ok, I cheated just a little. A couple photos are of bars in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula but were too cute to not include. Be sure and catch UP Chucks (really U.P. Chucks).
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