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For a
number of years Robert “Gus” Gustafson was just a voice on a
phone line. He would call into my radio program at WDVR-FM
on an
occasional Friday afternoon, and we would discuss politics, folk music
and his personal recollections of life in Greenwich Village during the
tumult and turbulence of the 1960s. While most of our conversations
centered on his past, there was some mention now and then about his
current state of affairs. He spoke of the hardscrabble times and
matters of ill health that had caused him to reconcile himself to the
possibility that Quakertown, Pennsylvania might be the last stop on
life’s journey. Then there was silence, and for several years the
gravelly timbre and whiskey eloquence of Robert Gustofson was no longer
a part of my Friday afternoons.
Recently I met a couple that shared some colorful tales about some of
the local talent that frequented the taverns in Quakertown. I asked if
they had ever encountered Gus during their travels. They had not; but
apparently the mere mention of his name put into motion that
providential thing that occurs in the universe when one asks the right
question. On the very next Friday a familiar voice on the studio phone
was making inquires as to whether or not I could remember the name of a
song that I had played almost ten years ago. Within a week’s time
my
wife and I responded to Mr. Gustafson’s invitation to join him for
libations in his living room. His parlor just happens to be the bar at
the EAGLE HOTEL During that session,
and a couple that followed, I was
privy to the particulars of a interesting American life and another
unique American public house.
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Donna Zummo proprietor of KNIGHT EAGLE CARRIAGE TOURS
pictured with
Tanya Lightner and Gus alongside the Eagle Hotel in Quakertown, PA.
For information about their personalized “Pub or Dining on Wheels Tour”
contact Donna at 610-847-8013 or visit them online @ www.knighteaglecarriagetours.com
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Robert
Gustafson
was a child of the “New Deal” born in Wolcott, Vermont
in 1941, while his father labored in a Civilian Conservation Corps
camp. After the Second World
War the family moved to Massachusetts, and during those formative years
in New England Gus developed a keen interest in music. By the late
1950s he was playing the skins in a couple of R&B bands. At
some
point he got tired of lugging around a drum kit and picked up the
harmonica. This moved him toward the burgeoning folk music scene and a
club called “The
Pesky Sarpent" in Springfield,
Massachusetts, that was
fast becoming a proving ground for musicians from New York to Boston.
Along with Gus, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Phil Ochs, Eric
Andersen, Tom Rush, Ritchie
Havens and David Mowry of Beaucoup Blue were just a few of
the
mainstays of the era that took to the stage on a regular basis. David
Mowry recently told me that Gus was the first actual beatnik that he
had ever met. And if Mr. Gustafson has anything to say about it, he
will also be the last actual beatnik any of us ever meet. He is a man
that has remained true to his calling.
During the early sixties Gus split his time between Springfield and New
York City, where he was sharing a sixth floor walk-up on East 3rd
Street above Slug’s Saloon with Ritchie
Havens. When he wasn’t blowing
harp in the Village clubs, he spent his days bartending, writing songs
and recreating in a 1960s fashion. The next two decades found him
married and working in the antique’s business in Florida. By the time
he arrived in Pennsylvania in the late 1980s, the old furniture was
still with him – his old flame was not. For a few years, he ran a large
antique emporium in Quakertown; but the onset of Emphysema had greatly
limited his
ability to work. In 2001 Gus took up residence at the EAGLE
HOTEL. |
OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EAGLE HOTEL
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| The EAGLE has a long standing
reputation for providing a safe haven and
a good drink to those that have ridden the long hard trail. During the
late 1800s, the notorious Kulp Gang, who had a partiality for staging
holdups in and around Philadelphia, used the EAGLE HOTEL as both
hideout and headquarters. And America’s favorite cowboy and cowgirl,
Roy Rogers and Dale Evans would stay at the EAGLE while conducting
business in the area. Roy’s trousers were manufactured at a factory in
Quakertown, and Trigger Jr. one of the three palominos that Rogers rode
during his film and television career came from a breeding farm in
nearby Souderton, Pennsylvania. |
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BILLIARDS ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS
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GURUS ARE HONORED ON THE WALL
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Today,
Danny
Kane the very generous and well liked owner of the
establishment does an admirable job of watching over both his long and
short term clientele. On any given evening you’ll find an eclectic mix
of humanity gathered around the bar, and the only shooting that goes on
these days occurs in the perfectly outfitted and tastefully decorated
pool room off to the side.
The EAGLE HOTEL is much like the
taverns that were such an important
part of my life during my pre and early legal drinking days. But
somewhere along the way I abandoned their simple pleasures in search of
those houses that filled their shelves with expensive single malts, and
whose taps seldom ran with domestic flavors unless it was the creation
of some revered upstart brew master. I had forgotten about the wisdom
and judiciousness that one can acquire by spending time in neighborhood
saloons.
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PHILOSOPHY IS DISCUSSED
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THE CHIEF'S CHAIR
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| There
are bars like the EAGLE HOTEL in every small town
and city
throughout America. Their shortcomings (and distinctive charms) are
obvious and easily
understood, hence their limited embrace in certain social circles.
But within their walls you will always find souls like Danny Kane and
Robert Gustafson, people with great stories and even greater hearts -
making such places another welcomed stop along the trail. |
EAGLE HOTEL
201
EAST BROAD STREEa
QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA 18951
(215) 536-3316
no web site
GET DIRECTIONS
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