Old Bars and Night Spots

[Noah Vail]

No phoo phoo joints with fancy lights...places only real men and women went...they knew no one was taking prisoners so you entered at your own peril.

Remember the after-hours places that didn't even start until the regular bars closed at 2:00AM? The Canadian Club in the Wheatland area....I worked as a bouncer at the Some Place Else Club, downtown, until life guarding at Twilight Beach in Warr Acres and the horrible hours did me in on the bouncing gig.

Cedar Terrace...The Pines....ring a bell with any of you do gooders?

[USG'60]

A cop wondered onto my place of business on a Saturday morning back in the early 70s "to see if I was still alive." He had been doing security at the Canadian Club and I had been drunk and alone and seemingly trying to "get into it" with a lot of people. At some point he had determined where I worked before I left and he could not imagine that I had gotten to my car without being attacked. I know how bad the place was but I had gotten drunk before going. I only had tiny little memories of the night before and was kind of greatful that he was concerned enough to check on me. I don't THINK I ever did it again. God, I was lucky.

[Noah Vail]

A cop wondered onto my place of business on a Saturday morning back in the early 70s "to see if I was still alive." He had been doing security at the Canadian Club and I had been drunk and alone and seemingly trying to "get into it" with a lot of people. At some point he had determined where I worked before I left and he could not imagine that I had gotten to my car without being attacked. I know how bad the place was but I had gotten drunk before going. I only had tiny little memories of the night before and was kind of greatful that he was concerned enough to check on me. I don't THINK I ever did it again. God, I was lucky.

Cops used to be kinda nice guys...always corrupt but they would let you go most of the time.

A good friend's dad and brother built and operated the original Canadian Club...it was a fancy casino with a swimming pools and the whole nine yards.....turned into a dump later but it was it's own municipality....

Remember the old OKC PD scout cars? They would always confiscate or pour out your booze and let you go.

[USG'60]

And some would consider your stash of pot as a payoff, too. Thank God.

[USG'60]

Was the Pines south of Guthrie?

[Noah Vail]

No the Pines was on NE 23rd...close to Nicoma Park

Cedar Terrace was by Edmond....I can't think of one by Guthrie.

[USG'60]

I can't think of one by Guthrie.

It was a Podie Poe related site.

[Noah Vail]

It was a Podie Poe related site.

I tried to steer clear of gambling joints....a fella can get shot in those place....old Podie Poe....is that crazy bastard still alive?

[USG'60]

We had a long discussion of him when he died awhile back. See if you can search it on here and then add to it if you would like.

[MikeOKC]

Remember the old OKC PD scout cars? They would always confiscate or pour out your booze and let you go.

You write that as if it's a good thing. Try losing a very close family member (as I have) to a drunk driver screaming through a stop sign. Should the cops have stopped him a mile back before this happened and just poured out his booze and let him go? You're a piece of work, Vail.

[ljbab728]

A good friend's dad and brother built and operated the original Canadian Club...it was a fancy casino with a swimming pools and the whole nine yards.....turned into a dump later but it was it's own municipality....

As someone who lived in Mustang for many years, I definitely remember the Canadian Club at County Line Road and Highway 152. It would have a completely full parking lot after 2AM. You may not remember that after it closed it later became a fairly decent restaurant which I used to go to occasionally before it finally closed for good. It's where Fireworks City is located today.

[Noah Vail]

You write that as if it's a good thing. Try losing a very close family member (as I have) to a drunk driver screaming through a stop sign. Should the cops have stopped him a mile back before this happened and just poured out his booze and let him go? You're a piece of work, Vail.

Oh my...a MAD momma....yes drunk driving is not a good thing and did I say anyone was drunk? The way it was is the way it was...I didn't make the rules dude.....You are the piece of work....your phony little antenna is tuned far to sensitive for REAL LIFE and the REAL WORLD.

[Noah Vail]

As someone who lived in Mustang for many years, I definitely remember the Canadian Club at County Line Road and Highway 152. It would have a completely full parking lot after 2AM. You may not remember that after it closed it later became a fairly decent restaurant which I used to go to occasionally before it finally closed for good. It's where Fireworks City is located today.

Fireworks City...that sounds funny...If only the Handley's were around to see what happened to their creation of open gambling in the OKC area. As a kid, I remember seeing good looking hookers hanging out at the pool when I visited.

[OKCRT]

When did the Canadian Club close down?

[Noah Vail]

When did the Canadian Club close down?

The law closed down the original Canadian Club in the early 60's.....it was a private casino in the beginning, of course it's been under various operators since.

[Steve]

FYI, Pody Poe died a couple of years ago. As you can imagine, with me being an OKC history buff, I was thrilled to meet him and talk extensively about his younger days. Jack and I did a feature on Pody a couple years ago at www.okchistory.com - http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?...ople&Itemid=78

[Noah Vail]

FYI, Pody Poe died a couple of years ago. As you can imagine, with me being an OKC history buff, I was thrilled to meet him and talk extensively about his younger days. Jack and I did a feature on Pody a couple years ago at www.okchistory.com - http://www.okchistory.com/index.php?...ople&Itemid=78

Very interesting...I remember Pody as a compulsive gambler who couldn't stop gambling if he wanted to.

Anyone that thinks the life of a big time bookie-gambler is glamorous is mistaken. I had a good friend that was one of Pody's competitors and ran a overly successful bookie operation out of his home in OKC. He was married to all the TV feeds and Vegas hook ups and eventually died of cirrhoses on the liver owing the IRS a million or so....

And Micky Mantle, a childhood hero of mine that I once leased a car to....a common drunk that associated with many dubious characters.

[Noah Vail]

While my memory has a few drug induced flaws, my memory of going to Pody's home was first of all, it wasn't a Nichols Hills home like we usually think of such...Seems like it was on a cul de sac with limited parking, so I'd hate to be a neighbor....the inside was a add-on affair with a large gaming type room as an addition........anyway, he was one of a kind especially in his field.

[Noah Vail]

Anyone remember the time when Oklahoma was a dry state? Howard Edmondson was elected governor and was determined to make Oklahoma a semi-honest state....there was already plenty of alcohol, it was just illegal due to Okie prohibition.

His pit bull raider was Joe Cannon and some other dude....I've been in joints when the state boys would raid them...they would lock the doors and start checking ID's and looking for alcohol...I was 17-18 at the time but looked older so I never got arrested but many people did....hell they even raided places like the Petroleum Club and I think the OKC Golf & Country Club.....they put enough heat on that when the question came up for vote only the churches opposed it.....and that wasn't enough.

[PennyQuilts]

As someone who lived in Mustang for many years, I definitely remember the Canadian Club at County Line Road and Highway 152. It would have a completely full parking lot after 2AM. You may not remember that after it closed it later became a fairly decent restaurant which I used to go to occasionally before it finally closed for good. It's where Fireworks City is located today.

Yeah, Husband is a Mustang boy and talks about the place - before and after it took the dive. I am not sure how much he knows by experience and how much by reputation.

[SoonerQueen]

I remember the Apartment Key Club at 10th and N Villa. Used to have a lot of fun there back in the day.

[ljbab728]

Another place I mentioned in another thread that no one else seemed to remember was a place on the north side of SW 29th street west of May. It was called something like Louie's 29 Club. It also had a back room where various illegal things happened but was a basically a beer joint and restaurant in the front area with pool tables and shuffleboard tables.

[ctchandler]

Another place I mentioned in another thread that no one else seemed to remember was a place on the north side of SW 29th street west of May. It was called something like Louie's 29 Club. It also had a back room where various illegal things happened but was a basically a beer joint and restaurant in the front area with pool tables and shuffleboard tables.

How about LOUIE'S 29 CLUB/PHONE 6-0001/2929 S.W. 29TH ST.? I do remember it and there a couple of short notes about them if you do a google search. That's where I found the address and phone number.
C. T.

[OKCRT]

Wasn't that Louie's a biker hangout?

[jstaylor62]

How about LOUIE'S 29 CLUB/PHONE 6-0001/2929 S.W. 29TH ST.? I do remember it and there a couple of short notes about them if you do a google search. That's where I found the address and phone number.
C. T.

Thats a new Louie's on the southside of 29th across from the Pawn Shop. The old Louies was on the NW corner of 29th and May. It got torn down to make room for the MacDonalds expansion and KFC.