Scarlet at Black. March 4, iii-i _page a

 

 

Burgers, root beer and strippers:
bar—hopping in rural Iowa

by Mai-k Mayer and
Toni Pultzci'

There is a popular misconception
among Grinnell students that rural
bars are places to avoid; that they
are frequented by vengeiul,
hulking rednecks, smelling of pig
manure, who lay in wait for long-
haired college students and other
assorted scum to beat up on

0i course this is not true. People
who patronize rural bars are no
more belligerent or boisterous than
people anywhere else. If you’re
mean, they will be too: if you're
polite, then you're likely to make
friends.

There are a number of rural bars
near Grinnell. All of them have
their own atmosphere and oiier
their own advantages. They
provide a great alternative to the
Horn and the Pub, particularly on
those days when you're getting fed
up with Grinnell and need a
temporary change of scene.

Three of the most interesting
rural bars in this area are The
Little Bear Inn in Searsboro, the
Your House in Malcom, and Bill’s
Place in Tama. After months of
dedicated and intensive research
which often entailed repeated
visits to these three bars, we
humbly submit the iollowing
review.

 

The Little Bear Inn serves food,
too. Out of a tiny kitchen in the
back, Mintle serves up some of the
finest hamburgers in the county.
“It's the meat,” Mintle declared
proudly. “I only use pure ground
beef, no mixers or fillers,” Burgers
are 75 cents and 85 Cents with
cheese, If just a hamburger won‘t
do, the french fries and onion rings
are mighty fine, too.

Mintle is justiiiably proud oi his
food sales ior it now comprises
l'ully iiity per cent of his total sales.
Mintle says that he has a couple of
cat fish tries and nut fries each
year, usually in the spring and
summer. And a couple oi years ago
he even had a raccoon barbecue.
“Tasted mighty good, too," he
said,

The Little Bear game room is
tastefully decorated with a pool
table, foosball table and card table
(the bar has a gambling license,
but stakes are kept down to the
dime-quarter stuff). In the corner
sit two very tempermental vintage
Gottlieb pinball machinesithe
three games tor a quarter, iive
balls a game models. You can play
all night on “Target Pool” for a
quarter it you can iind the

machine’s weak spot. We haven’t
round it yet, but we can still lose all
night and not go home broke.

 

OWIICI‘ Mikc lll
as normally

The Little Bear Inn, Scarsboro

The sleepy little hamlet of
Searsboro is but a fifteen minute
drive south on route I46. It iS a
typical small Iowa town with the
usual landmarks and amenities: 3
post office, grain elevator,
municipal building, gas station, a
few paved streets, and a bar.

The Little Bear Inn is the town
bar in Searsboro and it's easily a
cut above the average Iowa bar.
Outdated farm equipment
decorates the walls and ceilings,
and somewhere hangs a slightly
shabby portrait or Abraham
Lincoln, completely in keeping
with the character of the place,
Restrooms are “Mama Bear” and
“Papa Bear." The jukebox is
somewhere between late George
Jones and early Merle Haggard. In
the corner sits a musty player
piano which owner Mike Mintle
insists provides entertainment on
occasion. In three years we’ve
never heard it play a note.

The Little Bear serves Buds
weiser on tap, 30 cents a draw.
Shots are 70 cans and mixed
drinks are between 70 cent and 80
cents, Most of the bar drinks are
pretty straightforward and we
wouldn't recommend ordering a
ramos gm iizz. However, Mintle
says he has his trusty
”Barkeeper's Guide" handy for all
unusual requests. So if a customer
is willing to pay foran exotic drink,
he‘ll attempt it. No guarantees, or
course.

 

tic poses outside of the Little Bear Iiiil ill Searsbori
intrepid 5&8 reporter stumbles out the door at right.

The Little Bear Illn opens (like
many other rural Iowa bars) at 7 in
the morning for those who can’t
face a solid breakfast, and stays
open until 2 am. The clientele is
made up mostly of area
inhabitants: townspeople irom
Grinnell, Montezuma, Brooklyn,
Lynnville and Sully (neiﬂner of
which have bars). farmers from
just about anywhere in the vicinity,
and, yes, even an occasional
college student.

The people are always friendly
and Mike Mintle (who used to own
the famous Silver Lace Saloon in
Malcom until he had to close it a
couple or years ago) is an equally
amiable host. The Little Bear Inn
is justabout the iinest place we can
think of to relax on a late Friday
afternoon and congratulate
yourseli on getting through
another week intact

The Pour House. Malcom

The people and the atmosphere
are friendly at The Pour House in
Malcom. People yell at one another
across the room, an animated card
gameis often going on in one oi the
booths, and the owner may be
playing pool with some oi the
customers in the back.

This tine institution is owned and
operated by Gordon and Carol
Earley, Who have been in business
for only a year, If you like country
music and a good time, mosey on
down to Malcorn on April 2 ioir their

 

Mintle packs up some goodies tor a customer irom behind the bar at

the Little Bear.

first anniversary celebration.

There will be a dance in the town

auditorium (yes, there is an

auditorium in Malcoml and the
\ good times will roll.

Gordon and Carol are both down
home folks; they make the
customers, either local folks or
college students, ieel right at
home Gordon was a career man in
the Marine Corps, but even during
his military years he had wanted to
run a bar. At one point he was a
bartender at the Blue Hills Country
Club in Kansas City, which has a
membership consisting of
bluebloods, and where Charlie
Finley, the gadily owner of the
thensKansas City As, was one of
the regular customers, The
Earleys have connections in
Malcom through Carol’s family, so
they decided to open an establish
ment there.

Gordon talked to us at length
about his tavern One seventeen
year old in Malcom has a daily
ritual of entering the bar after
school and requesting “the usual."
Since he is under the legal drinking
age, ”the usual” is a Dad's root
beer served in a chilled beer mug.
The young man consumes the iirst
part at his root beer as last as
possible so the incriminating can
will be removed from sight im»
mediately,

As our conversation with the
owner continued. a iarmer ap»
proached him and implanted a
large kiss on his forehead.

“You don't hate me ior it, do
you?” inquired the farmer.

“Not anybody as cute as you
are,” was Gordon's reply.

The Earleys, along with their
only employee, Doris Bunn, at
tempt to make the service as
personal as possible. They give the
children of paying customers a
free cup of soda pop. The owners
pride themselves on pouring a good
strong drink and. aiter sampling a
iew, we could say their pride is
justified The drinks are potent
enough to destroy the liver of the
most diehard drinker,

Some tourists stop by irom the
interstate to quench their thirst
during the hot summer months.
Gordon sends them on their way
with a refreshed outlook on the
trip. He does have a problem,
though, wiui truckers irom Iran
blocking the driveway oi the lady
who lives across me highway from
his bar,

The prices at The Pour House
are about average for a small town
Iowa bar. Draws in a glass are 30
cents and in a frosted mug 40 cents,
whilea bottle or a can of beer costs
60 cents. Most mixed drinks are
under a dollar in the 70 cents to 90
cents range. The ever-present Bud

is on tap along with Michelobu If

 

 

you need a break after classes
some aiternoon, the happy hour is
from five to six with IO cents off
beer prices and 15 cents on on
drinks

The back area of the bar contains
a pool table and a foosball table.
Gordon says his iavorite pool cue
was recently broken, ”I lost more
games with that stick than any
other " Gambling is also legal, but
it you are looking tor a high stakes
game don't come to Malcom. The
stakes are limited, and the games
appear to be more friendly than
competitive.

The game room also contains
two television games, but, alas,
ther are no pinball machines
Tombstone frozen pizzas and
frozen sandwiches are available,
along with the other usual bar
munchies, including pickled Polish
sausages, for the adventurous or
masochistic

To find The Pour House, drive
east on Highway o for about nine
miles, then turn right on Highway
63, and after another three miles
you will find yourself in the
teeming metropolis oi Malcom,
population 400. The bar ivill be on
your rightalong the highway. Take
it from us, Gordon and Carol will
be more than happy to see any
Grinnell students.

 

”7’

We have spent many an en
Joyable evening in this small town
bar. There is a dancer every night
irom nine until approximately one»
thirty There is always plenty or
room to sit, so do not worry about
making the long trip for nothing.
However, it you are not interested
in a dancer, do not go to Bill’s. The
only other attraction. other than
the booze, is a juke box, and even
this is turned off while the danc
is working because she plays he
own records, often at an excessive
volume, on a worn-out record
player. .

The food at Bill's can be deadly ;
They serve smoked whiting, which
has to be the most obnoxious type
of fish known to man. A
hydrocholoric acid bath is the only
possible means of eradicating the
smell from your hands after eating
the fish. Also, the waitresses hate
to handle it, and it puts them in a
bad mood, so beware.

Recently we attended a nut try at
Bill's. The price was $2.00 [or all
you could eat. and since it was our
ﬁrst experience with this delicacy,
the amount consumed was
relatively small. Let’s just say %
did not quite compare to a feast at
the Amanas. Colonel Will Collins
was in attendance, and his come
ment summed it all up, “They
didn’thave much flavor, but this i
the type of thing you have to do just
so you can say you did it.”

The first time we ventured into
Bill’s, about three years ago, a
young lady in the audience agreed
to dance it the hat was passed and
enough money was collected to
make it worth her effort, A hat
came by, and we threw in a small
amount or change. A number oi
gentlemen were observed tossing
bills into the collection. After she
received the money the girl did get
up on the stage to dance, on:
removed only her top outer gar-
nient. We thought this travﬁty was
grounds for a refund, but the size of
her three male companion‘s
dissuaded us, \

A number of Grinnell College
women have gone to Bill’s with
widely varying reactions. one
young woman removed her glasses
so she could not see the stage or the
dancer. Another sat with her back

 

Co-owner Carol Earley coniers with one oi the regulars at the Poor

House in Malcom. Rumor has it
Alexander.

Bill's Place, Tania

If you are tired of the same old
ecdysiast down at the Dew Drop
Inn. take off [or Bill's Place in
scenic Tama. Drive seven miles
east on Highway 6, and then turn
leit on Highway 63; Tarna is iiiteen
miles down the road. Bill’s Place,
home of exotic dancers, will be
visible on a side street to your left
shortly after the railroad tracks
are crossed in town. It is near
Hardon’s Hardware. (Really!)

that she mixes a mean Brandy.
Photos by Steve siiberberg

to the stage and absolutely refused
to turn around The most recent
female visitor from Grinnell spea-
two hours giving a running critique
oi me dancer’s style.

Take a night oiirrom the grind at
Grinnell and explore small town
Iowa bars. The Little Bear Inn, The
Pour House, and Bill’s Place each
offers its own unique ambiance. If
none of them appears to be your
type of place, dig out an Iowa road
map and discover your own bar.

 

