Johnny Mango at Duke City Fix shows a postcard of one of Albuquerque’s first barbecue joints, Oklahoma Joe’s, on Central Avenue (aka Route 66) near the University of New Mexico campus.
Mango said Okie Joe’s, later known as Okie’s, was known for 10-cent beer nights, with the brew served in paper cups. It was a popular imbibing spot for many years.
Okie’s is not there anymore; a convenience store took its place. But Duke City Fix wants to hear stories about it.
I spent alot of time in okie joe’s in the 70’s. Wildest most fun bar I have ever been in,or heard about.It was pure fun for a long while..I meet many people there who became life long friends.Ten cent beer and wine coolers. Everbody had a joint it seemed. Just stand at the bar and someone would pass you one. Hope to hear from some of you old dopers. Pepper Lewis
Okie’s and Tuesday night $0.10 beer. What a crazy place in the early 70’s. What a party.One of the bouncers their was a hometown friend of mine. One night some guys cut his face up with broken bottles outside after they were tossed out. Albuquerque was home to many of us street people in 70 and 71. Then the riots kinda made us head outta town. Many of us headed North to the mountains, to live the Indian way. The stories I could tell..lol
I think there is a book in this. If anyone has fotos. This reminds me of Okies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh44QPT1mPE&feature=related
Most interesting night there involved watching Billy Jack on the tv with a crowd of Native Americans…you can imagine the reaction to “I’m gonna take this right foot, and I’m gonna whop you on that side of your face… and you wanna know something? There’s not a damn thing you’re gonna be able to do about it.” Even the narcs were cheering… .
Hit Albaquerque in 1979 during the balloon fiesta. Worked at Captain Ahab’s & Dino Mart on Central and use to go to Okie’s all the time. Loved that place during 1980.
Was a customer–then a bartender–at Okies during the 1970’s. Probably shared a few j’s with Pepper along with some shots of tequila. Favorite bar band was Cadillac Bob. Like me, most of the workers were Vietnam vets, so we all had something in common even if it was just our PTSD. Fun place that closed when it should have! How about a reunion?
Did you know Red ,Albert,Russell,Stretch,or Hap?
Lmao!!!! I knew Red, n a fee other bouncers!!! Stopped me from many fights. I loved that place!
Hey Pepper are you talking about Big Al? And is Red Kelly or Bart? Saw Stretch a few years back…
Oh yea How about Jimmy schultz? Pepper
Winter here.
Pepper, I remember having breakfast with you and Peggy Aguilar after Okie’s closed on more than one occasion. In later years I worked behind the bar myself, and at the door. Besides Jimmy Schultz, Red (Steve) Atkinson, and Albert there were Mike Murphy, Walt Nygard, Dave Case, Kevin Simons, Dick Tassett, Fuzzy, John Fowler, John Ice, and a host of others in attendance.
If I recall correctly, Quentin Tarantino used to come in there when he was younger. I’d be interested to know if anyone else can confirm that.
Like many of us, I have Okie’s tales that will never see print (Fifth Amendment). Here’s one that’s safe to tell:
On a Friday night Fuzzy and I were swabbing out the back room, a fearsome task–like cleaning the Augean stables, only not as sanitary and not as much fun. As we were mopping near the emergency exit on the west side of the building a group of loaded customers tried to break the door down. They didn’t know it was unlocked, but Fuzzy and I figured they’d find out soon enough. Okie’s bartenders were always prepared–Fuzzy and I grabbed a table, held it in front of us like a shield, and when the drunks finally burst through the door we charged, knocking them all back out the door on their keesters. Locking the door seemed prudent …there came more banging and some quite inventive invective, but they couldn’t get back in. Fuzzy and I finished mopping and went to join the rest of the crew in raiding the beer cooler.
All the best,
Winter
Is that you Mr. Late?
Greetings from Walt and Nancy Nygard in New Jersey!
Still together after 34 years…aahhh Okie’s. We remember it well
and very fondly.
Hi Walt and Nancy,
What a wonderful surprise to see your names. I am glad that you twoare still together, you make a wonderful pair. I celebrated my 32 today.
I’d like to stay in touch, please send me your email.
Ron
Yo Ron, Just stumbled on this Okie’s stuff. Nancy wrote that liitle bit and if she told me about it I don’t remember. We’ve lived in Teaneck, NJ since’80, have two sons age 28 and 25, a granddaughter of almost 3 and grandson almost 5 months. Was in the saloon business for a few years when we first got here. Thankfully no more. We all work. Me for a vending company. Nancy childcare. I’m a real unsuccessful bluecollar writer/poet. Our oldest son did 4yrs. in the USArmy, 16 months in Afghanistan with 10th Mountain Division. The day after Obama’s Afghan speech he was recalled to active duty for service in Iraq. Merry friggin’ Christmas to us. Nancy and I are very involved in antiwar movement. I’m the VP of the Jersey chapter of Veterans For Peace. Crazy life we’ve all lived and great hearin’ those names and stories from the days at what Bobby Malone used to call The Saloon. Ron, where are youse – as these Jersey ravers say? Give us the lowdown. Will be in touch. Walt
Yo Ron,
One of these days I’ll figure out how to use this damn thing. Still checkin’ in on the Spinning Yarns site? Would like to hear from you.
Walt
Hi Walt,
My name is John Van Meter, I think we may have been friends in Albuquerque in the mid-seventies. I think the last time I saw you you was a manager at OKie’s.
Also, if I remember correctly, we made an overnight trip to Mexico, and slept (passed out) in the desert on the way back. Coldest night in my life.
I live in Florida now.
I thought of you because I just heard, “Going to Carolina,” by James Taylor.
I too had Okies tales. and I was there its very last night open. last I saw there was a hamburger stand there. The Mighty do fall…
RIP: Kevin Simons & Steve “Red” Atkinson. Okie’s Bartenders Hall of Fame, 1975-1979: Jimmy Scholz, Ron Weipz, Walt Nygard, Tony Goodrich, John Ice, John Fowler, Jim Hicks, Fred Bartlett, Winter Laite, Dan Pound, Dick Tassett, Mack Odom, Milton Garcia, Tony Marsh, Reggie Patterson, Dave Case, Fred Ericksson, Phil Doyle. Oh so many many tales to tell: Randall “Tex” Cobb getting his butt kicked in the back room. Muhammed Ali coming in with with John Ice just to say hello and sign autographs. Vic Davalillo, one of the greatest all-time pinch-hitters in baseball, coming in after Dukes baseball games. The Coasters and the Platters playing in the back room. Cleaning the restrooms with high powered hoses. The highly dangerous drink called “The Cobra.” Leo, the strongest man without legs! Ah, what memories!
What fond memories. “”Renowned Libations and Efficatious Entertainment”” I think of Okie’s often. It truly was a right of passage for the 60’s and 70’s. 10cent beer, shots of tequila, Kellners COBRA, Blumes pizza and tube steaks. Other “family” members Dave Cocke, Ed Blume, Lola, Top Cat, Wayne Nygard, Billy Deck, Pat Scanlon Susie (Schultz girlfriend), Dean Summers and that whole cowboy thang!. Can;t forget STRETCH aka Lurch! Time goes by too quickly we did not know how good we had it!
PS: I still have a cassete recording of that gal from madrid, who played the guitar and sang solo.
Ron Wiepz? Long time, Ron. Thanks for reminding me about Lurch, Billy Deck, Pat Scanlon, Dave Cocke, Wayne Nygard–how could I forget? Some unforgettable customers: Bill Trousdale, Mike Melton (RIP), Mike Selke, Gary Mason, Ken & Becky Darrow, Ed Cooke, Bill Hoch, Fat Cat, Cowboy Bob, Tom & Ruth Frazee, Bob Malone (RIP), Tony Snow (RIP), Jerry Truskalowski, Craig Mount, Dave Cordova (haircuts-while-u-wait), Rick Cordes (RIP), Greg Miller
How about the beautiful ladies of Okie’s? Nola Cohen, Brenda Snyder, Barbara Jarvis, Mary Boyle, Golden Glass, Jeannette Dolter, Nancy Nygard, Anne Mederer, Carla Coombs, Lisa Lieber, Christine Tischer, Dara Bartlett, Hairy Mary, Anna Odom, Donna Malone & various foxy thespians, lesbians and indians.
trying to find email addresses
mine is nmwalt@gmail.com
Ghost, you just completely blew my mind. I just found this site from a link on Remember in Albuquerque. All those names, so many memories. I notice Wayne, Walt and Nancy Nygard are on here. I had told the Tex Cobb story recently but wasn’t sure of the accuracy. How in the world did you remember all those names? I’ve often wondered what these people were up to all these years. I think those Cobras put me on the floor faster than those shots of tequila. Vic Davalillo. He’s probably over a hundred and still playing somewhere.
Don’t forget dean summers (RIP)
Like a book I once read…so many stories but people I know these days wouldn’t believe…why bother. All the names above (or at least many) still in my memories – add Chris Race, Dave Butzin, Bob Lowry, Bob Malone and Jim Hurley (RIP run over by a NYC bus while riding to work on his bike).
Lets not forget Fish, Kelly and Peggy Lair, Leo Hotop (the long pipe),
John Meleck, Art Keller, Dave Foster, Jerry Johnson. I’m having a senior moment and can’t think of more at this time but I will and I’ll add them. Ruth and I are still married (38 years). We still see some of people that would hang OUT!! I think Goodrich has a good idea
about some kind of get together.
I just stumbled on this place while Googling my old hang-outs in ABQ.
Ah, Oklahoma Jospeh’s, A Perveyor of Fine Malt Beverages and Wine Coolers, I knew it well, 1967-71. I did not know it began as a BBQ joint; it certainly wasn’t known as that in my time.
But it was known for other convivial things: there was a particular English Department booth; an Anthro Department booth; and probably others. Good times/place for undergraduates to converse with their professors in off-hours.
From about 1969, Tuesday night dime beers coincided with my KUNM show “Folk Stream” which started soon after dime beer time ended. Thus, I often (too often) let that coincidence interfere with the other activity.
Strange as it may seem, a golf foursome of me, Ron Camden (of Ron’s Camino Real [whatever happened to him?]) and a variety of others, after playing UNM North [with the 19th hole joint smoked during the 4th hole], would come by Okie’s for Wine Coolers. [I mixed some up last summer: cheap red wine and 7-Up.]
tk
_The Comanches: A History_ (U Neb Press 1996)
_Comanche Ethnography_ (U Neb Press 2008)
Well, hello Tom! Fancy meeting you here. For several months I did a Sunday 12 Midnight to 6AM show on KUNM called the “Chicken Trueheart Show”, an electic mix of odd music for the weekend insomniacs. I remember you helping me pick music for my show. I couldn’t have done it without you. Later, I became assistant news director.
During the spring and early summer of 1969 I lived in the basement of Okie’s with my girlfriend at the time, Dondi LaRue.
The basement was essentially three rooms, and the walls were painted black. The living room/dining room ran the full length of the basement. There was a bar at one end with rudimentary cabinets, sink, stove and refrigerator. A small bathroom and decent bedroom (with no door) completed the arrangement.
I had a memorable 25th birthday party in that basement apartment in March. There was a lot of wine, beer, marijuana, LSD and who knows what else, and a lot of drop-in guests.
My time living in the basement ended in May or June when the owner, who used to get quite drunk and fire his pistol into the ceiling of his bedroom while lying in bed, decided to end it all right in that same bedroom on the same bed with the same gun. It was quite a mess.
One incident at Okie’s that I remember involved a group from the Satan’s Slaves motorcycle gang who pulled in one night and parked their Harleys on the street along Central in front of Okie’s. Just as they began to appear, my friends and I stepped outside the bar about to head somewhere else. As we were leaving, another fellow came out of the bar behind us quite drunk. As he passed the Harleys he shouted, “Fuckin’ cycle trash!” and kicked one of the bikes. Three Satan’s Slaves picked the guy up and threw him through the front window. My friends and I, not wanting to become part of the action, beat a hasty retreat.
Those days living in the basement of Okie’s were some of the strangest and most memorable of my life so far. I am happy to say that I managed to survive my 1960s hippie life completely untouched by LSD flashbacks or jail time.
Enjoyed many a party in that basement, “The Pit”. Once, not long after I left one of those parties, there was a bust. There were many busts around that time….two undercover cops were working the area….
Hello Mike,
You replied too fast and mixed the facts a little. The Pit was in the basement of George Robbins’ house behind Okie’s. You should have mentioned the shower with three shower heads each on two facing walls.
Hey Tom,
Ron passed over a year ago–there was a memorial page for his Facebook page the last time I checked. Fewer of us left anymore, and I can’t open the replies I get on social medisa
This was also a great frat hangout in late 60’s early 70s, All of us Sigs along with our adopted brothers (the Pikes) had many fun nights in Okies, fueled by WAY too many 10 cent beers—– Also remember the Nellos brothers, the owners at the time.
I remember Milton would occasionally do solo, interpretive dance to some of the endlessly repeated jukebox songs. Looked like ballet to me.
Randall “Tex” Cobb got his ass kicked back there? How’d that happen? A rough customer. Sometimes worked out at Karate, Inc.
Yes, the Nellos brothers. They also owned Kelly’s Liquors. Only liquor store I’ve seen where all the cashiers wore pistols.
Kelly’s Other Side was a great Rock ‘n’ Roll bar, part of the same building. Shut down for serving minors, I believe.
Tex Cobb and a buddy of his from Karate, Inc. came into Okie’s one night and started a ruckus in the back room (over what, I don’t remember). When he was asked to leave he took a swing at John Ice and about 20 of us jumped in to get our licks, kicks and fists and billy-clubs on Cobb and his buddy. As they were being “escorted” out the front door everyone sitting at the bar got to smack them, too. Cobb actually talked about this in an interview I read somewhere. Milton married a big, blond lady from Denmark or Sweden. Looked like a Valkyrie as she was about twice the size of Milton. The only minors we allowed into Okie’s were women so many nights we had 4 or 5 woman for every dude. True story: One night me and Jim Hicks were checking IDs and two falling down drunk guys came in. Jim asked them for ID. Their IDs showed that they weren’t yet 21so Jim told them that they couldn’t come in because they were minors. One of the drunks then said, “We’re not minors, we’re construction workers.” We let ’em come in after we got off the floor from laughing our asses off.
Great story about Tex Cobb, thanks! Was this around 1973-74? Do you remember what his buddy looked like? Medium-length brown hair, beard, late 30s, about 6 ft, 210 pounds? I may have known him. High-up in the organization. He’s still around, so I shouldn’t name names. I know he got in a fight at Okie’s once, but I never knew who else was involved.
I wasn’t able to locate Tex’s interview.
Thanks for the news about Milton. Nice fellow.
I miss Okie’s. I don’t think I’ve been in another classy joint, such that folks routinely peed in the sink.
My friend Mike Bailey was bouncer there for a bit, summer of 75. I remember a guy I used to see there a lot; a black man with no legs. He had a leather harness he sat in and was hugely muscular from carting himself around with his arms, leather gloves on his hands. He could reach up and pull himself up onto a barstool.
Somewhere, I have a tee shirt that says, “Let’s boogie at Okie’s” with R. Crumb’s Keep on Truckin’ guy.
Still your friend….
Hey Mike! Would love to catch up: jillgat@gmail.com
That black man’s name was Leo Minter and a finer guy you couldn’t find prowling that saloon. I hope he’s still alive – I can’t say kickin’ – but with or without legs he was a strong, friendly helluva good guy.
I came to Albacrazy, NM from the USMC and the Vietnam War, to UNM, to Okie’s -where I bartended starting in the early-mid 70’s, was ass’t. mgr. to Ron Wiepz, and the last full-time manager of Okie’s.
Some of the stories have gotten old, some changed, some best left untold. Tony Goodrich first told the Cobb story which I either forgot or just wasn’t around for. I do know about the great Okie’s 4th of July fight which was with a karate club. I was in it, chipped a tooth that night that only this year I had fixed. We opened in the afternoon that day – to allow us to spend the whole day partying – and business was slow so we continued to enjoy the holiday. Weipz was the manager that night. Larry Wolfe, Bob Malone, Wayne Purvines, myself and I don’t remember who else were workin’. This club came in, pretty much like us, lit up from all day conviviality. Wolfe, who was a little guy but very combative ran ’em for ID’s and several didn’t have ’em or didn’t think they needed ’em. They tried to bull rush the front door and we went at. I had a guy by the hair and was bangin’ his head off the top of the cigarette machine but he bucked up and caught me in the mouth with the back of his head.
We wrestled and punched these guys out the door – with some willing help from our poolroom buddies – and were just standing back, catching our breath when these s.o.b.s came chargin’ back in a second time.
We threw ’em out again and I remember Ron Wiepz goin’ punch with this big sumbitch who might have been their leader. I don’t know if over time memories of stuff like this starts to merge, but this had to have been around ’74, ’75.
The guy who talked about Kelly’s was half right. Yeah every guy working there carried a little .22 pistol on his hip, but the Nellos Bros. didn’t own it. Kelly’s was owned by George Nellos, a fourth brother but not part of the Corporation which was Connie, Basil and Ernie. I remember drinking free shots of Black Velvet Whiskey in there – Kelly’s was a huge package warehouse – served by beautiful girls in black evening gowns. They were having a special promo. It was about ten o’clock on a Saturday morning when I was there. Bet they don’t do that anymore.
Walt Nygard
5/24/10
My memories from those days are a little foggy but Okie’s 10-cent beer night, playing pin ball machines and hanging out with Rex Whorley, will always be with me. Let’s not forget Michael Gold (RIP) and James Battey from the Roach Ranch West. The Roach Ranch was the first “head” shop in Albuq.,just down the street from Okies.
Yo Jim, Thanks for mentioning Michael and James. They were good guys from Albucrazy’s hippie past. Are you sure about Roach Ranch being the “first”? Remember that place on (I think) Yale, down and across from UD? You used to do some bartering there if memory serves. They had used albums and all kinds of cool stuff. And in those early 70’s days there was this English guy named Brittan who was a great muralist and he painted that place and numerous others in the neighborhood while he was in town. There was a place called the Spoofer Shop on Central and a really great bookstore whose name escapes me. And that’s a drag ’cause that was as good a hang as Okie’s. And then there was Don Pancho’s. Some of my most memorable dates/outings happened there. RIP.
And of course everybody ended up at Okie’s. What a cool little community that was.
Hey Jim, remember me, Kelly Lair. Big tall redheaded(kinda grey now) guy. I used to hang with Dog Watson, Eric Vogel(RIP) and so many others! The 10-cent beers nights were some of the craziest, fun times ever!! Me and Dave Foster were a couple of pinball wizards also!
The Roach Ranch was across the street and down from the UD. there was also a place the next block over(Colombia). It was mostly a record shop but I think they had a few other things. And, of course, there was Gold Street Records. About Brittan, very nice guy. I watch and helped just a little bit when he did the mural on the side of the building that they Roach Ranch occupied. I worked there for a while when I first got back from the service. Lots of wild stories from that place. I remember makeing a 5 foot tall bong for one of UNM’s basketball players. I forget his name at the moment, but the team went on to win the championship that year.
There was a glass blower named Phil that I knew from okies that practiced his craft at the Roach Ranch. (1973-5) Anybody know whatever happened to him?
I was with you at the door during the big 4th of July fight.
Mike,
i believe you, but alas, i can’t remember a lot of stuff any more…
still your friend, too…..
David Grant
It was you and I beating the guys head on the cigarette machine, one of a few clear memories I have from the past. I always remembered it as the great July 4th massacre.
I don’t tell these stores as no one believes/comprehends them.
Mike Bailey, surely you remember *me*. Jill Magruder. In fact, I thought of you today because tonight is a lunar eclipse. I always thought eclipses were really overrated as a spectator event, except for one time, about Forty Years ago. You and I were camping on a beach in Mexico, looking at the sky. We didn’t know there was going to be a full eclipse of the moon, and we watched it happen, like some kind of primitive neaderthals, thinking “WTF?”
Remember the time you built a motorcycle and almost had a nervous breakdown over it? I ride a Triumph Tiger now.
If it was Leo Minter who we are remmebering, knuckle walking on his little cart, I remember him at Okie’s before 1971 when I left ABQ .
tk
Correction, a couple years overdue. Rereading this stuff I see I goofed. The guy with no legs was Leo Hollins. Leo Minter . . . remember the name but can’t see a face . . .
Walt Nygard 4/17/13
So glad this thread is still going on. I am amazed at how so many people here remember first and last names. Re. this post:
[[Correction, a couple years overdue. Rereading this stuff I see I goofed. The guy with no legs was Leo Hollins. Leo Minter . . . remember the name but can’t see a face . . .
Walt Nygard 4/17/13]]
Thanks for the name, Leo Hollins, the great guy – Okie’s regular – I remember with no legs. I guess Leo Minter was the one with no face… – Jill
During 1972-73I lived on Gold Av. down the block from Okie’s.
Almost every Tuesday nite there was at least one police car parked at Okie’s when I walked home from UNM library. Ten cent beer will do that.
The place was a microcosm of life; you could get a job, get laid, maybe even die there if you pissed off the right person.
I even knew people living back east who had heard of Okie’s reputation.
O tempora, o mores.
Anyone remember the Banditos motorcycle club? I was in the back room with Donna Malone and Wanda a girlfriend from Hawaii and some other biker chicks and they decided to “roll” this guy that was hitting on them. I was new to Albuquerque then and boy did I have my eyes opened when these chicks took this guy outside and beat the shit out of him and took him for every penny he had! I believe the doormen were looking the other way at the time! Also remember the fights with the Banditos? Remember Harris Franco or was it Franco Harris? Now that most of us are in our 60’s! we should have a reunion. Also remember Timmy Tivnon (rip) and Fred Erik and other Norse Gods? Those were some of the days my friends…
I think you’re talking about Harris Frangos, also known as CQ. Aug 9, 2002 … ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — Harris Frangos stood up from his wheelchair Wednesday night and fired a sawed-off shotgun at two police officers before,,,
I would love to hear the rest of the story about Harris…
Sorry, …Harris was shot numerous times.
Harris, 53, had a note with him that was addressed to city chief public safety officer Nick Bakas, a childhood friend. It asked that Harris’s mother be notified in the event of something happening to him.
The Frangos’ family said they believe the shooting was his way of committing suicide. The incident in the parking lot near the UNM bookstore across from the popular Frontier Restaurant.
Bill Frangos said his brother attended the New Mexico Military Institute in the 1960s and was a world-class shot putter who held several records. He said his brother for a time also attended the University of Texas at El Paso on a track scholarship.
Bill Frangos said his brother went on to have “a tough life.”
“Realize there’s more than his prison record,” Bill Frangos said. “He had a heart of gold.”
Bill Frangos said his brother had rheumatoid arthritis, was due to have knee-replacement surgery and had been in “incredible amounts of pain.
Nancy, the dude you are thinking of was Harris Frangos. He was defiantly one of the Banditos at that time. He committed suicide by cops in the early 90’s in front of the Frontier.
What a surprise to come across this blog. My favorite Okie’s story is that Kelly Lair proposed to me there….I think it was a $.10 Beer Night. That was in 1976…. 34 years later and we’re still married, have a 30 year old daughter and we all live in Arlington, Texas! Yes, let’s have a reunion!
Re: Red Atkinson, does anyone have info regarding him? Or Robert “too tall?”
The Nellos brothers mentioned… You can still often see Basil Nellos selling 501 Levi’s on the sidewalk outside of Lobo Men’s Wear on Central, just east of Okie’s old site. Pat Scanlon; was that a woman who later taught at Monte Vista Elem. School? And whatever happened to Billy Deck? You guys have good memories for such fogies… 😉
Hey guys, Kelly Lair here. Damn it’s good to hear so many of you are still kickin’! All those names bring so many memories. I’ve attempted to relate some of the Okie’s madness to newer friends but I think they thought I was BS’n or still trippin’!!! One story: I was a little too loaded one night(shocker, I know) and Shultzie would’nt sell me another beer. Go figure! As I was berating him somehing fierce I started to fall over bacward. I grabbed the waitress station bars to stop my fall and the damn things came off the bar!! There I was lying on that ultra sanitary floor with those rings still in my hands!! Man, I heard about that one for years!!! Love all you freaks, lets do a reunion, DEFINITELY!
Steve “Red” Atkinson passed away about 10 years ago from a massive heart attack. Robert “Too Tall” Sulier is alive and well and living in Alaska. I STILL tell the story about Kelly Lair ripping the station bars off the bar! Thanks for reminding me about that one, Kelly!
Dear Ghost, Thanks for the update on Too Tall and Red(RIP). Please feel free to contact me via e-mail,Pony Express or whatever! I think I know you stranger!!!
I don’t recognize any of you by name but might by face. I arrived in ABQ in June of ’76 and made it my home many a night until December of the same year.
I don’t remember 10-cent beer night (before my time?), but I do remember Friday happy hours. They put out bread and cheese for sandwiches.
I went there with my friend Roland (fellow North Carolina grad) and met Robert “Wombat” Lloyd (I still have his Homage/Image poetry collection), William “Bill” Guinee III (magician, thespiam, etc.), and others. Okie’s was a convivial place.
I also remember Phil Doyle (is he still alive?), a former boxer, as I recall. He remembered me when I passed through years later and visited the old haunt. Finally, there was Mary (“Crazy Mary”?). I never knew her last name, but I think her father was a lawyer; she may have gone to Alaska years ago. (Anyone know her whereabouts?)
Ah, Cadillac Bob: Boz Scaggs’s “Lowdown,” George Benson’s cover of “Masquerade,” The Brothers Johnson “Good to You,” etc.–and an original or two, as I recall. Those were the times!
Thanks for those of you who posted and brought back many good memories.
I remember “Wombat” and William. I lived in a house with William and his girlfriend and a bunch of other people in the early ’70’s I wonder where they are and what happened…any information would be appreciated…
Afraid I can’t help you, Charlotte. When I went through ABQ in the fall of ’77, I stayed with BIll for a few days, in the summer of ’81 with Wombat. There’s a Bill Guinee at Westminster College (see Google): is he our guy? I believe that Wombat passed away many years ago.
Was that Mary Mims? I knew Wombat, other names are foggy. I hung out more in the late 60’s. Roman and Shirley ran it and were always at the big round table in the restaurant part. Any one remember the Cave Of The Fifth Wind Coffee House?
I don’t know (if it was Mary Mims), Denise: I never knew her last name. At one point she was living (in a garage I think) many blocks to the northwest of Okie’s. At another point, I think she lived south of town. I remember her saying she wanted to go to Alaska at one point. I’m not sure I should have called her “Crazy Mary”: that’s how someone identified her to me once.
I met John Fowler while I was playing guitar at the Morning Glory Cafe. He hired Lance Billingsley and I to play a few Saturday Nights at Okies. What a great place!
From 1969 through 1975, if anybody was looking for me, they knew where to look, Okies. I’m talking 7 nights a week. What a great hangout. Loving the plastic cup 15 cent beer (with no limit on how many you could order at one time). Some of my buds I used to hang with there were Mike (coach) Bauer, Art Romero and Stan Thomas, Gary Smokov. (RIP Stan). I to still have a “Let’s Boogie At Okies” t-shirt (can’t get into any more). Cheers everyone,
Ron Guillen
Yeah, buddy! I went to UNM 1978-1982. Okie’s was THE place. Sweet memories! Cheapest beer and hot dogs around for a lunch break. The juke box always had the best tunes playing. The pool tables were fairly level and the foosball tables were hot! Weekend nights had good bands. Chicks galore! I miss the days.
“On the walls at Okies there was naked lady wallpaper and danced the night away with my girlfriends on Tuesday 10 cent beer night!!!!” “Trucker the bartender are u out there???” How can I get a piece of that wallpaper??? Paula UNM Class of ’74
Are you all referring to the same Trucker that worked at Ned’s on Central?
great website
“You got that right”
My dad Joe worked at Okies as a Bouncer back in the day! My cousins nicknamed my dad “uncle fun” and being his youngest daughter I could never understand why, but the stories of why usually tied back to my daddys days there. Haha. I just found out they still sell Okie Joe’s tee shirts at lobo mens shop on central
“Back in the day,” I would occasionally spend some time in Okie’s. I don’t have any specific memories because I was usually “totaled.” I think Walt was the only person knew or remembered there. “Lowdown,” was my favorite song at the end of that time period.
“Long live Hippies”
I remember Franko Harris… He was drunk one night while I was on the door, I opened it up and he was standing there with a 45 pointed six inches from my nose… I think I peed myself. Don Jenks & Shultzie were the managers. I remember working the bar with a well dressed quiet dude. He knew karate and had spent time learning french in a north african prison.?? And there was a skinny tall button down dude that knew every Dylan lyric… Another bar tender was a bandito liason type… He was from NYC and rode a chopper to work every day. Hmmm. Friday and Brandy. Roses Cantina and the RoadRunner motel in Algodonez. Melton turned me onto a “cousin” of his that sold me a VW Bus… Turned out the dude had recently broken out of Canyon City prison. I should have known.. the bus was painted in primer. I had some splainin to do downtown when the UNM student noticed his personalized dent on my VW… mark davenhall, seattle since 74, Okies Alum 71-72?? This all started while was looking for the recipe for the Quarters Green CHile Stew… NPR had a thing today about green chile burgers… hmmm
send me a recipe someone… markdavenhall@gmail.com
i lived in albuquerque from ’76 to ’79, dj’ed at kunm, was a starvin’ hippie. it was a good time and place to be a starvin’ hippie. cadillac bob 6 nights a week 75 cent mason jars of beer. everyone i knew met there. i started going there alone to hear the music and met a lot of fun people. boy! did i dance to that band. i would go with enough money for 1 beer a set. if i was depressed i went for the music if i felt good i went to dance. often it worked the other way around but always a blast. the last night bob play there (i went every night that week) a guy crossed the wild crowded dance floor with a tray of pitchers of beer over his head, he got all the way to his table and dumped it, the whole place erupted in laughter. i would step out for a thinking man’s smoke, but soon realized it was ok inside. when disco hit, there was a disco band that played one night a week. they were great. here i was hair down my back, full beard, flanel shirt jeans and work boots dancing with the disco kids. indians, unm professors penniless hippies, district atternies. all were one WHAT A PLACE. i was a regular at the bison tenitive as well. god bless new mexico
I used to drink a pitcher of beer there and shoot pool after classes at UNM in the 70s. I remember playing with a guy, never seen him in there before, an african-american guy in jeans and sweatshirt. Later that night I saw him again in a red velvet three piece as he came out with the Spinners who were playing there. It was very cool.
Prince Bobbie Jack, perhaps?
Colleen December 2011
I got in the only fight in my life at Okie’s. A guy came up behind me and grabbed my breasts from behind. I spun around and punched him in the face. He started to come after me and bartenders and bouncers grabbed him and threw him out. Thanks guys!
I met my husband in Okie’s 1977. Someone had brought their 6 year old kid who was eyeing the pinball machine wistfully while his mother was busy drinking and flirting. So I asked Doug, who was cute, but a stranger, if I could borrow some quarters. He lent them to me and I played pinball with the kid. Eventually Doug and I dated and we have been married 31 years.
We were UNM students and spent many nights dancing and drinking. I don’t remember 10 cent beers but I remember one dollar white russians in a mason jar. Didn’t take many of those!
We would end the evening with a sixpack to go and an extra cheese and green chile pizza from Jack’s on the way home. Good times.
hey folks…
Phil Doyle sent me this link….i met my wife, the former Lois McCaulley, there in ’74…she has been together ever since and i been hangin’ around most of it…..i finally started wanting to grow up around 11 years ago and im almost 60 now so i guess i am on schedule….lotta names mentioned already that i know….i got to be John Ice’s bodyguard on Friday nites the last couple years the place was open….great gig….usually involved making sure his hands didn’t swell up too bad if some fool dropped the N bomb on him inside the door….he would be using an unconscious man for a speed bag and we would carry the guy outside and drape him on the chains and call Albuquerque Ambulance.
i still gotta pulse and i still drive tankers and we got two daughters and two granddaughters…..like a lotta you old farts i am beginning to reminisce too much, too loud and too often….but i guess that is what we do
David Grant
Hey David, Kelly Lair here. Not sure I knew you but I’m sure we met. I used to run around a little with Phil Doyle, his sister Trish was married to my brother Rocky. I sure remember the Iceman, glad he and I were on good terms! If you know how I can reach Phil let me know. I spent some really drunken St. Patricks days at Okies with him. I will be 61 in March and I STILL don’t know what I want to be when I grow up!!! Thank God for Okies!! Kelly
Kelly ,
i will write Phil and let him know….up to him to respond. i wonder if i’ll ever grow up.
I spent some of the best times of my life at Okie’s from 1971-1976. I wasn’t much of a drinker, I usually just drank soda. Thus I got to experience Okie’s as a sober person. I hung out in the back room because I LOVED to dance. I hung out with Agnes Cordova (hugely overweight), Viet Nam vets Bob Perea, and Felipe Quintana (he had numerous piercings and hair to his mid back), also Billy Rae Chisholm, Lita and Harold, Vicki Potter and Tillie Martinez (2 alcoholic Indian chicks from Santo Domingo pueblo), Sheila Monahan, and Leon Encinias. Bob was a PHd candidate and was getting the GI bill, so he was “richer” than we. Sometimes he would spring for some pizza. We used to hate it when Milton would do his crazy dance to “Stairway to Heaven” and hog the dance floor. He was completely stiff from the waist up, but he thought he was bad-ass. I lived several blocks away,so even if I was drunk, I could stagger home. Someone said Leo Minter was the amputee dude. I had a fling with a black guy named Leo Minter, but he had both of his legs. He was such a liar…maybe he lied about his name too! Also hung around with WJ Bell. The lady’s room had only one stall, and man the line could get long! At least there was major graffiti to entertain you while you waited…lots of commentary on men’s sexual prowess or the lack of it. There was a crazy black female lady that would come in with her uniform (security guard? janitor?)…anyway she would get completely wasted. Once she got mad in the ladies room and started waving a pistol around in that tiny, crowded room. Another time, Vicki Potter (who lived above me and was a raging alcoholic) decided I was “stealing” some loser dude that she was interested in. She broke a beer bottle over the edge of a table and came after me with murder in her eyes. My friends got me on the dance floor and we tried to keep dancing away from her as she stabbed the air with the broken bottle. She kept circling the floor. Finally I had it and took off running. The bar was configured in a circle, so round and round we ran until I ran out the front door and went home. I was afraid she was going to ambush me when I stepped out of my apartment, as she was my upstairs neighbor. Fortunately, I went back East for the holidays…by the time I returned she had been evicted. Her married boyfriend’s wife came by during a tryst and they started shooting guns, so bye bye Vicki. I live in the Bay Area now and have for 31 years. Back in the 80’s I was riding a cable car and chatting with the conductor. I told him I was from Albuquerque, and he said “Albuquerque! I went to the best honky tonky there, called Okie’s!”
WOW… This shit is GOLD. I spent a lot of time at Okies from 71 to 76′. My 21st birthday was a 10 cent beer night, I think they were just Fridays from 5 to 6 at that point… Anyone remember the bartenders from jersey the “twins” I cant recall their names but I think one was Bob. They lived with Dickie Simmons and a bunch of other folks over on Harvard across from the Hippo. Their house became a record store then something else I don’t recall…Damn if I’d a known how fond these memories would become I’d a paid more attention. Anyone remember the twins or know what happened to them?
If there’s a reunion, need to print up some of those Keep On Truckin’ “Let’s Boogie at Okie’s” tee shirts.
I don’t remember ever seeing one of those tee shirts, but I’d sure love to have one.
What?! The tee shirts were everywhere. I just googled it and saw that Miguel Gandert, who I knew in 1973 and later became a famous photographer, has a photo album called “Let’s Boogie at Okies.” Along with the R. Crumb shirt, there are probably some good pictures of you guys in the bar!
Well, well, the power of the Internet. In December 1978 and January/February 1979 I was on my way back to the UK from Australia and did a short tour of the US: including San Francisco, LA, Grand Canyon (backpacked down and up), New Orleans, Atlanta, Washington, New York.
I stayed a night at the youth hostel in the NM university, and was perhaps too cautious about leaving all my gear (including two years of colour slides) unattended. So, while others went to Okie’s, I sat and read a book.
Anyway, out of that and other things came this:
ALBUQUERQUE FAREWELL United States No 2.
(Grey sky, grey road, Greyhound.
Vale ways, dale ways, Trailways.
Interstate, bus late, irritate.)
Hightailed from Albuquerque
on the Trailways going south.
Left the city of glass and concrete
on the excuse of no sun for pictures –
no sun to shoot the old Spanish town,
the mission, the store, the church, the fort.
Crossing gully and river,
through stone growing mesquite,
I cursed this haste – my rush to depart.
Sure, the city was concrete – with eyes of square glass.
The old Spanish quarter a trap for tourists.
But, the fellow who helped carry my bags to the bus stop –
his offer was genuine, his thoughts sincere.
And the interest shown and conversations shared at the fraternity house containing the Youth Hostel – weren’t they for real?
So I skipped the old Spanish town.
I glimpsed from the bus the Amtrak train station (pseudo Spanish),
I didn’t go to Okie’s – to drink, to dance.
I did spend three hours waiting for an overdue bus.
En route I endured the cigarette smoke of illicit carcinophiliacs,
and counted sheep while babies bawled.
Now I’m in San Antonio – where the weather is, if anything, worse.
It’s raining.
But, don’t forget The Alamo.
No, I won’t.
P’raps I’ll buy a postcard.
Perhaps.
© Eric C. Hayman.
En route from Albuquerque to San Antonio.
I used to frequent Okies during my UNM days in the late 70’s. Hung out with a friend, Chris Santoro, who was a master at the Foosball table and always seemed to get the chicks. I hope he’s still alive.
We need to have a reunion! It would be much more meaningful (and fun) to me than a high school reunion. We could have drinks in mason jars, pizza by slice, foosball, pool, a dance floor with a juke box, some sticky picnic tables……
Mmmm…plastic mason jars, please.
i’m thinkin’ Bob Kauten has a good point….some of us are on blood thinners now and real Mason jars could be a bad thing…i’m still thinkin’ about where we could hold the reunion.
Do any of you guys remember Gary Casaus? He frequented the Oakie’s in the later years, and I was told he bounced there for a while. I know He got his face cut up outside, after the bar closed one night. Not a pleasant memory. Just wondering if anyone remembers him. He was from my home town.
Reunion location – maybe somewhere kind of divey like an old Elk’s club or American legion or VFW….lots of you guys are vets…maybe you could finesse a VFW locale. Can’t be somewhere fancy – that wouldn’t be cool at all!
I just now found this blog, I was looking for some info about Okie’s back in the early 60’s. It was a college hangout then and great fun. Sounds like it got to be a little different place after Jack sold it in 1968 or ’69.
It has been fun reading all the experiences you all had back in the day.
Back in the early ’60s things were still tame, Okie’s was not considered a rough bar. In fact there wasn’t any place in that area that I remember being a rough bar. No drugs back then or at least that I ever heard of. I was at UNM from ’62 to ’65.
Back then there were a lot of really great dinner-dance places like the Caravan East. It was new and was an elegant dinner dance place. There was Dante’s Inferno and the Roaring 20’s. Western Skies was another one that was fairly new they were all terrific dinner-dance places. There were also great places like the Corral where there was great music, dancing and a lot of fun. Of course there were the country western bars like Hitching Post and Chesterfield club that were a little on the rough side. They were owned by Dick Bills. He was Glen Campbell’s uncle and Glen played in his uncles band the “K circle B” boys. Going to either of those places one had to really like country music or go armed. Fun place on occasion.
Casa Luna Pizzaria was around back then and after an nice bit of Pizza it was over to Okie’s for the rest of the evening.
But when everyone was ready to call it a night we would all gather at Okie’s for one last round.
Funny how the memories of people just a few years apart in age and experience can have such different recollections of the same place. I feel a stranger to the Okie’s of your recollections of friends and events. It is fun to hear the evolution of culture, individuals and locale. It was fun to remember my youth and my Okie’s for a minute or two.
Thank you all for sharing.
Ann, I am more from your time also..65-67. The times of The Cave of the Fifth Wind coffee house, Casa Luna, the old Okies and parties at the “Pit” basement apartment behind Okies. Sitting for hours late at night in the restaurant part of Okies when Roman and Shirley had it.It changed a lot when the whole place turned into a bar with a lot of drugs…etc. I had some good times there also but it sure wasn’t the same!
Hi Dino, I was beginning to think I was the only relic around. I loved going to Okie’s. We all had a lot of fun and made a lot of good memories there. I guess everything changes, it is just kind of sad. I guess our good memories had to make way for the good memories of others.
I was gone from Albuquerque for a number of years and when I came back I hardly recognized the town. It had grown so large and everything seemed different from the amazing size to the type or unusual new architecture, and so many new people from all over the country. Much had changed not all for the better.
Thank you for commenting on my post I am glad to know I am not alone.
I wish you many good new memories and the ability to keep the wonderful old ones.
Ann
Wow! I’m the real relic here. My memories of Okie’s date to the years 1953-56 and it was tame then compared to the stories I’m reading here. It was the beer hang-out for UNM students like me and locals.
While the action could get pretty wild on weekends it was a fairly calm place during the week. I don’t remember any drugs or fights — just bull sessions with friends and the never-ending attempts to meet girls.
I recall that as I was walking out the front door with a couple of friends one evening I saw my first and only New Mexico “Green Fireball.” It seemed about the same apparent size as a full moon and it was traveling west to east at what seemed a moderate speed until it disappeared behind the Sandias. Honest, we’d only had a couple of beers!
Actually the fireball was seen by thousands of people in several states and there was a lot of publicity about it. And its only connection to Okie’s is that’s where I was when I saw it.
I had lots of great times there and I’ve often wondered if the place was still in business. Too bad a legend has passed on. I’ve only been back to Albuquerque once, briefly, in 1965. I’m sure I wouldn’t recognize the place now.
Great stories and memories everyone.
My gosh, Was there in the early 1970s. I was working on a ranch three hours west, in a town called Ramah.
When we made the trip to ABQ, Okies was the spot. Anything, and everything went on there. I remeber a guy called Jinx who worked there, who dated my
sister. There was also another worker, who gave me one of his Weimeranner puppies. Sorry to hear
it is gone. What a great place. Kevin
r
Yeah, I think I went in their a time or two…….
#48, Albert who “thinks he went in there a time or two”, that wouldn’t be Albert Rizzolli, would it?
No, Doc, not the same Albert. But I knew him as well.
Boy oh boy, some times at Okie Joe’s. I well remember Dondi LaRue, the Wombat, that English Dept booth next to the Anthro booth etc, Jim and Kari, the KUNM late-nighters, I could go on Click to the year 1969, the latest Stones song on the jukebox, Honky Tonk Women. The service guy told me that we kept wearing that 45 out and he had to replace it a few times. BUT my chief memory is the night in May 1970 when David Cargo had sent in the National Guard to bayonet every freak and hippie they could see, starting with poor Sunny Flowers on his twin crutches. That night, some of those grinning Guardsmen STILL IN UNIFORM tried to get in to Okie’s but the manager of the time stopped them before they could get in. There would have been blood shed for sure!
“Boy oh boy, some times at Okie Joe’s. I well remember Dondi LaRue, the Wombat, that English Dept booth next to the Anthro booth etc, Jim and Kari, the KUNM late-nighters, I could go on Click to the year 1969, the latest Stones song on the jukebox, Honky Tonk Women. The service guy told me that we kept wearing that 45 out and he had to replace it a few times. BUT my chief memory is the night in May 1970 when David Cargo had sent in the National Guard to bayonet every freak and hippie they could see, starting with poor Sunny Flowers on his twin crutches. That night, some of those grinning Guardsmen STILL IN UNIFORM tried to get in to Okie’s but the manager of the time stopped them before they could get in. There would have been blood shed for sure!”
Perhaps that is part of the mentality behind some of the mass gun killings in the US over the years. How else are such as the latest school mass shooting explained?
Okies from 73 thru 76 thanks for the memories. My brother Kevin ( Simons )worked there. Being under age meant keeping a low profile, but the sights and fights were awesome. RIP Kevin love you bro.
Andy your brother and I went to high school together. I married a bartender that worked there and after we separated I started dating Kevin. Had a crush on him all though school.
I was expecting Kevin for dinner one night after he closed and when I didn’t hear from him I just thought he blew me off….
I read the newspaper and saw his obituary. I had less than 30 minutes to get to the service at Strong Throne.
Kevin was so sweet and such a kind man. I was crushed because we and gotten so close.
I just shared with my youngest about Kevin and how broken my heart was and that I still think of him often.
I was surprised because I forgot where he where in lay in rest…..I couldn’t remember …he was very dear to me and seeing your post……made my heart jump.
I just wanted to share this with you.
I was the one, if you remember, that had a baby with her….only one that did, at the service and came in last.
Michael Kelly here. I first walked into Okie Joe’s in Spring of 1969. UNM was under siege as the Nat’l Guard had just stabbed their own soldiers in the ass with their own bayonets. But later it was shortened to Okie’s. When I first went in there is was a lot of jox and frat rats who were guzzling beers at a buck a pitcher. It was later when I moved into 1510 Gold Street with three others that I really got to know the place. And thru the years several of my revolving roommates were bar tenders there. The statute of limitations has run out, so most of these true stories are OK to repeat.
Much of Okie’s stories are considered urban myth but there are too many people still alive who can verify them as happening before their eyes and ears.
A bunch of us used to have our own little reunion in the Los Lunas Area for a decade or so. They got started when Tim Tivnan was diagnosed with lung cancer. We’d meet in August each year for a decade or so and rehash (pardon the pun) some of those stories, get drunk and/or stoned and start calling people to verify who was who and who knew what when. Well, Tim died in upstate New York at his family home. I went to the funeral and wake. David Case was a bartender there, also. He died in a hospital in Las Vegas, NV of heart failure. David had been a carpenter and made exquisite jewelry boxes of exotic woods. Robert Lloyd, aka Wombat lived like a poet moved to San Diego to live with his daughter where died of heart failure. David Cordova aka the Barber died in the house of adobe that he built. David was 72 yrs. old when he died of liver cancer.
Schultzie was agog when my roommate told him I wasn’t just another drunk at Okie’s but also held a job in Respiratory Therapy @ Presbyt. Hospital and a grad. student UNM. The only time he ever saw me is when I was drinking @ Okie’s. I went in there for the cheap entertainment and social gathering of the great mix of the city of Albuquerque from UNM professors to mendicant monks. It was a microcosm for the country’s zeitgeist. The beat generation of writers watered in that place in the fifties while On the Road with Keroac. Wombat, Bob Llyod was there to recall it all.
Now, after writing half dozen books of poetry and spending 3-4 decades as a Registered Nurse, I have retired. Soldiers, Narcs, Vets, students, binge drinkers like me and sipping maintainers went there to dance, eat, score drugs and sex, socialize, or just get in out of the sun in AC.
Dean Summers was a manager. So was Reggie Patterson.
some of the bartenders were Don Jinx, John Erickson, David Case, Tim Tivnan, Jim Ortman, The Twins, just to name a few but more will come up later. Frequenters who I came to know were George and Nancy Zook. Weenie Miller aka DW because real name was Duane which he hated and he worked for Basil Nellos who refused to call him Weenie. Miller died a few years back after having his Abdominal Aortic Annuerysm resected of cardiovascular disease. Billy Deck ran a bicycle shop for years then left town for the East Coast and has fallen off my radar screen. Phil Doyle’s still around? how cool is that? call me or email me please; http://www.mikellyrn@scbglobal.net. Victor Burkehart was a bouncer with Ohio St. football background of interest to some.
Some of the people still live in the area and would love an annual reunion.
Oh, I did work for Frank Vagnalia at Casa Luna for 3-4 years.
And anyone for a Bill Bracy story. This North Carolinian was kicked out of Okie’s for life. Rumor has it they dug the dirt two stories deep to get rid of the stale smell before the 7-11 opened. When it opened they sold carry out alcohol. Bill Bracey went in there to buy a six pack and they knew him and said, “Banned for life means till your dead…” and refused to sell him alcohol. Bill Bracey (RIP)
And what about Big Tony who made Kachina Dolls and the later you stayed there and he stayed there the cheaper his wares got as he needed more money to drink. You could get a lot of stuff cheap there. Tony died @ UNM hospital of Liver Failure & Blood Urea Poisoning. The famous and near famous padded & paraded thru Okie’s as well as ordinary people. Yes, my wife knows of the place. She came to visit me and it was 25 cent shots of tequila nite. She remembers little after about nine o’clock. It was thirty years later before we got married.
The nite Okie’s closed, I was talking to Connie Nellnos and I knew he been fined many times for watering down the alcohol, so I knew it wasn’t that and I’d become older and yeah, allergic to pot, the vile weed. So, it wasn’t that. I said, ”Connie how come your telephone booth is wiggling and moving?” Seems some over zealous lads were walking out the door with famous telephone booth. A lot happened in that telephone booth that had nothing to due with phone calls.
Maybe next, time I’ll mention some of the great women who I had the pleasure of meeting there. Many are still my friends. I say that with great affection to some who may well be reading and not writing. Kiss and tells always sell big. What great memories this brings back. I hope others get to tell some of their stories. Also, people can email me and I’ll call you and you tell me a few more stories. This is just the tip a of a very big iceberg.
Yes, I did belly laugh hard at some of the stories. Thanx for sharing. Michael
wow! so many many lifetimes ago-so many lost memories and lost friends-so many R.I.P.’s. I,for one ,believe Okie’s was a safety net for many of us in the 70’s. i have stories and i need to watch the euphoric re
call that comes with them..Okies was the last of the great bars and alot of the people the last of the great characters. I loved that bar and it’s denizens.
i sobered up 6 yrs after okies closed .
this is a great blog.
phil doyle
Well, folks….let’s look at the evidence….we are all still amazed that we lived through the experience that was Okie’s that we still find it interesting…..30 years after it closed…..
Philly-it’s Willy. Wonder how you are…
Hi Phil. Carol Kirwan Martin reading this blog for the first time. I am remembering the good times we had in the early 70s. I still have a piece of the pool room wall from when it was torn down. I remember more of the peaceful days in Okies. We would drink and talk for hours. I especially remember you and Michael Meder, Sky, John Halverson, Victor Burkhart, Willy Musillo, Sharon, Gus, Bill Bracey, Alan, Thelma Thunder Thighs, Peaches Malmaud and many others whose names I can’t remember. I first kissed Rob Martin, husband of 40 years, by the bathrooms in 1971 on 10 cent beer night. I can picture a giant paper cup tower from that night. Connie and Basil bailed me out several times when I was flat broke. I remember giving blood on Central and then buying pitchers with the money. I am glad you survived. So many didn’t. I am in rural Southeastern Oklahoma.
Hey Phil, you probably don’t remember me, I didn’t get to ABQ until ’78. I have a twin sister and I used to dance with Milton in his free interpretive style. I accompanied you when you covered a rugby tournament and once went downtown to the cop shop either with you or Red to bail one or the other of you out for outstanding warrants. I always thought Okies closed just when it should have as otherwise many of us might not still be here. Of course, Fat Chance followed soon on the heels of – by which time I’d started singing in bands – and still am. Reading this thread and seeing everybody’s names and recounting all the old stories – it has brought me countless smiles! Hope you’re still kicking and still writing.
With affection,
Debo Orlofsky
All these people, and no one remembers Gary Casaus? I don’t remember if Gary ever worked at Okie’s. But he was always holding up the wall, with a beer in one hand and a Wild Turkey in the other. I was thinking he worked the door at once time, but I could be wrong. He got cut up really bad by a broken bottle outside after closing. I was told he was working there when that happened. That would have been in the mid 70’s or later, before it closed obviously. We used to go on $.10 beer night..I lost track of Gary after that. he was from my home town. Do you remember Gary? Maybe he was just a fixture not employed. He was about 6’2″ and maybe 270lbs.
Lew, Gary here. Whats going on? Long time no see.Last time I think,you and Danny were working on the log cabin in the valley.I am living in Oregon outside of portland,been her since 88,Santa fe before that. I heard you were working at the lake by a friend of mine that met you there. Lew reply back if you get this. Hope to talk to you later.
Gary
Gary! Your alive!..lol.. I can’t remember the last time I saw you, but Danny and I were building that log home in 1980 I think. Yes I went to work as a Park Ranger in 90 I think. I retired about a year ago. I was sick of doing law enforcement, just didn’t suit me, but I worked there for 22 years. I haven’t heard hide nor hair of you or Ronnie either. Glad you are doing good. You are the first one I have got an answer from who knows you from Okie’s..lol. I thought I was making it up.I couldn’t remember the particulars, or the year. Or if you worked there or partied there..lol. I know you bought Danny and I a thousand wild Turkey’s. I guess Danny is living in Rio Rancho, divorced and is a finish carpenter. I am doing nothing. Living in the Fort, married and doing okay. I hope you see this, it’s not letting me reply to your reply.
I think most of, especially the street people and non students should be amazed we lived thru those times at all…lol
The National Guard attempted to murder students and staff on May 8, 1970, four days after Kent State. Several Guard idiots, in uniform, tried to get into Okie’s that night. I’m sure they would not have walked out.
I came to ABQ in 1970 and enjoyed many a pizza at Casa Luna. I lived in Hokona dorms at UNM. The building is still there; different occupant. All of you Okie’s -alumni sound so sick (or dead)! OMG! Maybe I’m just a bit younger than you??? Going on 61…………
I’m still going strong Kathy Natzke, just turned 65, and still live in the Albuquerque area. Okie’s for me was the middle to late 60’s. I didn’t go much after the make over of it. I recognize a few names on here but not many…makes me wonder where they all are. Good times, good memories…Okies, Casa Luna, University Drug Store (UD’s), Cave of the Fifth wind, the “Pit”.
> Do you know about the Patriot Act, Mark III? One right-wing Viet Namese fleeing the Nationalist Victory in Vietnam grew up and became a lawyer, where in the Justice Department he added the part in Mk-III reviving ALL warrants for ANY activity now considered a prank (shades of “Flashback” the movie) that made authorities like Attorney General John Mitchell declare one to be a “criminal of conscience.” The statute of limitations for even harmless protests are now alive and lurking. Remember those blood-stains on the Mall in front of the S.U.B.? If you don’t, you can stop reading this now. SOME one, I ain’t naming names, painted over those bloodstains with clear sealant, and found he was looking at several years in gaol for Public Vandalism. The limitation ran out after 5 years, but the warrant was revived following the 9/11 panic. So protests from the 60’s and early 70’s have been “re-criminalised.” Should you come to the attention of The Man even now, 40 years later, you will be prosecuted. Good thing I have NO desire to visit the USA.
Hi Lew,
May I ask what your source was for the information you posted? I had not heard about any of that. It is very serious if accurate. Would you post your source/s?
Thanks
Ann
Regarding warrants, I have none. I didn’t get to Albuquerque till Early in 71, so I missed the first riots, and I was hitchhiking to California three days before the Second Riot in Roosevelt. In fact I watched the news coverage from my parents home in California. I returned to the Duke city shortly after all the commotion, and remained there until the late 70’s. Everything changed after the big riot. I lived in Jemez Springs for two years during that time, while having a home base in the North Valley, I don’t remember going to Oakie’s until after the Riots. It was already renamed. Everything changed in the summer of 71. The mood had changed, the fun was gone, and paranoia had set in. Okie’s was thriving especially on ten cent beer night. If you went home alone, it was because you wanted to. I hate to hear that warrants may plague some that were standing up for what they believed in. There are pictures online of both Riots, including one of the most famous one. With two guys helping a young woman escape from the Quad, with the Guard marching towards them.
Michael Kelly, who told me that everybody was Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day and Phillip Doyle, who told me God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from conquering the world . . . yourselves two of the legendary characters of my Okie’s memories … glad you are still kickin’. Thanks, Michael for the updates. I’d heard many of ’em, others I suspected. Was getting Christmas cards regularly from Dave Case – he was at one time my main source of Okie’s info – but then they stopped coming. I knew about Timmy, Big Tony and Dave the Barber.
Remember John Ingoglia? John the Mongolian? Great guy, doing well in Florida. Saw him up here last summer – or maybe two, ago – and had lunch at an outdoor cafe in Hoboken, NJ with him and his wife.
Nancy and I have lived in NJ for thirty plus years and it’s been about ten since we’ve been in Albuquerque. Tony Goodrich has visited out here twice and years ago we had a really hell raisin’ visit from my old friend the infamous Straw Dog (RIP).
I take it you’re still living in Albuquerque, Michael? I look forward to getting back for a visit but probably won’t be this year. I enjoy keeping in touch with Phil and it’s great hearing from you.
Thanks for the comments about Bob Lloyd/Wombat. I wondered what became of him. He put me up in August of ’81 when I was passing through. I still have the copy of Homage/Image he gave me.
Gad! The madness effervesces still! Life is good. Blessings upon all spirits departed. Grace be upon us, we who remain.
Greetings, guys and dolls. Regards, Phil Doyle. Anybody ken to Reg Patterson? John Fowler? The runner? What about the other black John, the cook, whose redhead Hispanic lady teased him about being into women with big legs? Who else was on the roster that is herein unaccounted for?
Hi Michael,
My experience was a little before yours like way back in the late 50’s early 60’s. It was nice to hear you mention Casa Luna. That was a great place and for a lot of Albuquerquians it was the first time they ever ate Pizza. I can remember they had a terrific hamburger and green chile pizza not exactly traditional, but delicious.
There was a great place called Dante’s Inferno and another called The Roaring 20’s . The 20’s had a slide for an entrance. It was great fun. The Caravan was new and was a dinner dance place and very formal. It was a surprise to see how it had changed when I came back in the late 70’s. Back then no matter where we went on a Friday or Saturday night we always ended at Okie’s. It got a little rowdy, but was so much fun. I am glad I missed the terrible time of the 70’s, it would have been heartbreaking to experience. Funny how a little place like Okie Joe’s has meant something to so many people of so many age groups. I really appreciate getting to hear about all the experiences of people that came after my group and that still loved Okie’s the way we did.
Ann (O’Connor) Fosso
By The way Michael your link has a red WOT warning circle. That is from “Web of Trust” a site that rates sites to protect people from getting a bug or running into trouble. Someone may have given you a bad rating over something personal I would go to the “WOT” site and see if you can correct it. Until you do no one that uses the WOT will use the link. I know it is unfair and that is why I think you should go there and try to correct it.
Classic Friday happy hours with patrons walking around drinking beer from a personal pitcher and smoking a fatty. Hot ladies shooting pool with very little left to the imagination. Crazy stuff going down in every corner with Cadillac Bob fueling the frenzy. Thats the way I remember Okies circa late 70’s!
And don’t forget the free cheese and bread on fridays at Okies
Ron Rooth 12-8-13
Fun reading about Okies, I spent many tues evenings and other night at Okies, I was under age at the time, I was 19 in 1971 but I had been going to Okie so long I got in when Shultz vouched for me. I remember one night when the dance floor in the back room was just a circle people smoking from a 3 foot bong made from coors cans some how. Many good times were had there also some bad times for some people, I saw guy who was a jerk get a glass shoved in his face he did need to get smacked but the glass was a little over the top. I was a patron from 71 till probably 74.
Today I thought about Okies because I heard a Temtations song Papa Was a Rolling Stone and it brought back the memories and I just did a search and came up with this site. Peace and Love to all and happy Holidays Ron
Was in ABQ in October. The Lobo Men’s Shop closed in September. I’m glad I bought half a dozen Let’s Boogie At Okies t shirts last summer. Should have bought even more…..
You are kidding me… Lobo Men’s Shop still sold Let’s Boogie at Okies tee shirts (with the keep on truckin’ guy)?? Man, wish I’d known that. Can you post a picture? Maybe we can have more made.
They sure did! I was thrilled to buy them. The young man that was working there loved to hear stories about Okie’s back in the day. Okie’s and The Lobo Men’s shop were owned by the same guy. My husband has been in the Philippines for a while and was wearing a T shirt over there. He ran into someone who had been to Okie’s and wanted my husband to try to get him a T shirt. Too late 🙁 Yeah…I’ll try to take a good picture to post. It’s for a good cause 🙂
Bazil Nellos owned the Lobo Men’s shop. He and his brothers Connie Nellos and Ernie Nellos owned Okie’s.
The Nellos brothers, yes. I know Bazil, because he was shot at by am armed robber at Lobo Men’s Shop right after I got held up by the same guy in another store. I wonder if the Nellos still have shirts? Sometimes I see them at Frontier.
Yes…the Lobo Mens’s Shop was owned by the same family. Anyway…maybe one of the Nellos can tell us where they ordered the t shirts. Would be good to order from the same place where they have the “stencil”.
Yes, the PERFECT insider, esoteric shirt to have. Nothing says Albuquerque oldtimer hippy better! If anyone finds it, let us know.
I would love to be in on the tee-shirt thing.
Graduated from UNM in 1963 – Okies was a regular hangout
Hi All,
Enjoyed the stories! I attended UNM as a grad student in the late 70’s – 1977 – 1982. Our typical Friday night for a number of years was to walk down Central to Okie’s and camp out for the night. Mason jars full of beer, playing pool, and people watching. My fried Mike B. was a good pool player – I think he drank for free most nights. Me, not so much. One night we played against two other guys for drinks, even though neither Mike nor I had a penny in our pockets. Because of me, we lost! it took some fancy footwork to get out of there alive! I knew Basil Nellos a bit too – Mike’s wife Theresa worked at the Lobo Men’s shop – Basil was cool.
Thanks for the memories!
Hey everybody, just found this website. Mike Jordan here. Long time denizen of Okies. Saw Winter’s post from a few years ago and those from Walt and others. I sure miss the old place and the good folks, some of my happiest memories. A lot of good ones are gone, Mike Hermetet and Butch Moss among many. Anybody seen skinny Butch lately? Haven’t seen him walking Central across from the University in a long time. I used to see Tony Goodrich at the Fat Chance after Okies closed but the old crowd pretty much evaporated. Good to think about old times.
Hi Guys…Okies was the first bar I walked into after being married for years and just having moved back to NM from Alaska. Life changing decision. Also met the most memorable characters of my whole life. And first shot and first dubie and several other firsts better not to put in writing. So glad to hear so many are still around, like Phil Doyle…do you remember a baseball birthday cake I made for you? And Bailey and Red Rocket and Michael
Fleming (John Street Rockets) and Mike Jordan and CQ and of course, Bob Malone.My buds were Karen Pinello (about 5’3″, jet black hair) and Gene, Gene the f—— machine who dated Winter for a while. Also Caroline who did a cartwheel into the splits with me across the backroom of Okies one night. Walt and John Ice and Red and Mike Murphy. We had all the bartenders over for Thanksgiving and cooked and drank all day. I have quite a few pictures from the bar, some black and white, that are just great. Have Jim Hurley’s Okies shirt and a t-shit, too. Lots of faces I can’t put a name with. Once in a lifetime experience and so glad I got to participate.
hey Laura-i call the 70’s the decadesof the black but i know i loved the cake –friend me
phiillip doyle with the cubs hat
2nd try at reply
hey laura—i refer to the 70’s as thr dcade of the blackouts but i’m sure i loved the cake and thankks—-friend me on FB /cub hat Phillip Doyle
friend me on FB cubs hat Phillip Doyle
You still there Phil? Couldn’t find you on FB?
Phillip Doyle
profile picture me wearing cubs hat
Carolne here: I found this site while looking for information on John Ice. His obit was in the Albuquerque Journal a couple of weeks ago. Glad to have found that many of us are still alive and kicking. I had my 21st Bday at Okies in 79 after hanging out there for months. Hello to Mike B,, Phil D, Winter and many others.
Hi Caroline! Those were the days. I might just have been there for your birthday.
Today Chris Race forwarded some truly sad news, that John Ice is no longer with us (https://obits.abqjournal.com/obits/show/243128). It was always good to show up to work and know Iceman was in the room. He will surely be missed.
Going to be in Albuquerque was looking forward to going to ” Okie Joes”
Sorry to disappoint, but you’re about 30 years too late…
I see people posted on here they have pictures of John Ice from back in the 1970’s from Okies if you could please share please reply here and I will forward my email for the pix to be forwarded too.
I am still waiting to hear back from Mike Bailey, who I think posted here once but not again. Mike? – Jill
Okie Joes was a regular hang out when I was a student at the University of New Mexico (1960-1963)
I was a student at UNM graduated, in 1969, and Okies was the coolest dive bar I have ever experienced. I used a fake ID with some success to attend 10 cent beer night which was a glorious, hot, and sweaty non-stop dance in the back room. We bought 20 10 cent beers at a time–Connie would put serve them in plastic cups served on the cardboard bottoms of a case of beer. We usually stacked them 5 high at our booth to start the evening. Later on in the evening it was often not too difficult to take a young lady across the street and up to the top of the Old Philosophy Building to “look at the lights” and then return for more beer and dancing. On the night before my 21st birthday, I went to Okies at 10 PM, and Connie would not let me in until midnight!!
Full disclosure: I realized I had become a real jerk of an alcoholic a few years after I graduated. I quit (no beer, wine, or liquor, ever), and for 38 years have been happily married to a wonderful woman and rewarded with two sparky daughters with college degrees.
Just got this site forwarded to me by Chris Race. What fun to to wander down memory lane! I spent many afternoons and nights at Okies while getting my BA in anthro at UNM from 1973-1975. Now, I’m a lot older and a lot more sober, but count these as some of my fondest memories. I am amazed that so many of you remember all of the last names. Boy, I must not be aging mentally as well as some of you!
I remember: dirty dancing in the backroom with my buddy, Albert Rodriguez, until last call; sitting at the bar with a nuclear physicist from Iraq on one side and Dennis Banks, from the American Indian Movement on the other side; how they sometimes 86’d someone by pouring a really potent drink and parking their ass on the curb when they passed out; Milton making that horrible cardboard pizza and us eating it up; Leo H (no legs) lifting himself up onto a bar stool; when Walt Nygard and Wayne D first started working there (?); the “blue bandana rapist” following my roommate, Jennifer (an Okies bartender) home from work to our house and unlocking our doors while we were out (yikes!); listening to Midnight on the Oasis on the jukebox; the night the guy got shot in the pool room and no one realized it; when they started calling happy hour Attitude Adjustment (AA) hour – a sign(?); seeing Boss Scaggs there after his concert; learning from the bathroom graffiti that a crab (body-type) could jump 18 inches, so you might as well sit down (lol); and so many other things.
What an education I got at Okies! Oh yeah, and UNM too.
Just stumbled on this thread. My band used to come down to ABQ occasionally and one time around ’77 we played Okies for a week.
I have played biker bars, boom towns, seen it all, but holy $#^t, Okies was one of the craziest places I ever saw.
I remember when we were setting up, a guy came in, sat down, whipped out a baggie and casually began rolling joints on the table. I also remember there was no glass pitchers or beer glasses in the back where we played, just plastic, just “in case.” The staff didn’t even come back there most of the time. We had a great week though, lots of fun and met all kinds of good fun crazy folks. You did have to be careful though. It was easy to “get into trouble” if you got careless. All in all a good time.
We also played places like Ned’s, McNasty’s and Alfalfa’s on Lomas when we were in town, but hands down, Okies took the cake for Albuquerque craziness.
Some of the ABQ bands I remember were Cadillac Bob and the Planets, and a really great rock band called the Wumblies with Randy Castillo. Lots of good memories.
Looks like some of Cadillac Bob are still around.
https://tinyurl.com/ljz8eoz
Thanks for this thread folks – I really enjoyed it. I wonder what else is on this website?
A member of Cadillac Bob here…Joanie Cere. back in the old days when I was singing at Okie’s with a fake ID, they used to call me Spanky. A gal I used to work with and drink with at Okies sent me the link to this and what a trip it is to read it!! Wow. Singing at Okie’s was the start of an long and still existing career as a singer here in Albuquerque. I remember so many of the names folks are mentioning and can see their faces through the smoky hazy memory of Okie’s back room. A legendary place.All the members of that band are still around and most still playing music in one form or another. David Friebolen, the piano man, lives in Florida, everyone else is still here in New Mexico.
There was a lot of great music there and Cadillac Bob was certainly a headliner. I worked the bar on Basil’s Monday Night Jazz – a sort of short-lived night but a great crowd and great music. Cadillac Bob (as I recall typically played) and it was the first time I heard Night in Tunisia – loved it. Also Wind and Silver were terrific. I don’t know that Albuquerque really knew what to do with those cats. Brothers Johnson – I Love Music – urban funk – costumes – dance steps. What a show. And others, unfortunately the clouds have obscured many names but what times…
In 1959, I had a class that met at Mitchell Hall on Mondays and Wednesdays and at Okie’s on Friday Afternoon. Great memories.
Sad news to report to all Okie’s patrons, pals, & fanatics. Mack Odom passed away on 30 April 2015. Mack worked at Okie’s as a bartender & doorman from 1975-1979. Mack was large in stature but was a truly gentle generous soul who made friends with everyone he met. He is survived by his spouse of 40yrs, Anna, and 4 daughters and one son. He was a Vietnam Veteran and will be interred at the Santa Fe National Cemetary. I knew Mack and had many, many great fun times working with him at Okie’s and going camping in the Jemez with him and the family. Rest-in-peace my friend. I will miss you.
Sad to hear that…really a good man….one of the few other guys who may have been a “staff” member before reaching legal age…
May 4 1970 was Kent State, and May 8 was David Cargo and Gen Jolley sending the National Guard to UNM. Does anyone on line here recall being in Okie’s that nigjht when some Guards boyxs IN UNIFORM tried to get in? I need to check y memory for a chapter in my book.
Okies was the first bar I ever went to on my 21st Bday. What a place! I was there with a group that manned the Friday shift from about 4-9PM. We always had the bench in front of the cigarette machine/phone booth along the right hand wall when you entered. Connie N was usually on the stool welcoming folks in on Friday night, bringing a cardboard flat to haul the 0.10 beers back for the table was always useful, and I often left there stupid drunk.
I was generally 10-15 yrs younger than most anyone in the building but I realized it as a special place. I still have a “Lets Boogie” Tshirt. I was there on the last night it was open, and I think I have a ceramic tile or two from the bathroom that I pried off the wall. There was a lot of things that seemed to disappear as that evening wore on. I remember a woman handing out free “Last Night ” black and white postcards to the folks there. I’ve lost mine in the haze of years following. Anyone else have one?
The fire marshal and a cop or two occasionally took the “bandstand” in the back room to try and get people to leave as the place was way over capacity. I remember them being rewarded with a crowd of wadded up empty cups being flung their way.
I remember Leo, and also the big guy who manned the door on Friday nights. Good guy as I recall. My lasting memory was of being a tall skinny long haired kid that realized I was both out of my league yet in precisely the right place at the right time.
I was a frequent drinker in the late 60’s when I returned to UNM; lived in the deVargasdorm; a short stumble from Okie’s especially on dime beer night; we’d get tanked up and get back to the dining hall just before they closed — does anyone remember O’Henry’s bbq at the Okies place? O’Henry was a big supporter of r&b on the radio hosted by Neil Murray — the priest from the east on KUNM and later KBNM– and had the best memory for music — never could stump him. Sorry to see it go. Met many great gals there and had much fun, there and back in the dorm!
I just heard one of the great songs from that time period; “Up Against the Wall Red Neck
Mother”. This song was written by Ray Wylie Hubbard and it was his answer to Merle
Haggard’s “Okie from Muskogee”. It was sung by the great Jerry Jeff Walker. This hippie
anthem was always played at the many parties that took place during the seventies. This was
such a great time for music of all genres. There was always some tension between the
hippies and the rednecks during that time period, but in todays world the partisanship
between the political parties is so much worse. We have lost so much. I heard one more
song; “You’re so Vain” by Carly Simon. Many hours were spent trying to figure out who she
was singing about.
Wow! Love to get iin on this one………….George Robbins owned the original Okie’s which fronted Central and his holdings included a set of four apartments contingent to the bar and running South on University toward the alley. I rented two of the four apartments over a span of two or three years. There was a small alley between the units and the bar, and we would roll our kegs, full and then empty over the alley then into the back of the bar for the exchange. George was always drunk so when times were real lean we would snatch Georg’s receipt book and pencil over a previous receipt with carbon paper as proof. As the story goes, George sold the facility to the Nellos brothers for $120,000, to be payable to George in annual payments of $8,000 both parties knowing ol’ George would never make the full payoff as he lived out his remaining alcoholic years in Brazil., In that original Okie’s, you could have your personal beermug, numbered and hanging on the wall waiting for your next visit. There were probably 150 to 200 on the wall. Lots more to come—-just found this site…….holy shit.
The basement of those apartments would be the “Pit”, Grant. I went to many a party there in the late 60’s. Had some great times hanging out at the old Okies. I spent more time in the restaurant part though run by Roman and Shirley.
i THOUGHT THE pIT WAS IN A SEPARATE STRUCTURE A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE BUSINESS TO THE WEST.
I think you’re right, things aren’t as clear as they once were…LOL
Right, because I remember walking around the South of the building after five pm each day in the winter and going under the apartments where the four gas meters were located and turning ours on for the evening. There was a dummy lock hanging in the loop to fake out PNM (or whatever those crooks were called then. Never ventured over to “The Pit”, the other building.
Grant Harvey, glad you found Okie’s. Is anyone connected to this page from the ZLM & TA? Chilton? Mike? Charlie? Ruth? Jim?
David / Judy / Dennis / Marilyn / Sherry / Guido / Jim / Susie / Erv … are you out there?
We sometimes called it Jokies in the 1970’s. It was a dive full of drunks, druggies, hippies and UNM students like me. It always smelled of piss, beer, cigarettes and BO. What a place!
But the beer was cheap, the jukebox was great, and there was always a chance you would see people you knew in there.
I could have done without the redneck doormen, who beat up patrons for the slightest provocation, but some customers were entertained by it.
i was unaware of any stabbings or shootings, as others have mentioned here, but it wouldn’t suprise me. There was a wild west feel to both Albuquerque and Okie’s. I was a young guy looking to wet his whistle and have some fun. I accomplished both there.
How I miss it!
i be trying to reply to Laura,Willy any body please friend me on FB/cub hat Phillip Doyle
I did friend you, Phil. I’m seeing your posts. I’ll comment on one and maybe you can connect with me.
cub hat phil
Are you Phil the redheaded glass blower?
no /in my profile picture i’m wearing a cubs hat
Sorry, I meant that I was trying to place you from the 70’s. The Phil that I was asking about had red hair/beard and worked at a head shop as a glass blower.
sorry/hope you find him
Hey Phil Doyle, the thought that you would end up to be Phil, the red headed glass blower when i ran into you after 43 years, would have been even more far-out than just running into you after all these years!
Do you remember me? John from Canada, the master of philosophy, UNM 1970-72. We shared ideas, poems, stories and thoughts. I’ve been reading thru the thread of posts describing Okies ‘Rathsceller”. My memory of the era comes in waves and sometimes i can’t decipher between the myths, my dreams and what is really real, but here are some people that i could add to the remember list.Charlie Trowbridge, Steve Terry, Michael Taylor, Gus Blaisdale, Jerry Heck, Katharine Mulford, Bill Bracy, Sarah Volz, Cindy Redelli, Claudia, Lynn, Aaron, Emily, Nancy, John Halverson, Duane, Sharon Taylor, Cecile, Leah…..
I’m not on fb, so e-mail me and we’ll begin to correspond.
Okie’s had a stronghold on the UNM student market while I was there as a grad student in the mid-1970’s. The Triangle Lounge was usually closed, and not much of a place when it was open. Ned’s was a fern bar that really didn’t appeal to students as much as to leisure suit types. Any place else, you had to get in your car and drive. I could walk to Okie’s, get a snoot full of beer, then walk home. And that was the modis operandi of many patrons there. So I was surprised when I learned, a few years after I left town, that it shut down and was razed. It seemed to me it had to be a money maker. Hell, the package store alone must have generated profits.
In my mind, Okie’s is still there on the corner of Central and University, waiting for me to come in and slam down a couple while playing pinball or pool or just hang out for a while. I am sorry the current UNM students don’t have it as a resource.
Ed Blohm
I worked at Okies from early 1972 thru June of 1973, primarily behind the pizza stand. How many times I came on between the songs on the Juke Box hawking the pizza, only $.15 a slice…I never made much money but the memories are priceless. All the people I met, as customers and fellow workers, you all have my love. To Ron Weipz, Jim Schultz, Dean Summers, Richard, Richard, Jack, Mario, Tim, Herb. I wish we could all get together with a case shell of $.10 beers in the back room!
Does anyone know much about the pre-1970s Okie’s? I understand it was built around 1935 and was called something like Oaklahoma Joe Valdez’s Dixie BBQ. Way too much, so it was shortened to Okie Joe’s, then finally to Okie’s. Somewhere in there Rathskeller lounge was added and dropped. I heard when the Nellos Bros bought it in the late 1960s, they added the package store and the back room, which had been a parking lot. Can anyone verify or amplify?
The Nellos brothers bought Okie’s from George Robbins for $120,000 in the 60,s, Story goes, George left for Brazil an was [paid $15,000 of the sale price each early until he died. He was a raving alcoholic and knew he would never last a dozen years anyway.. I knew George well, he was my landlord in one of apartments behind the original Oklahoma Joe.s. There were four facing out onto University Blvd. They were at ground level but there was a cellar under the two mist southern units, near the alley, and we would go down there each evening to turn on the gas valve after the PNM boys were off for the night.. There was a twisty sort of alleyway between the Okie’s and the four apts. We would roll an empty 1/2 barrel keg into the back door and pay for a full one (sometimes) and roll our treasure back across the alley to the apt.. Oh yeah, the gas valve had a leak on the meter for our apt. so when we turned it on each night, we would light a match to keep the waste gas from building up and blowing ]us back to Canada. The flame was fairly small, maybe an inch or two tall, I have many stories to tell of the original Okie’s which had rounded restaurant=type booths where various smaltzy sport items drooped down from the wall, iWith some hoohaa or other, you could join “The Club” (or whatever it was called} and have your own beer mug inserted in a niche up on the wall behind the bar.
That way you could stroll into the bar sit down and demand, ” Get me #156, please” (that was my #), That was about 1965. I could go on…………..Is anybody reading this crap?
I am. Please go on. Elizabeth Schwartz, Okie’s alumni 1972-76.
I love this crap and hope people keep posting stories. I love the detail. Am amazed so many people remember names. Anybody have any photos?
Me too. Kathy Natzke, Okie’s alumnus 1971-1976. I lived on Maple near Silver in the Midtown apartments. I drank cokes, ate pizza, and danced my ass off. You guys were scary to me back then, but this is interesting to me. My view of Okie’s was a sober one.
I had fun there much later but really like hearing about how it all started. Best bar ever.
I wish I could find the black and white postcard that a woman was handing out the last night Okies was open. It was a great night shot probably taken from the NE corner of the intersection.
Although I went some after the sale and remodel, my times were more in the mid to late 60’s. Roman and Shirley had the restaurant side, big plate glass windows facing out to Central. We’d sit there all night drinking coffee and discussing who knows what…LOL. Many a party in the “Pit”, a basement apartment behind.
Got to Albuquerque in fall of ’73…was introduced to Okies soon afterwards….I wish I could find my old ‘snag’ from there……Glen Goodhunt (Taos pueblo). MAN! there were some GOOD LOOKING native guys there!!!! anyhoo, I’m back in Maryland now but here’s an interesting story: when the place was gonna be shut down, my sister, Barbara, started a petition to stop the closure….She STILL has those papers w/ALLLLLLL the folks names, addresses, numbers, etc. on it!!! We thought of contacting the Journal paper and do a human interest story on this…..maybe next time I come to visit ya’ll. We live on Amherst SE. Lord, forgive me, but I used to walk there on fridays w/my uniform still on from working at Mannies!!!! hope someone reads this and gets a kick outta it!!!!
Wow, 10 cent beers and Friday afternoon Cobras. I thought it had all been in a dream, but finding this site makes me believe it really happened. Hahaha. I would kill for that Cobra recipe. Tony, if you’re still with us, share it please. I still have my tshirt and belive it or not, lots of these same memories. I worked at the General Store on Harvard, and hung out at Natural Sounds. ( just a stagger away ). Viva Okies…
I was an Okie’s denizen from ’71-’76 and can add little to the great stories above, except to marvel at how we managed to conduct intense philosophical discussions through all that mayhem. To quote a friend of Phil Doyle’s (sorry, no name) “Okie’s: where the sound of crashing glasses in the foreground drowns out the sound of crashing bores in the background”
sounds like something “Wom-bat”(Robert Loyld) might have said–god bless that old poet~RIP
So true!
Some random Okies memories (hopefully mostly accurate) from when I lived in Albuquerque 1968 – 1976 attending UNM:
The twin brother bartenders were the Jackson twins.
In the late 1970s, one of the guys that worked there (Dean?) married a woman named Beth and moved to southern New Mexico.
I remember first seeing Leo (the legless guy) there about 1970.
Many of the changes in the building in 1970 or so, including adding the back room, were caused by the widening of University Blvd. If I remember correctly, Okies was closed for a while and part of the building was demolished to accommodate the widening.
In the front room, light and dark colored ceiling tiles created a thunderbird design almost as large as the room. I’d been going there for a few years without noticing it when a friend pointed it out.
$.10 beer night was originally Friday night. It was then moved to Wednesday night. After some parking altercations in the lot of the church next door, which had Wednesday evening services, it was moved to Tuesday night. Can’t remember when it ended, but do remember the bread and cheese and low cost ($1.00?) pitchers of beer that followed.
For a while there was a cover charge to get in, so I mostly quit going until the charge was ended.
When the line was too long or the need to go too great, women would use the men’s bathroom. The times I was in the bathroom when a woman appeared, we guys were willing to let her be next to use the only stall. There was some mild joking, but it was all basically good natured.
The pizza stand in the middle of the building was eventually removed and the space renovated into a woman’s bathroom.
When I first was going there, there was one juke box. It was located in the front room and music from it played throughout the place. Then there were two juke boxes, one in the front room and one in the back. In the pool room, the music from both boxes met, sometimes complimenting each other but mostly clashing. The focused pool players tuned it all out.
One night, a group of us there were approached by a guy selling various items, including a pair of handcuffs and a key, which a friend of mine bought. Later that evening, he met a woman who intrigued him. He’s a 6’2″ redhead, but she’s a 6’3″ redhead. So he cuffed himself to her. Which intrigued her. They eventually went to his place a few blocks away for the night. But it never developed into a romance.
When I lived in Albuquerque, I was always within walking distance of Okies. Which was both a blessing (no drunken driving home) and a curse (trying to get work done without saying the hell with it and heading off to the watering hole).
debo friend me FB phillip doyle — wearing cubs hat
Leo Hollins, who has been mentioned several times in these comments, passed on earlier this year (2016).
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/abqjournal/obituary.aspx?pid=180232036
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/leo-hollins-obituary?pid=1000000180116004
He was older than I thought.
RIP
:'( -a good man
beautiful tribute to one of the last beats
R.I.P ., Bob
Link to a column from 2013 containing an appreciation of Wombat (Robert Lloyd), who died in 2006. It includes a poem written by Lloyd. The column was written by V. B. Price, a long time Albuquerque resident and writer.
https://newmexicomercury.com/blog/Print/provincial_matters_11_25_2013
RIP Leo Hollins who said, “Never piss up hill.”
Well, I’m still here in 2016. I’m writing intros to my various bits of verse before putting the lot on Amazon, as a Kindle collection. And I have just got to “Albuquerque, Farewell” again. Those regrets over not visiting Okie’s are still with me. It really is the things you did not do but could have rather than the things you did do but should not have done that refuse to go away. And Okie’s is up there with a few others. And always will be.
Whew. Had no idea that there was so much to tell about Okie Joes. I first went there in late ’64 and then for more extended visits in 1965 and 66. Painfully remember the grapefruit, vodka, and salt drink that was supposed to be good for hot weather. So many names that I cannot remember. Many of the denizens were Univ. students who were being given a hard time for being members of the WEB Dubois Society. Travis Paige, Bob George, Cher Wilson, Lou, Chilt, but not many more.
Travis lived in the Pit on another trip I made to Albuquerque. I walked cross country from the western edge of town without a hat and suffered from heat stroke. Managed to get to the Pit and Travis marched me down to the shower and stuck me under the multiple shower heads, fully clothed, and turned the cold water on full blast. Cold never felt so good. Thanks Travis.
I was picked up in a raid on the Pit one night. Sold a bag of parsley to an annoyingly persistent narc (everybody knew) and later that night the whole basement was busted. They picked up about 12 people and found one scrawny joint on the ground outside afterwards. Poor planning on Sheriff Joe Wilsons part. Kept me overnight but let everyone else go with no charges. i was politely asked to leave town “before sundown” and consequently made a quick and unplanned trip to Mexico.
Don’t panic. Same name, different person. Have been defending my name for over 40 years.
By the way. the story that I heard was that the owner of Okies had been in prison and volunteered to participate in an LSD study. Never verified that with the owner. Anybody know about this?
I remember that raid. I had been there earlier but left before the raid. I was still in H.S. and had to leave early.
Were you the cute blond that lived about 3 or 4 blocks north of there? Remember Tim Trout?
Far from blonde, dark auburn and I lived in the heights, still in H.S. Mostly went by Dino. There were a lot of raids at that time.
Tim Trout? Seems he was so out of it on acid he lost his Harley somewhere between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. That Tim Trout?
Met Tim in Albuquerque in ’65 and later in the Haight. He had a three wheel Morgan around mid ’67 and we made an aborted trip to Mexico. Our possessions were stolen at the border so we flew back to SF with a full tank of acid….What a ride. Tim sank into bad drugs in mid ’68 and I have no idea what happened to him after that. Did he make it after the wreck? There was also a guy that had two Vincent bikes. Can’t remember his name but I would like to talk to him again
I have a Oklahoma Joe’s menu (1720 E. Central Ave. on U.S. 66 N.M.) that the most expensive item is 45 cents. I don’t know what year it’s from nor where I got it, probably among some of my mom’s stuff. I have had it about 40 years. If it means anything to anyone I will send it to you free of course. Email me an address if you want it.
phillip doyle
p.o.box 731
ruidoso dowms NM
88346
yes thank you
I hope you share it with us, here in Albuquerque, Phillip.
Hi Phillip: I will send you the menu thru the mail. Since several people were interested, maybe you can post it on this sight after you get it. I am happy someone will enjoy this keepsake–I hate to throw away anything. Janet
thank you and i know all the pther inqueries people-i worked at okies and the others were all clients/we might have kwown yout mom–thanks again
hell yes….one morning (Saturday – my assignment was to watch John Ice’s back on Friday nights and to keep him from losing it even when some fool deserved it…) Walter came in and found me snoozing on top of a picnic table….he suggest i should not fall asleep before i went home…shook his head kindly and let me out…. definitely want copy of that menu…Lois used to wait table there before the pizza stand….thank you both, Phillip and Janet.
Hi Phillip: I put the menu in the mail today to the address you sent. Enjoy
Janet
thank you /okies was like a safe haven for a lot of us in those troubled late ’60s and 70’s
and i apologize for that atrocious thank you note
spelling–not the note the spelling and thank you again
peace
Would love to have it. Lived in the apartments attached by an alleyway for a year. What a story!
Hi: Grant if you want a photocopy send me an email and I will forward to you. Janet
thanx so much. Grant w. Harvey biggcanuck@comcast.net
I am very interested. 1919-27th St.
Rock Island, IL 61201-4748
thank you, Michael Kelly
Hi Michael: I have had several requests for the menu. I was surprised to get even one. In any case, I am going to send it to the first request but if you send me an email address I will attach a photocopy. Janet
Janet (or Phillip)
i would love a photocopy or pdf…
dgrant41000@gmail.com
Janet, Thank you for sending original to Phillip Doyle. Yes I’d like a copy, no, luv a copy. Please forward to mikellyrn@sbcglobal.net Muchas gracias, UNM grad class of ’72
I still have a “Let’s Boogie at Okies” T-shirt in the closet. It was too small when I got it and as a result it’s just been stored for what… 40 yrs? I’ll post a pic if there’s any interest (I guess I can link to a site via this page)
i want -send details /thanks phillip doyle
I remember the shirt. Please post pictures.
Elizabeth Schewrtz Tullar
john b:
email me: phillip doyle
doylep515@gmail.com
About 42 years ago, I was walking in Madrid, Spain on a small cobbled side street and came upon a man wearing a “Let’s Boogie at Okies” tee shirt. Amazing! Not that long ago, I heard that the Nellos brother who ran the Lobo Men’s Shop on Central by UNM was still selling those tee shirts there. Sadly, the place went out of business before I could look for one. A truly iconic item for people who were there.
ps – if someone has a picture of the Let’s Boogie at Okies tee shirt, please send it to me JillGat@gmail.com I would like to have some made again. Hope to hear from you! Jill
Oh, and btw, this thread will be ten years old in Sept. of this year. Needs to be a book with some in-depth interviews of the people here. Almost everybody I know now was born after Okie’s closed!
Kristy’s Records in ‘Burque is selling them now for $30. They look very close to the original…,
I’ve got the shirt. can I post an image here?
I remember Okie Joe’s well, as I was a UNM student in the mid sixties. Back then,Okie’s was THE in place for students. It was walking distance from anywhere on campus, which was great for those living in dorms, or frat houses, and did not have cars. Back then Okie’s had one section which was strictly a restaurant, and the other side was the bar that included the bar, tables, and a pool table. Don’t remember the ten cent beers, but do remember the free pitcher of beer on your twenty first birthday, and all the friends who wanted to help me celebrate that day.
Mike Fleming’s obituary published in the Albuquerque Journal, April 7, 2019.
Michael Fleming, drummer extraordinaire, born 12/12/48, left us the week of March 11, 2019.
Mike was preceded in death by his grandmother Lorena Brooks and parents Tom and Elaine Fleming. He is survived by his sister, Sharon Sandoval (Leroy), aunt and uncle Pete and Mary Brooks, his #1 son Michael Sena and his #1 daughter, Aura Alzate who loved him as a father. Mike is also survived by a multitude of fellow musicians, friends, and fans in the Albuquerque community.
“Dr. Flamingo’s” career as a drummer began in the late 60s and spanned almost five decades. Some of the more popular bands he played with included: The Bounty Hunters, Lemon, Saturday Night Special, the original Cadillac Bob, jazz band Alma, and Cadillac Bob and the Rhinestones.
One of the greatest highlights of Mike’s musical career occurred when Bo Diddley moved to Los Lunas, NM. One day, Bo walked into the Roach Ranch West looking for a drummer to play a gig. Mike was in the right place with impeccable timing. Thus began a strong and enduring friendship with the legendary Rock and Roll icon that included a year-long European tour in 1979.
Mike Fleming was a wealthy man, not in the monetary sense, rather he was abundantly rich in life experiences and people who loved him. He, in turn, generously shared his philosophy, humor, wisdom, and love. He was larger than life with a heart to match, and his departure creates a void. Mike’s final life lesson is to fill that void with sincere appreciation for all that we have, genuine kindness and unwavering honesty in our relationships, and joyous celebration in this life.
There will be such a celebration of Mike’s life on April 14 at the Barelas Event Center (907 4th St. SW), 1:00 p.m.
Edit
Thanks for posting this, Phil. RIP, Mike.
Okies legend
I saw what may be the best graffiti EVER on the men’s room wall there.
It said,”My mother made me a queer.”
Followed by a rejoinder, “If I buy her the yarn, do you think she’d make me one too?”
I am Peggy Aguilar’s brother Joey
I was a child in Okie’s in the early 70s. Used to hang out there with Fatt Catt (who is still around) and Zana and Charlie. Spent nickels on sodas and ran back and forth from the bar to the cigarette machine to earn those nickels. Got my first marriage proposal in Okie’s, I think I was 4? My mom has a brick from the building somewhere.
I also lived down Gold in the early 70s. In a Family house full of hippies.
God and Ash by any chance?
Hey Joe,
I remember you. Your sister was a friend of mine. A very cool woman in those wild times. Maybe ’cause I’m getting old, and have been living in New Jersey since 1980, I’m thinking about those days, Albuquerque, Las Cruces – where I went to high school – and New Mexico in general. I remember you as her younger brother and you were getting a band started. Somewhere I think I still have the band card you gave me in Okie’s one night. I’m racking my brain trying to remember the name of the band. What I do remember is that it was a single word, Spanish name and I think you were surprised because I pronounced it correctly. I hope you and Peggy are happy, healthy and thriving. Would love to hear from either or both of you. Am also on FB: Walt Nygard . . .
oops, I meant Gold and Ash. I knew a bunch of “hippies” that lived on the corner, we called the house “The Golden Ashhole, because it had a very cool basement.
Hello to Tom Kavanah. I too worked at KUNM, when it was in the basement of the SUB. I frequented Okies as a freshman and had my young eyes opened. Witnessed the wildest bar fights I’d ever seen. Loved dancing to whatever the band was a the time, made up of Mike Flemming, Dan Dowling, John Truit, Waldo, John Griffin, Joanie, Denise, Kathy, . . . I know there’s more. The only guitar I owned at the time was a flattop Martin. Someone has re-printed a batch of Okies T-shirts recently. Love reading the comments from ya’ll.
if ANYONE can tell me where one might find a re-printed “Let’s Boogie at Okies” tee shirt, please post it!
And Elizabeth Schwartz
I’d like a T-shirt too.
Stay tuned for upcoming programs on KUNM that will relive a bit of Okie’s history, especially how it relates to the development of the blues music scene in Albuquerque. I will post more details soon.
The stories of Okie’s and the Albuquerque blues scene will air this month on KUNM 89.9 FM Albuquerque or live streamed at kunm.org
Please note that you can go the program section of the station’s home page to access the two-week archive and hear the program up to two weeks after it is originally aired.
Saturday, May 8
7:00 pm
Ear to the Ground: Playing the Burque Blues (Part 1)
(Part 2 of this program will air on The Home of Happy Feet on Tuesday, May 18 at 9:00 pm)
A two-part series exploring the history, people and flavor of the blues music scene in Albuquerque, as told by leading Duke City blues musicians and former KUNM blues deejays. Often overlooked in the international blues world, Albuquerque has spawned a significant and uniquely New Mexican blues music community in recent decades.
This series features rare recordings from early 1970s KUNM shows and live music venues such as the legendary Okie’s bar across from UNM. Hear the stories of Cadillac Bob’s Joan Cere, Native bluesman Roger Cultee, Sherri Gonzales, J.D. Sipe of the Memphis P. Tails, and others.
Don’t miss Part Two of Playing the Burque Blues on KUNM. Next Tuesday, May 18 at 9 pm. More remembrances of Okie’s.
https://www.kunm.org/post/playing-burque-blues-part-two
I loved reading these stories. I used to live in the ‘hood while going to UNM. On too many occasions I’d see people screaming and shoving right outside Okie’s and I just didn’t feel like it was going to be a chill place to have a drink and relax. So I never saw the inside. It’s been good to see in the comments here that the place was much more than what it appeared to me back then.
Sorry you missed out.
10 cent beer nights were especially chill and relaxing!!
We did have drinks and relax, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness.
Was it the Gold St commune house?