Eastern Suburbs Tavern celebrated its 60th birthday on Saturday, but the people who came to celebrate would tell you they really knew it as "The Glen", the nickname of the former Glengarry Tavern.
Mr Jordan was there on opening day; it might be the same building, but things were quite different then, he said.
The tavern was divided into different bars, the public bar was a place for men only — and most were rough, hard working and mainly blue collar — and women did not go in there, they had the Lounge Bar to drink in.
Former Invercargill Mayor Ralph Hanan cut the tavern’s opening ribbon in 1963 in Glengarry’s new shopping centre which had been built to service the quickly growing suburb. The thriving shopping centre also went on to boast the city’s first supermarket.
While most of the shops are now closed, the pharmacy and "The Glen" have stood the test of time.
Norma Shaw, 94, remembers what it was like in 1963. Her late husband Clive worked as a bouncer when things would rough up after pay day from the freezing works.
"It was 6 o’clock closing in those days," she said.
Glengarry Patrons Society president Faye Robinson believed the tavern survived because patrons had continued to go for the social connections that had been built over many decades.
"We’re all like a big family here."
Not everyone came to drink, often they would sit with a quiet ginger beer these days, she said.
But the sense of community had remained as the society ensured the fundraising for a plethora of community events happened every week.
The Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter would be the recipients from this Saturday’s raffle round.
The loyal Patrons Society had been running for the past 27 years after being started by Tommy Beckett and now boasted 107 members.
The bistro stayed open for 16 years under her watchful eye.
Seniors’ lunches and blue cod were a huge drawcard with the bistro regularly packing out the place.
Her busiest day was unforgettable — the bar was at capacity and she churned out 230 lunch meals in two hours, she said.
Her assistant cook, Lana Wilson, became affectionately know as "The Egg Lady" after cooking and serving 90 eggs in less than 90 minutes.
The memory of hard work did not keep them away — they all came to celebrate and reminisce over a quiet ginger beer.
Lyn Whaanga worked as a barmaid for 11 years in all of the bars.
Wednesday karaoke night was always the busiest night of the week. It was busy behind the bar and then the bouncers would get busy too, she said.
"If fights broke out, you would just grab the till and run and let the bouncers deal with it."
Current staff member Rewa Walters had a long family connection.
Her mother Missy Crowe and sister Sharlene Crowe had also worked at the tavern, while dad Kevin Crowe was a past president of the patron’s society.
The iconic row of bike racks outside are now gone — they’ve been replaced by a courtesy van, and the pool tables in the public bar have been ousted by gaming machines.
But for the people who call each other family — "The Glen" will always hold many special memories.
- By Toni McDonald
