Tag Archives: Charlie Patton

The Volstead, the Knight Building, and Ghosts of the Fire of 1901

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The W.A. Knight Building stands on the old homesite of Edward Cleaveland, “the man who burned down the town,” whose business negligence started the Great Fire of 1901. When the building was new, it was illegal to buy or sell alcohol. It now houses the Volstead, a bar named in irony for the Prohibition Act.

Tracing the Plane Crash of 1944 Down Post Street

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You can still see the patchwork where a fighter plane engine tore through Millard McGhee’s apartment and killed him while he stood shaving. Pilots Jack Egar and James Cope meant to “buzz” Egar’s mother’s house. They both died in the swath of destruction their planes left along Post Street.

San Marco’s Politico Ghosts Still Lingering at The Towne Pump

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After the editor downed 27 shots of Wild Turkey, the Towne Pump hung a plaque on the wall in his honor.

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When the mayor’s press aide was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated after speeding away from the Towne Pump three sheets to the wind early one October afternoon in 1977, Tanzler held a press conference saying he’d ordered his staff to stop drinking on their lunch hours.

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The ghosts of politicos and newspapermen bleed through to our time. Sometimes we notice.