Now I'm the owner...me - Bo White. I bought White's Bar on December 1st, 1984. Initially, I didn't change anything...kept things pretty much the same - ponsoring sports teams, keeping up the excursions to Detroit ballgames - and working my butt off. It was typical to work 80 hours a week, nothing unique about that. My Dad did it, grandpa too...any small business owner worth a hoot will tell you the same thing. I worked EVERY day without ANY time off - including Christmas day - for 5 consecutive years - I had to, couldn't afford to hire anyone.
Talk about BURN-OUT.
I was like the Ozzie Osbourne of neighborhood taverns. At the time I was known for saying things like bkfioifi? I started workin' for my dad in 1974, after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in Psychology - the type of degree earned by perverts and neer-do-wells (it was a good fit). I was tending bar alongside my Uncle Art Shindler (he married my Aunt Annie who died several years earlier. She was very cool. But that's a different story). Uncle Art was prone to drinking too much, saying whoopsie-do, and fallin' asleep standing up. He would be dead asleep, holdin' a lit cigarette until it burnt to the butt, without any ashes fallin off - a skillful demonstration of the calming effects of narcolepsy, aided and abetted by Corby's Whiskey, Uncle Art's favorite booze. In fact, Art would answer the phone with the phrase, "White's Busy Bee, Corby's at each end, two in the middle". I've used it ever since.
Art suffered from chronic flatulence, an affliction that probably contributed to Aunt Annie's premature death and resulted in Art's forced retirement in 1975. Art left, the air cleared, but we still missed him.

I left White's in 1975 for graduate school at the University of Michigan. I dropped out after one year, despondent and quite insecure. It was very painful experience. I had lost a fragile hold on my self-confidence and began to experiment with substances and lifestyle. I liked cocaine and acid but eschewed speed and marijuana. I became a vegetarian and began reading eastern philosophy and Zen Buddhism. My friends and I convinced ourselves that our drug use was only temporary, until that future time when we would purify our bodies and achieve enlightenment (somewhere in a cave, I believe). But, alas, it was not to be...GO FIGURE!!! I spent an additional year in Ann Arbor working at Bicycle Jim's and the Little Brown Jug restaurants where I hung with an assortment of beatniks, actors, academics, and political radicals. The original motley crew. I had the pleasure to befriend Joe Gilchrist aka Coleman, one of the Harrisburg Eight (They destroyed Pennsylvania draft records in the home state of Dupont - one of our more corrupt corporate nightmares). Tom Knapp, aka TK, Roger Brown, and Bob Ratzow were my dearest and most enduring friends from that era. Whenever, we needed to rent or lease an apartment, I would always be chosen to talk with the landlord 'cos I looked the most... NORMAL. I wasn't. For awhile I hung out with a weatherman ('60's radical) retread who wanted us to blow up police cars as a response to the new "leash law" that required dog owners to leash their pets.
Well that was just about enough for me - a bit too radical. So I retreated back to Saginaw and the comfort of hearth and home. In that manner, White's became a "safe haven" as I tried to piece my life - my identity - back together.

In 1977, I left Saginaw to help build a restaurant with some hippie friends including the above mentioned Knapp, Brown, and Ratzow from my Ann Arbor years (1975-1976). We all relocated to Corvallis, Oregon (home to Oregon State University) and opened the Valley Restaurant (it's still in operation today). We would purchase equipment in Portland, only 70 miles away - a good road trip. We ended up at "Bogey's" (honoring Humphrey Bogart) a few times and got good and toasty. Once, my colleagues harvested a van-full of marijuana from their back yard - prompted by a tip that local police were investigating them. Well, they proceeded to harvest, dry, cure...and HIDE - not exactly in that order. Later they allowed all their friends to sample the illicit booty. After several rounds, I pronounced that their homegrown stash was "no big deal". An hour later, I was found in a closet, drooling and fondling my belly button while coiled in a fetal position. I loved the stuff...

After three months and some nice road trips (like watching the whales migrate down the coast), I bid my friends adieu and headed out to San Diego to visit my dear friend Bill Gerrish. He was about to be married and was a bit nervous about it. We spent a month together before returning to Saginaw in January 1978. Gerrish got married and I resumed work at White's Bar. Shortly thereafter, I met my future wife Lisa Matuzak (you may recall reading her brothers' names in the White's Bar Bobcats section). We were married December 16th, 1978, "in a fever hotter than a pepper sprout". She was knock-dead gorgeous - an absolute beautiful person - and she TURNED ME ON....still does. We have four children. Kristy and Ryan - my first and second born children (respectively) are now adults and married. My middle daughter Kari works at Garber Management Group and my youngest Allysha works for Morley Companies. They are each unique and wonderful people, independent, with their own perspective about the world. They will be just fine. I have three adorable grandchildren Gabey Baby and Olivia Shea and Hailey Rose. I love them dearly. They are precious reminders of life's beauty and purpose.

Anyway, when I returned from Oregon to work at White's, my co-worker was none other than Ed Heinlein, an old bricklayer buddy of my father's. What Ed lacked in social graces he made up with raw unmitigated annoyance. He was M-E-A-N and he was irritated by anyone who was young, poor, rich, middle-aged, old, male, female, athletic, sedentary, black, white, Hispanic, smart, retarded, long-haired - you get the idea. But he hated "purely", with a gleam in his eye and a faint smile on his lips. We all adored Ed for his honest disgust of human folly. Ed worked for me for several years before he finally retired in the late eighties. Ed has since passed away and he is surely missed. Ed owns White's record for chasing away the most customers through a basic inability to smile. No one knew at the time but Ed suffered from an incurable medical condition called Smilio-facial Praxis. Anyway, I started to develop my own group of retired regulars who were too damn poor to move to Florida or Arizona. They were stuck here at White's and were bound and determined to make the most of it. I remember my good friend Red O' Toole regaling me with stories of Rose Morton, Saginaw's wealthiest-ever madame, with a stable of beauties with big bosoms and bigger hearts. Red claimed that as a young man he delivered "milk" to the bordello and that Rose herself would award him for a job well done...just rubbed his face in it for a brief but wondrous moment. Heaven on earth!!! Red claimed that Rose's was the only bordello ever registered on the New York Stock Exchange. White’s still had a great day crowd then...in the beginning. Red was there along with Jack Hummel, Jim Whaley, John Ecker, Emil Sternhagen, Ed Napierala, Baldy Allen, Ed Merry, George Tashner, Del Seabrook...all great guys and friends of my father and grandfather. I also formed some deep and abiding friendships with Andy Puszykowski, Dave Potts, Dan "Master" Bader, Tom Dupuis, Tim Dupuis, Tom Krol, Brian Jacques, Mike Strzynski, Tim Dupuis, Bill & Elaine Roberts, Bob & Debbie Young, Jack Dupuis, and others. I look back fondly at the times we shared and the many ways my friends helped me keep it together. They taught me many life lessons and I love them all. In the mid-seventies Andy Puszykowski and my brother Bill formed an adult slo-pitch softball team. They had a great bunch of guys on the team...some could even play a little ball. But their motto was always, BUT always, WIN OR LOSE IN THE BAR!!! Those cats could drink. They touted themselves as having a 3-ton infield (all the guys were rather large). They created an event that became known as the "OLD TIMERS GAME" - the young guys playing against the old farts. Everyone loved it and the entire bar - all the customers, their wives, girlfriends, and families would show up at the ballpark. My dad bought a keg and some brats and we had a cook out afterward.

It was this event that inspired our 50th Anniversary Celebration, which led to yearly outdoor shows that combined music and food. My life-long interest in music and record collecting gradually led to the introduction of live entertainment. It began with White's Bar's 50th Anniversary Celebration in 1987. The success of the event led to annual "Summer Bash" parties for the next 11 years. For the 50th, I hired, Charlie Frick, a "former" entertainer who had been a popular singer/pianist in the late forties. He agreed to come out of "retirement' just for this event. Things were running smoothly (I had planned this for over a year and had a notebook full of detailed planning) until old Charlie BROKE BOTH OF HIS ARMS only three hours before show time. He fell down the stairs to his basement, attempting to lift his amplifier UP the stairs So I called Dean Rusch and he hooked me up with a first-time Dee-Jay. And it went off without a hitch. Hallelujah!! The Dee-Jay performed every year for about 5 years before I shifted to "Live" bands. I always loved the way live music could resonate...I could FEEL the music in my body. I could feel ALIVE!! Several bands performed during this formative period before I transitioned to a fully functioning "Music Club". My nephew Tim Dunn brought "Boom Shanka" to White's. It was a great little alt-rock band that featured future Poke-sters Dean Vanston and Bill Silverthorn. I loved that band... and not just because my nephew was a great lead singer - the whole band was talented. My old high school friend Leonard Trinklein made 'Lectric Be-Bop a fixture at our outdoor shows. His partner Bryant Brewer was a touring member of "Michigan Rock" legends, Frigid Pink!!! The Be-Bop played some sweet classic rock and some great Trinklein originals...always loved them guys. Marty Viers & the Music Doctors put on several "Jimmy Buffett" shows that drew standing-room-only crowds. I always loved Marty's voice and pizzazz. He only played about every song ever recorded...and still found time to write some great original material. After all these years, Marty finally released his first cd of original material. ABOUT TIME MARTY!!!! In 1998, Killing the Kind, TNT Blues Band, and the John Krogman Band put on a show that blew everyone away....I was in the midst of making changes at the bar. I was unhappy and looking for a new direction. Krogman intrigued me. I loved his voice and I thought his original songs were every bit as good as the great cover songs he performed. Anyway, John agreed to meet with me and discuss the possibility of performing on a more regular basis. We selected Wednesday nights for his solo shows. John performed through the remainder of the summer. By fall, with help from Rockin' Johnny, I began booking the John Krogman Band and others on weekends. Gradually I added Zydeco Ziggie & The Bayou Blasters on Sundays and Eastside Mike & the Purple Warblers on Wednesdays. We were on a ROLL!!! The response was fantastic. And it convinced me that I was on the right track. I deepened my commitment to live music... eventually expanding to six nights of entertainment. As a long-time music lover, I embraced diverse musical styles that included rock, blues, cajun, jazz, country/bluegrass, and alternative rock. To me it was ALL THE SAME SONG, derived from the same source. Blues begat jazz; country begat rockabilly; and the styles merged to form rock 'n' roll, a bastard son if there ever was one...."it's only rock 'n' roll but I like it". From 1998 to 2007, White's earned a reputation for providing some cool live shows for fans of original music.... music that reflected our "culture"....who we are as a people... somethin' real. It's a homely truth that America's best music is in the jukejoints and the backroads gin houses - not in "them fancy" nightclubs or on radio.
AMEN.
I've hired bands from California, New York, Colorado, Minnesota, Detroit, and Chicago...and, don't cha know, THEY called me. Word is out about this little club located off the I-75 corridor, not too far from Detroit. Notable performers that have graced our stage include: Country Joe McDonald, Kim Wilson, John Sinclair, Dick Wagner, Lazy Lester, Maybe August, Empty Pockets, Donny Hartman, Scott Morgan, Rusty Zinn & the Dynatones, Larry McCray, Frank Bang, Laurie K. Lewis, Spanky Mcfarlane, Junior Watson, Chris Beard, Cash O’iley & the Downright Daddies, Johhny Mohawk, Arcadia, Alberta Adams, Fingers Taylor, Doug Deming & the JewelTones, Sharrie Williams, Bernie "The Ride" Nelson, Appearance & Reality, Stewart Francke, Al Hellus & the Plastic Haiku Band, the Brush/Lopez Trio, The Purple Warblers, the Bayou Blasters, Liliana Rokita, Pete Woodman, Question Mark & the Mysterians, Catfish Hodge, Johnny & the Boomers, Pete Best, Denny Laine, The Banana Convention, The Mongrels, Sal Valentino (Beau Brummels), Barbarossa, I Became the Sky ...and many, many others We even had several bands record live albums at White's including the Brush/Lopez Trio, the Purple Warblers, Lazy Lester, Question Mark & the Mysterians, and the 2001 Dick Wagner BBQ. I'm grateful... it's a dream come true. And for the first time in years I'm reasonably happy and I feel I'm contributing something meaningful to this crazy world. My "little club" has an intimacy and charm that is derived, in part, by its modesty...its "smallness" - that Knotty-pine paneling is way country-cool and the "Maggie & Jiggs" bathrooms are echoes from a fading memory. When entering White's Bar, one is whisked to a by-gone era of fellowship and family......it's real...hometown...historic....and evolving. The nature of reality is change and we are always moving, growing and discovering new talent. White's Bar is becoming known for presenting the finest live music in the area - something akin to Daniel's Den in the mid to late '60's (The Den was located next door to White's Bar on the property that now houses Charter Communications). We have formed friendships with some of the finest and most creative musicians in the Tri-City area...and I am forever grateful.

My father died on June 15th, 1995. His death shook me to the core. I guess my prolonged and complicated grieving had it's origins in our troubled relationship. I always wanted to please him, but I never seemed to live up to his expectations. And I never really felt that I had gained his approval. In many ways, my life has been an ongoing search for my father. Much of my personal struggle has occurred in service to this existential journey. Owning and operating White's Bar was one step toward discovery. And in the pain of looking at myself and seeing my father, I was able to go back to my very beginnings and realize - deeply - that I am my father's son And afterall, the history of White's Bar is a story about "Fathers and Sons"...isn't it?

Postscript: White’s Bar - a story of Fathers and Sons? Not entirely. It has as much to do with wives, mothers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers…grandchildren. In the past few years I’ve learned a lot about myself and my shortcomings. I’ve been able to step back and appreciate what’s right in front of me. My wife Lisa is an absolute inspiration and generates many of our most promising ideas. My son Ryan and son-in-law Tim Avram are both artistic and clever. They know about music and their muse is critical to our success. My grandson Gabriel helps me every weekend at the bar and is already a connoisseur of out-of-the-box original music.

It seems like only yesterday when we celebrated our 60th Anniversary yet we’ve changed so much since then. We are neither better nor worse than any other place – just different.

My mother Patsy died June 6t, 2006 and I continue to miss her dearly. I didn’t always appreciate how much she meant to me and to White’s Bar. She offered quiet yet strong support to my flights of fancy. I suppose in some sense this history of White’s Bar is my “gratitude” visit to my mom and dad. Thank you. I love you - and I’m listening

Bo