Share your R Bar/Boodles/American Legion memories

[TomCat88]

WOW - where can I start about the RBAR memories. I use to get my mail delivered there and actually had a sleeping bag underneath one of the pool tables. TNT (tangueray and tonic) on Tuesdays. Of course quarter beers. Tom Stuber - I loved playing cribbage with you and Kathy M. on Saturday mornings between softball games. I'm glad I still have quite a few hats, shirts, etc. RIP.

Rick??? Is that you? Man, I got a big ol' lump in my throat right now.

[Cat-theotherwhitemeat]

...As for your paycheck for that night of carding people (as long as you let the underage ladies in)...

Oh yeah, the ladies made it through that door...Mama didn't raise no fool.

[mtsportsfan]

I had only been to the R Bar once in my life and I will never forget my experience.

In 1992, I and 4 friends drove from Helena early on game day to watch our friend play against Weber. When we got into Bozo we decided to go to the R Bar to grab some food and some drinks. I was with an ex-bartender that use to work at the bar, so Of course, we started hitting the bottle a little harder then we should have and we were feeling pretty fine as we walked out the back door to go catch the game. As we are getting into the car with drinks in hand, one of Bozeman's finest came driving down the alley. I can remember the adrenaline as I had to do the DUI test in the back lot of the R Bar with my four drunk friends rooting me on. I didn't realize you could get tested for a DUI before noon. I decided at that time I would never go to the R Bar again.

[The Butcher]

When I was a freshman in college I knew the bartenders and bouncers at the R Bar pretty well and had no problem getting in even though I wasn’t 21. One of my buddies and I were heading down to the R Bar and of course we were drinking in the car before we went in (save a $1.50) and I threw my empty can at the dumpster and missed. As quick as the can hit the ground a light shined on me. It was one of those f****** bike cops! I just stopped in my tracks and knew I was getting a MIP. The cop yelled at me, “Pickup your beer can.” I go over pick it up. Then he instructed, “Throw it in the dumpster.” I threw it in the dumpster, and he rode off. I was relieved! Thought I was getting a ticket for sure. The R Bar gods were looking after me that night!

[Hawks86]

One of many memories was me and a buddy playing pool with Lawrence Taylor after the Stenerud Golf Tournament. I have no idea what year it was, lower 90's, maybe.

[Griznationalist]

One of many memories was me and a buddy playing pool with Lawrence Taylor after the Stenerud Golf Tournament. I have no idea what year it was, lower 90's, maybe.

As a Griz fan, I ventured into the Rockin' R many times between 1983 and 1990. There was a real prick who tended bar there in the late 1980s, a dude who was tall and skinny with a pock-marked face and frizzy curly hair jetting out from under his R Bar cap. The R Bar was sort of the Bozeman version of Stocks (The Stockman Bar) in Missoula, except with never quite as much going on as Stocks had going on (e.g, all-night poker after the bar closed). My clearest memory of the R Bar was one night when I challenged that bartender who tried to close down at 2 a.m., as I couldn't believe the supposedly most popular bar in a university town would actually close at 2 o'clock. That's when I learned how sleepy the Bozeman Main Street was, which is kind of quaint, in a lot of ways.

[TIrwin24]

One of many memories was me and a buddy playing pool with Lawrence Taylor after the Stenerud Golf Tournament. I have no idea what year it was, lower 90's, maybe.

As a Griz fan, I ventured into the Rockin' R many times between 1983 and 1990. There was a real prick who tended bar there in the late 1980s, a dude who was tall and skinny with a pock-marked face and frizzy curly hair jetting out from under his R Bar cap. The R Bar was sort of the Bozeman version of Stocks (The Stockman Bar) in Missoula, except with never quite as much going on as Stocks had going on (e.g, all-night poker after the bar closed). My clearest memory of the R Bar was one night when I challenged that bartender who tried to close down at 2 a.m., as I couldn't believe the supposedly most popular bar in a university town would actually close at 2 o'clock. That's when I learned how sleepy the Bozeman Main Street was, which is kind of quaint, in a lot of ways.

This post was almost as worthless as AG1's! Jeezus, take your negative comments back to ejizz.

By the way, your last sentence to try to come off innocent did not work either.

[AlphaGriz1]

Chill out, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

There is only one GOOD bar around Bozeman and that was Stacy's in GG. The Crystal is average but the best in town.

Quit making more of this because of the explosion.

[RyeCat]

My friends and I always started out Friday nights at the R Bar - Free drinks for ladies between 4pm and 5pm. The plan was always the same, drink as much as you possibly could before you were ready to pee your pants and then run over to the Legion to use the bathroom. Obviously, this was the "Old" R Bar. From there, off to The Crystal for $1 beers from 5pm to 7pm. After that, I didn't much care how much the drinks cost.

[TIrwin24]

Chill out, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

There is only one GOOD bar around Bozeman and that was Stacy's in GG. The Crystal is average but the best in town.

Quit making more of this because of the explosion.

Well if you have a negative opinion, like you and GN usually do, keep that garbage to yourself.

It's not that hard to figure out!

[TomCat88]

I never met a bar, or a drink, that I didn't like.

If everyone could just stick to "good" memories things will go real smooth. I promise. It's kind of like at a funeral when people go around saying nice stuff even if they didn't like the guy. Trust me I have some bad memories of the R Bar, Legion and many others, too.

Considering the circumstance can't you lay down your guns AG1 and GNist? C'mon, have a heart.

[AlphaGriz1]

Chill out, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

There is only one GOOD bar around Bozeman and that was Stacy's in GG. The Crystal is average but the best in town.

Quit making more of this because of the explosion.

Well if you have a negative opinion, like you and GN usually do, keep that garbage to yourself.

It's not that hard to figure out!

Thanks for telling us what we can and can't say on here. You are a true American patriot.

[TIrwin24]

Chill out, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

There is only one GOOD bar around Bozeman and that was Stacy's in GG. The Crystal is average but the best in town.

Quit making more of this because of the explosion.

Well if you have a negative opinion, like you and GN usually do, keep that garbage to yourself.

It's not that hard to figure out!

Thanks for telling us what we can and can't say on here. You are a true American patriot.

Unlike you, I have a conscience and a soul, and remembering the good things following a tragedy that took a person's life is the right thing to do.

I feel sorry for you.

[nevadacat]

Cheap beer and Pork Chop John's. Didn't get any better.

[SonomaCat]

One of many memories was me and a buddy playing pool with Lawrence Taylor after the Stenerud Golf Tournament. I have no idea what year it was, lower 90's, maybe.

As a Griz fan, I ventured into the Rockin' R many times between 1983 and 1990. There was a real prick who tended bar there in the late 1980s, a dude who was tall and skinny with a pock-marked face and frizzy curly hair jetting out from under his R Bar cap. The R Bar was sort of the Bozeman version of Stocks (The Stockman Bar) in Missoula, except with never quite as much going on as Stocks had going on (e.g, all-night poker after the bar closed). My clearest memory of the R Bar was one night when I challenged that bartender who tried to close down at 2 a.m., as I couldn't believe the supposedly most popular bar in a university town would actually close at 2 o'clock. That's when I learned how sleepy the Bozeman Main Street was, which is kind of quaint, in a lot of ways.

Funny ... I'm pretty sure if anyone witnessed a drunken guy "challenging" a bartender about closing the bar by the time bars are required to close by Montana law in a town where the cops do actually enforce those laws ... I'm thinking it would be the drunken guy--and not the bartender--who would be considered by most to be the "prick."

I've been in a lot of bars in a lot of towns around the country and the world ... and outside of small towns in Montana that didn't have cops awake (or any cops at all), I've never been in a bar that didn't close when it was supposed to close. Most bar owners don't like losing their bars from something that silly ... and most bartenders are more than ready to start cleaning up at closing time after schlepping drinks for rowdy drunks all night and therefore have little incentive to break the law and jeopardize their bosses ownership of the the bar that employs them.

I've had lots of good times in the R Bar and the Legion, and most were based on my time spent with (or running into) good friends. My most recent memorable night there was during my wedding week a couple years ago. Most of the people who came in from out of town did a bar crawl that night and we ended the night at the R Bar. I was dancing with my fiance in a place where nobody else was dancing (something I still owe her for, I think), and I had decided that Al Beye and I were old friends, so I kept talking to him. He was, as I've been told he always was, very gracious and treated me like the old friend that I was acting I was.

It's sad to see the cool old brick buildings go (especially Boodles ... I loved the architecture of that place), but in the grander scheme of things, they are just "stuff," and stuff can be replaced. I look forward to seeing how they will be rebuild, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see things even better than they were when everything is finished.

The loss of life is truly the only loss that really matters. We will always have our memories of those old buildings, but they can be, and will be, replaced.

[dwellerbobcat]

Maybe we can get this back on track.

Like a lot of posters, I spent a good deal of time and cash (that I didn't have) at the R Bar. Quarter beers, hanging out with fellow Sigs on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and playing shuffle board through the spilled beer are just a few memories. This was all way before the latest remodel. I can still see my future wife sitting on a bar stool on the new side with a smile on her face as she joked with her friends and thinking I'm a lucky guy. Our wedding reception ended up there when a couple of ladies kidnapped me from our actual reception and took me for a drink at the R Bar. Well after a while about 20 of us were there including my new wife. And we actually had a dollar dance there. It was a good thing too because when we got married I had a $100 in my checking account.

I never spent much time in the Legion during college. We would pop in and out. I actually spent more time there after school when we would come for homecoming. It was a great place to get a quick beer or Bloody Mary at the parade. I always knew we would run into at least one old college bud and usually a few more.

I didn't go into the R bar much after the latest remodel. I can probably count the times on one hand. I did though take a business associate there this past July though. He liked the place and I showed him the pictures of the old bar. When we were there, there were at least 2 parties of bridal showers going on. People would come up to us and just talk. When we left he was amazed that everyone was so friendly. For the most part, that is the way it was there.

[rollo_tumasi]

I went to school there from 92-98 and I remember going into the Legion all of the time before it became popular. One time my friends and I went down there to shoot the sh-- with some of the old timers and I ended up making a bet with my best friend that I could drink the plactic trough under the PBR tap. It had been there all day and had at least 40 oz. of warm, stale PBR sitting in it. Even the bartender though I was nuts for attempting it, but I tipped that bad boy back and slugged it down. I don't think I ever have been that close to puking w/o being completely intoxicated before. It was something I would never do again, no matter how much I was offered. Good times. I will miss those places!!

[TIrwin24]

I went to school there from 92-98 and I remember going into the Legion all of the time before it became popular. One time my friends and I went down there to shoot the sh-- with some of the old timers and I ended up making a bet with my best friend that I could drink the plactic trough under the PBR tap. It had been there all day and had at least 40 oz. of warm, stale PBR sitting in it. Even the bartender though I was nuts for attempting it, but I tipped that bad boy back and slugged it down. I don't think I ever have been that close to puking w/o being completely intoxicated before. It was something I would never do again, no matter how much I was offered. Good times. I will miss those places!!

Wow!

[SACCAT]

I remember one time after a bobcat victory in football, 3 friends and myself went down to play pool and celebrate the victory. As we stood at the bar to get a pitcher, an older gentleman walked up and asked who won the game...THROUGH A TUBE IN HIS THROAT!!! I was so rattled that I grabbed the tube like a microphone and said "WE DID" Everyone laughed including the guy with the tube. I have never forgot that story and every time I walked into the legion I always looked for that guy.

[SonomaCat]

I remember one time after a bobcat victory in football, 3 friends and myself went down to play pool and celebrate the victory. As we stood at the bar to get a pitcher, an older gentleman walked up and asked who won the game...THROUGH A TUBE IN HIS THROAT!!! I was so rattled that I grabbed the tube like a microphone and said "WE DID" Everyone laughed including the guy with the tube. I have never forgot that story and every time I walked into the legion I always looked for that guy.

All I got to say is ... we're all very happy that it wasn't a streaker who asked you that question.