I couldn't believe my eyes, saddened as I looked at the
pile of rubble that lie where Rosy's once stood. Another landmark gone, victim of
renovation.
Kermit Hill was standing on his front porch lost-- grieving for
an old friend. Remembering his daily trips across the street, to his favorite watering
hole, and green frog prints, painted by Red Rooster which still
mark the way. Ocean View will never be the same!
I must've been four, remembering my first visit to Rosy's--
it's as if it were yesterday. Hyman C. Rosenbaum and his
brother Ben were the owners. Big Don a very large man who was noted for the
amount of blood he donated to the Red Cross and Josephine --they worked the
counter. Occasionally a black fellow named Al would come in part-time and clean--
heck, even I worked there, for a short time. For years, Josephine told of the time I
crawled out my bedroom window and went in Rosy's with nothing on, but a tee shirt and a
smile. By the time my parents found me, I'd worked the crowd for a whole bag of penny
candy and a Fudgesicle®.
Rosy's was a one of a kind establishment-- it was
a bar, a candy store, a restaurant, and a one-table pool hall. It was a neighborhood
hangout-- attracting people from across the country. If anyone came to Norfolk via the
U.S. Navy, they probably visited Rosy's on First View.
During the early years, the windows use to go to the floor, but a
few sailors ended up going through 'em --so Hymie had them bricked up, shoulder height. As
long as I recall, I saw very few fights. For a bar in Ocean View, it was pretty laid back.
Over the years, faces changed, but generally the crowd remained the same. If one
disappeared for awhile and returned-- they could always find someone they knew. There was
a group at one end of the bar-- I never saw any of those die-hards sitting, they stood.
I asked one man, (C.C. Starnes) why he never sat down. He looked at me and
he said,
"If I sat down, I would never get back up."
Rosy's became my second home. Hymie would open up a eight a.m. every
day and close around ten p.m.; or when the last customer fell. He rarely stayed open for
last call, like most bars. For years I lived on Dagwoods and fountain Dr Peppers®; later
acquiring a taste for beer. Once Hymie cut me off, simply for having green lips on St. Patrick’s Day. I'd bought several cases of bottled Pabst
Blue Ribbon® from Hymie-- and dyed them green for the parade. Anyone having
green lips that day was cut off before they could order. Back then a quart of PBR was only
80¢ (off premises). In the 70's the crowd at Rosy's changed somewhat. A group of lesbians
became regulars and were pretty much accepted by the other customers --permanent fixtures
at the bar. As a young man, I learned a lot about life there.
Pete (& Barbara) Clark, what can I say. When Hymie sold
Rosy's, everyone was shocked and thought Rosy's would disappear but it lived on for
several more years. There was always a show at closing time outside Rosy's. Shortly after
that time, I quit drinking (and Rosy's) but from time to time I'd still stop in and enjoy
a favorite meal there, cooked by Delores --Nachos! I'd moved to Gloucester by the
time the next owner [Gus Gelardes] bought it and never met him. I was shocked to learn
through the news-- that he'd drowned off Ft. Monroe in a boating accident.
The last few years of Rosy's existence I am not familiar with. I'm
sorry I didn't show for their last day-- something I'll regret for the rest of my life.
I'm happy to see Rosy's 2 (near the old Bayview Pharmacy)
opened [by Moose?] for business in Bayview, but am sure it won’t be the same!
Richard J. Moylan, Jr.
So it goes dear Richard--
We caught your uncle's 'Sunday Forum'
piece (by Thomas R. Hall) on 8/18/02--
"Rosy memories of Rosy's and growing up in Ocean View"
in The Pilot Commentary section;
searched their site to link here, with no luck.
His sentiments were similar: "...all that was left was a vacant lot."
Thanks for sending your thoughts to O'Viewers! --R K
See also Richard Moylan's Memories & Sounds
joyously provided for OV Tourists
& Richard Moylan's
outstanding Downtown OV vintage photos
Back to Tour Mail: Current or
Archives: 2002; 2001; 1998-2000
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