Beyond the Byline: They tore old Marty’s down

PLAINS TWP. — On the way back from my disappointing trip to Apalachin, New York, this past Sunday, I decided to stop in Kirkwood, New York, to visit an old friend.

I intended to visit the former Marty’s Bar on Route 11 and pay homage to the place that kids like me learned how to drink and awkwardly socialize in our years before we turned 21. In New York in 1969-70 it was still legal to drink at age 18, as opposed to Pennsylvania’s 21 mandate.

My thinking was after being more than disappointed with the current condition of Joe “The Barber” Barbera;s place in Apalachin, seeing Marty’s again would perhaps lift my spirits. Barbera, you recall, hosted that famous 1957 summit where some 60-plus organized crime figures gathered and were arrested thanks to the good work of Sgt. Edgar Croswell of the New York State Police.

Like Ricky Nelson sang, “it didn’t look the same.” After 63 years, who or what does look the same.

That’s why visiting Marty’s, I thought, would be a good idea.

But there was a problem. I couldn’t find Marty’s. I had been there several times, back when we were those young inexperienced under-aged drinkers, to recent road trips just to stop by. Marty’s has been closed for years, but the building was the same.

For me, it’s like going back to Bethel, New York, the site of Woodstock in 1959. I’ve been there about 15 times and it’s always good to return to the former alfalfa field and walk around and think about those days when my friend Duke Devlin says a half a million people arrived to breathe air they never breathed before.

Kind of deep, right?

Anyway, visiting Bethel and White Lake and the ponds and all that gives me peace and that is always good.

So, as I pulled off of I-81, I got on Route 11 where Marty’s was supposed to be. But I could not find the building. I drove up and down and around, thinking maybe the building was remodeled and is now open for some other business. I hoped it would be a bar.

No luck, so after about 45 minutes of searching, I gave up and returned home. On Tuesday, I called the Kirkwood Town Hall and I spoke to the Town Clerk. She was very helpful, telling me she was born in 1971, but she was sure her parents would have the information I sough. She said she would call me back.

Not even 10 minutes later, she called and gave me the bad news — the building that once housed Marty’s Bar had been demolished within the last two years.

I could not believe it. I was shocked and upset. To think that this former landmark business was not only closed, but the building that housed it and was gone was unfathomable to me. Marty’s was the drinking home to so many young people searching for a way to muddle through the sixties and early seventies and, most importantly, to drink beer legally with friends.

And now it is gone. It should have been converted into a museum.

I am so glad that I took those photos you see attached to this column. Marty’s will always exist for me and so many others

I only wish you could see the memories of those times at Marty’s that are still crystal clear in my mind.

Well, for the most part.