I read Wayne's story about the Kid and thought you all might like this one I wrote some time ago.
A Small Town Pool Hall
Joe Faulder owned the pool hall in the small resort town of Jasper, Alberta, Canada where I grew up. It was located right on the main street, across from the CN railway station, beside the Chaba theatre. You had to walk up four or five steps to get through the front door. On the left was a counter where Joe kept things for sale; candy, soft drinks, cigarettes, condoms, and other miscellaneous merchandise.
Most of the males in town purchased their birth control from Joe rather than from the local drug store. I bought my first condom there when I was very young and carried it in my wallet at all times. Who knew when it might be needed? I thought the telltale ring showing through the thin leather of my wallet whenever I dug for my cash would make the young ladies assume I was experienced beyond my tender years.
To the right, as you went in the main door, was the domain of Archie, the barber. He had a single white porcelain barber chair upholstered in red leather that was perfectly situated to see the action on table one, the main table, the best one in the house.
The room was long and dark and consisted of a row of four 6’ by 12’ snooker tables down one side and another row of four 6’ x 12' tables down the other. There was a back room for storage of supplies, a workshop, and an area that sometimes was used for card games. Most of the railroaders played their serious poker down the street in a room at the Pyramid Hotel, however.
My dad took me there to get a haircut when I was quite young. Archie would put a board across the arms of the white porcelain barber chair to get my head to clear the seat back. It would be a few years before I had grown enough to sit in the red leather seat. A haircut took an unbelievable amount of time as Archie was just as engrossed as I was in the money game on table one.
Old oak benches lined both side walls. You had to climb up to sit in them but it gave you a great view of the action. Every Saturday morning there would be a golf game on table one that would last until the middle of the afternoon.
I was about 13 when I started playing pool. My mother was not pleased with me hanging out at the pool hall. My dad didn't have a problem with it, since he always knew where to find me. I would play snooker with the owner's son Stan who was about 4 years older than me. Stan was the reason that I knew I would never be more than a casual player. The most I ever made in one turn at the table was 70 points - a very, very rare occurrence for me, but not for Stan.
I always hung out with an older crowd and Stan was a good friend. George Chenier, one of the all-time great snooker players, came through town once and played an exhibition with Stan. A young kid named Cliff Thorburn was working at the Jasper Park Lodge one summer and he would wander in from time to time. Stan said he played well, but I never saw him play back then. Much later, Cliff Thorburn went on to win a World Snooker Championship. He still plays snooker and 9-Ball at a high level and is often featured on TV.
Bing Crosby, the singer, would drop in occasionally when he was vacationing at the Jasper Park Lodge, although Bing spent most of his drop-in time in the bars or the local Canadian Legion. He donated some money to the Legion building fund and is fondly remembered by many townsfolk.
My dad wasn't the only one who knew where to find me. Dean Tweedle, the High School Principal, who also delighted in being the truant officer, dragged me out of the pool hall and back to school many times.
Joe Faulder passed away and so did his pool hall. Part of it is a yuppie type restaurant with a feature wall for local artists and the other part is a souvenir store with signs in English, French, and Japanese.
Jasper did not have any opportunities for a budding software entrepreneur and I left town to seek my fortune in Edmonton. I would ask about my friend Stan whenever I went back to visit my family but he seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. No one knew where he was.
A number of years ago Stan made the papers. My friend, Joseph Stanley (Stan) Faulder, despite trial irregularities which included money and immunity for a co-accused, was refused clemency by Governor George W. Bush (now the US President) and executed by the State of Texas on June 17, 1999 after being on death row over 20 years.
Like a small town pool hall, things just don't stay the same.
A Small Town Pool Hall
Joe Faulder owned the pool hall in the small resort town of Jasper, Alberta, Canada where I grew up. It was located right on the main street, across from the CN railway station, beside the Chaba theatre. You had to walk up four or five steps to get through the front door. On the left was a counter where Joe kept things for sale; candy, soft drinks, cigarettes, condoms, and other miscellaneous merchandise.
Most of the males in town purchased their birth control from Joe rather than from the local drug store. I bought my first condom there when I was very young and carried it in my wallet at all times. Who knew when it might be needed? I thought the telltale ring showing through the thin leather of my wallet whenever I dug for my cash would make the young ladies assume I was experienced beyond my tender years.
To the right, as you went in the main door, was the domain of Archie, the barber. He had a single white porcelain barber chair upholstered in red leather that was perfectly situated to see the action on table one, the main table, the best one in the house.
The room was long and dark and consisted of a row of four 6’ by 12’ snooker tables down one side and another row of four 6’ x 12' tables down the other. There was a back room for storage of supplies, a workshop, and an area that sometimes was used for card games. Most of the railroaders played their serious poker down the street in a room at the Pyramid Hotel, however.
My dad took me there to get a haircut when I was quite young. Archie would put a board across the arms of the white porcelain barber chair to get my head to clear the seat back. It would be a few years before I had grown enough to sit in the red leather seat. A haircut took an unbelievable amount of time as Archie was just as engrossed as I was in the money game on table one.
Old oak benches lined both side walls. You had to climb up to sit in them but it gave you a great view of the action. Every Saturday morning there would be a golf game on table one that would last until the middle of the afternoon.
I was about 13 when I started playing pool. My mother was not pleased with me hanging out at the pool hall. My dad didn't have a problem with it, since he always knew where to find me. I would play snooker with the owner's son Stan who was about 4 years older than me. Stan was the reason that I knew I would never be more than a casual player. The most I ever made in one turn at the table was 70 points - a very, very rare occurrence for me, but not for Stan.
I always hung out with an older crowd and Stan was a good friend. George Chenier, one of the all-time great snooker players, came through town once and played an exhibition with Stan. A young kid named Cliff Thorburn was working at the Jasper Park Lodge one summer and he would wander in from time to time. Stan said he played well, but I never saw him play back then. Much later, Cliff Thorburn went on to win a World Snooker Championship. He still plays snooker and 9-Ball at a high level and is often featured on TV.
Bing Crosby, the singer, would drop in occasionally when he was vacationing at the Jasper Park Lodge, although Bing spent most of his drop-in time in the bars or the local Canadian Legion. He donated some money to the Legion building fund and is fondly remembered by many townsfolk.
My dad wasn't the only one who knew where to find me. Dean Tweedle, the High School Principal, who also delighted in being the truant officer, dragged me out of the pool hall and back to school many times.
Joe Faulder passed away and so did his pool hall. Part of it is a yuppie type restaurant with a feature wall for local artists and the other part is a souvenir store with signs in English, French, and Japanese.
Jasper did not have any opportunities for a budding software entrepreneur and I left town to seek my fortune in Edmonton. I would ask about my friend Stan whenever I went back to visit my family but he seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. No one knew where he was.
A number of years ago Stan made the papers. My friend, Joseph Stanley (Stan) Faulder, despite trial irregularities which included money and immunity for a co-accused, was refused clemency by Governor George W. Bush (now the US President) and executed by the State of Texas on June 17, 1999 after being on death row over 20 years.
Like a small town pool hall, things just don't stay the same.
