Regional Cues

Grand-Olive Stories

For watchez' request, you can search "Grand-Olive" on this site and pick up a few good stories about the place, including mine as follows:

The place below Grand - Olive Billiards was called Garavelli's. The Garavelli family was a well-known St. Louis restaurant family and even today there is a Garavelli's restaurant in St. Louis. I played at Grand-Olive a bunch in the 60s and Grand-Olive had what I would call an errand boy named "Sixteen Zwibleman." Supposedly he got the name "Sixteen" because he was a Western Union messenger with badge number 16. He was the world's oldest errand boy -- probably in his 80s. Anyway, if you yelled "Sixteen" he would come to your table and among other things go down to Garavelli's and get you a sandwich or whatever else you wanted. Not sure if he was an employee of Grand-Olive or just hung around for tips.

One night my friend and I were eating at Garavelli's and he found a big copper staple in his hot roast beef sandwich (the kind wholesale butchers use to package up meat). We were thinking we were about to get a free meal out of this discovery and maybe more (free food for a year?? Etc.). My friend called the elderly and gruff waitress over and was about to give his indignant demand for recompense when the waitress snatched the staple out of his hand and disappeared. No free meal.

There was a good player there named "Rotten Mouth" Johnson. Once he was uprbraiding someone about something and said: "You don't know if a basketball is round, square or diagonal. You are a f***ing idiot."

Dear All: Please message your memories of Grand-Olive. Thanks.
 
He sends all over the world and has always been a great maker although he took some time off but I'm starting to see more and more Keith Hanssen cues around the Sioux Falls area. He is a hell of a maker and a great guy all the way around.
 
Here's a Picture of My Schmidt Customized Hoppe

From 1965, refreshed by Danny Tibbitts in 2010.
 

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This concept applies to a lot of the higher end builders as well and to me is very subjective.

Just because they don't accept custom orders now, doesn't mean they can't create high end custom cues. There are a lot of Fancy SW cues made in past and present but unfortunately they are not always on the market (average joe probably can't afford a custom cue from SW).

Hercek, Benders, Gina and every other high tier cue builders also have their based cues that you would called "Not Custom Cue" because it applied to your concept of modification to their standard formula in term of woods, veneers, taper, etc. Does this mean, they are not a custom cue builder as well? or only specific cue can be a custom cue?

Duc.

I think the biggest difference is who makes a Hercek? Yep, just Hercek. Same with many other custom cue builders. Carolina cues were called "production" for basically doing the same thing as SW. Yet, one is production and the other is custom? That perplexes me ;) At least when you buy a Mercedes AMG engine, you know exactly who built your engine, he even signs it. :thumbup:
 
I got G.B. and G.S.

So I have an update. In Rochester, a friend of George's ran a pool room here.

Sam, his friend, went to NYC regularly to pick up cues to sell.

If you weren't a personal friend, you didn't get to call George for a cue. Sam could get one for you, though.

No customization, just whatever the maker sent along that month.

Players who did call in were rebuffed with "Who are you? I don't know you" and no order was taken. This was in the late 60s even

Mike Sigel was known enough to be able to order them

I never had any problem getting cues from either one them. I was just
a kid when I got my first Balabuska. Alf Taylor and bunch of other people
at the Cotton Bowling Palace had Paradise cues. Alf came in with a
Balabushka made from a titlist blank with a mop diamonds in butt sleeve
like 5 domino. I got the telephone number from Alf and called him and
told him I wanted a cue. Sent like a $ 20.00 deposit and a drawing.
It only took about 3 to 4 weeks, cost a little under $100. I got 5 or 6
cues from him and I wasn't anybody. Quite a few players in Dallas got
cues from him. The same with G.S, I got like 10 from him. Once 3 at a
time. I talked to Gus about once or twice a month and got to be kind
friends on the phone. I got some really cool cues from him, the ebony
cue with ivory boxes, ivory sleeve with ebony boxes was the coolest
one. I also got the last cue Balabushka mailed before he died, it is in
the Glen collection, not sure abut the Gus box cue deano would know.
The only reason I can think of that I never had any problem getting
cues from them was I started dealing with them pretty early in their
cue making years and they knew I was a cue sucker.
jack
Free SJD
 
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