station 4: the tattoo

 
 

scan the qr code on the post on left side of the bar then, if vacant, sit on the 1st stool

It was a beautiful summer day in 2013 when one of our servers called me over to the bar. “Look, Van!” he said while holding a man’s t-shirt sleeve up, exposing a tattoo. I looked closely and saw it said “7 Mile House.”

Silly me, I asked, “You like us THAT much?” The man said, in a nice way, “No,” chuckling.

The man, Ron Moore, began telling me that the tattoo was an homage to his father who worked as a bartender at 7 Mile house from 1967-1970. Those years were most important to him because those were the moments when he was able to learn life’s lessons and become close to his father, all while sitting at this first bar stool.

You see, when Ron was 6 and his brother, Kenneth, 7, they would walk to 7 Mile House everyday after school to be with their father. Camille, owner of 7 Mile House of 50 years until 2004, kept an eye on these boys and always gave them sarsaparilla and shirley temples as they watched their father work.

He was a hard-working man of the 60s — one who would hold down two jobs, never call in sick and donate blood for extra cash. Bartending at 7 Mile House was his 2nd job and the only place where his boys were able to spend time with him because he had to work so much.

It was at 7 Mile House where the boys and their dad got close. They learned a lot about life and built their foundations by observing how their father worked and dealt with situations. Ron said that it must have been difficult for his dad to spend time with them while working but he took this bartending job because he wanted to be a good provider.

Their father died young — throat cancer at 50 — but Ron never forgot the lessons he learned sitting at the end of the bar.

Here, hear it straight from Ron:

“My father’s most enduring words to us were: “This is what you’re going to do, and this is how you’re going to do it, and you’re going to do the best you can.” That was the attitude he gave us. To watch him at the bar — and throughout life, for that matter — was a splendid sight. Not only was he teaching — he was showing and doing. We weren’t hanging around at the bar, we were learning something every minute. I guess I got this 7 Mile tattoo because of what it symbolizes: the place, and how my father helped me get through and get what I got out of this life, I got this tattoo because I wanted to thank him for that. That’s a birthright born right here at 7 Mile.”

Now scan the QR code right next to you for Station 5: The Window.

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