Ocean City's Riverboat Club - The Early Days

FORMATION OF THE RIVERBOAT CLUB 

By Jack Dean

The Lincoln Hotel - 9th Street Ocean City - Early Home of the Riverboat Club 

Over the years, I have been asked on numerous occasions to write a history of the Riverboat Club. As one of the surviving founders and the last of the original Trustees, I feel that the time has come for me to take pen in hand and record some of the things that probably only I can remember – So here goes.

Back in the late nineteen fifties, a group of local businessmen would meet every day, Monday through Friday, at Morrison’s Restaurant on 8^th Street for lunch. The exception as on Wednesday, when 95% of the group went to Kiwanis luncheon. For the want of a group name, we chose the name “Sunshine Club.” There could be many stories told as to why we chose this name but the truth was because we met during the day when the sun was out.

The “Spark Plugs” for getting the group together every day were Bill Anderson, Bob Druck, Henry Roeser, Herm Selvagn and Jack Dean. Most of the affairs, lunches, trips and etc. were put together by this group. Much to our surprise and pleasure, Irma Morrison, the owner of the restaurant, made chair back covers with our names on them and closed the side dining room to other customers at the lunch hour. This made us feel very exclusive and envied by many to the point that they wanted to join our lunch group.

As I stated, this group met Monday through Friday and only two of the group Bob Druck and Jack Dean, had to work on Saturdays so we went from restaurant to restaurant on Saturday by ourselves.

One day, Bob Druck said “You know Jack, both you and I like to cook o why do’t we take truns cooking on Saturdays in the apartment over my garage;” because we both considered ourselves “Gourmet Chefs”, we took up the challenge. One by one the other guys found out about our Saturday feast (we always blamed Herm Salvagn) and invited themselves. It got to the point where we had 15 to 20 people every Saturday. Bob and I decided that we didn’t not like cooking that much, so we started eating at different restaurants in the city, at the Point and in Atlantic City.

One day when Bill, Bob and I were over at Ev Copes, the conversation came up about forming a Saturday Social Club (that was in the early nineteen sixties). Bob told us that his apartment was rented and that we would have find other quarters. Ev Cope suggested that he had a couple of his rooms that he was going to convert into a club room for his Lincoln Hotel guests but that he decided against it and would make them available to us for a small rental fee.

After inspecting the rooms and recognizing the potential, we agreed to rent the rooms for our new venture.

Our next problem was a name for the new club and believe me, there were many names suggested and all turned down because we had to keep the name respectable for the tone of Ocean City – after all, we were talking about a social club that would have booze on the premises.

Ev had many pictures of riverboats and statues that were conducive to the atmosphere of New Orleans and somebody, I believe it was Bill Anderson suggested the name Riverboat Club, certainly a name be-fitting a social club plus we could take advantage of Ev’s pictures for decorations of the rooms that we were going to rent. Again, we all agreed but now the work was to begin because we had just given birth to the “Riverboat Club”.

Bill and Bob said that they would furnish the money, Ev said he would furnish the rooms an I agreed to do all the work. Our next task was to decide who we wanted as members. We wanted to keep this a clique of men that like and enjoyed fun and fellowship. We decided on twenty five men, including ourselves, and closed the membership.

The twenty five men elected Bill Anderson, Bob Druck and Jack Dean as the Trustees to run the club. It became the responsibility of Ev, Cope and Jack Dean to put together the By-Laws and get our attorney to incorporate our new club. One night, over a bottle of Scotch, Ev and I copied the By-Laws, with a few changes, from an old club corporation that Ev had belonged to years ago.

The Trustees next assignment was to pick a Commodore, Yoeman and Purser – that’s real nautical talk, but to you land-lubbers, that means President, Secretary and Treasurer, after all, with a name like Riverboat, we had to act the part. We decided Herm Selvagn as Commodore, mainly because he was always talking when someone else was speaking so se decided that he might as well do the talking. Scott Willis was picked as the Purser/Yoema, after all, he sat around all day at the Housing Authority doing nothing, and he had a secretary. I might add, both lived up to our expectations.

Finally, Jack Dean was named Steward and Chairman of the House Committee. This meant I could officially do all the work.

Every Saturday for several years, we had 20 to 30 people for lunch. 5 did all the cooking (with the help of Marie) and the small fee the members paid for lunch and refreshments, went into the treasury and believe it or not after a few years we had $10,000 in the treasury.

This amount of money came in real handy a few years later when we decided to buy a club house. I should mention, that once in awhile some of the members wanted to try their hand at cooking and they did a great job – food was good and the mess they left in the galley was equally a great job. Also, we had some real fun parties several times throughout the year – every holiday and particularly everyone’s birthday or any other excuse that we could think of.

We finally, through persuasion of the members, raised the membership to 50  then 75 then 100 and even higher, there were a lot of local residents that wanted to belong to a social club; as a matter of fact, we had a large waiting list. This meant that the club rooms were bursting at the seams so Ev Cope rented us two more rooms that were adjoining and this extra space allowed for more fellowship. After a couple of years, we tok into membership, a stately gentleman named Wilber Hopkins; Wilber was a refined individual of impeccable reputation and we felt that because we were a bottle club in “Dry Ocean City”, the constabularly would never arresta a good old fellow like Wilber, so we made him the Commodore – a position that he was returned to for many years – it earned him the distinction of being named “Commodore Emeritus”. This turned out to be a good appointment for the club because in his retirement status, he was at the club every day and made sure that the premises were kept ship-shape.

About this same time, we felt that Scott had loused up the records as much as possible (only kidding) “Col.” Herb Blizzard was appointed Purser and this was a good decision. Her was a meticulous “Bird Colonel” and in no time he had the records standing at attention and the rest of us on KP duty. Truly, he was a great man and a very dear friend that I miss deeply. The only position that did not change, was Steward and I kept the job for 15 years and proudly admit that I only missed on Saturday in all those years.

The cub continued to grow, prosper and enjoy the fellowship for many years. Then in 1969 Ev. Cope informed us that he had sold the Lincoln Hotel but the new owners wanted us to stay.

We knew that eventually things would change so we formed a committee to look for new quarters. We inspected many buildings and found only two that pleased us; one building was the Wheaton property on the bay. Many of us felt that we could swing it, the Wheaton house would make an ideal Riverboat Club, all the atmosphere we could ask for, so – we approached Mr. Wheaton and struck a tentative deal – we returned to the club to discuss how we could manage the purchase.

Unfortunately, at this time, my two colleagues and Trustees decided that the club should not continue with this kind of obligation so they resigned from the Board of Trustees. Frankly, I was crushed – all those years or work and fellowship going down the drain. Some very active members, El. Bretz, Clark Vernon and Herb Blizzard asked me to continue with the goals that we had established for the Riverboat Club.

As the remaining Trustee, I appointed a new Board of Trustees and as Chairman, I appointed El. Bretz to continue the search for new quarters. Needless to say, he took the bull by the horns and found our present home at 8^th and Wesley. Here again, a problem developed. Some of the board members were concerned about paying for our obligations and it came down to a tie breaking vote – I voted in favor and the birth of a new Riverboat Club.

The unselfish time devoted by El Bretz and Herb Blizzard can never be justly rewarded. El, almost single handed, arranged to have the club refurbished and Herb set all kinds of records by selling Bonds to the members to help pay for the new club.

Because I was on the road from Money to Friday, Gil Lundgren stepped forth and took over the house chores and if that was not enough, he became the club Yoeman, a very thankless job.

The club certainly owe these men a debt of gratitude. Fortunately, I could retain the Steward job (chief cook & bottle washer) and all week while I was on the road I would plan menus and hten cook them on Saturday. I am sure that many of you remember the good times that we had at my home on Bay Avenue – the Bar-B-Ques and sail-a-ways.

As they use to say on that TV show – there are a hundred stories that I could tell but there are a few – in 1976, I was transferred to California so I am sure that somebody else can fill in from then to now.

My original thought was to jot down a few memories but it turned out to be an epistle and some what of an auto-biography so lets make it one more thing – a Memorial dedicated to:

Bill Anderson, Bob Druck, Ev. Cope – without their cooperation, there would not have been a Riverboat Club ---and to: El. Bretz, Clark Vernon, Herb Blizzard, Gil Lundgren and Herb Godfrey because without their help, there would not have been a New Rivertboat Club.

P.S. – I MISS ALL OF YOU – Jack Dean.