Mary Ann's, I think, is named after a former waitress that inherited the place after owner,\r
George Kanovas died. We just called her Ann and she was a nice lady. George died downstairs in the bar. Not sure when. Early or mid sixties.\r
\r
Back in the 40's and 50's the place was named The Reservoir Bar and Grille, or something very close to that, and it was a lot cleaner than it seems to be now. For one thing, it had big front windows, I certainly miss them, and the bar was against the back wall straight ahead of you when you opened the door, not off to the right side which is where it was when I saw it 2 years ago.\r
\r
Someone mentioned short, or Bermuda, trousers. .. ? I recall distinctly when one sunny afternoon a 30-ish young man came in for directions. He came in and the place grew still. He walked to George at the bar. You might hear a pin drop as we waited for somebody to say something about what was a very unusual costume for men at that time and place. Politeness won the day, although it was very close. The man got his instructions and left. All I remember now was one sound, the single spoken words, ""Jesus Christ"". Then some laughter. For some years old timers would ask if you could remember ""the guy in shorts?"" There was only that one. \r
\r
Unlike now, there was barely a student in the place ever. They would have been out of place.\r
There were a lot of MTA guys and local young men. Rarely a woman and a fight only very rarely. Beers were ten cents and each 3rd beer was free! A so-called ""freebie"". George would somehow keep track of who had a freebie coming. Freebies were all over Boston back then.\r
I miss that, too\r
\r
There were tables and booths, as well as barstools, the tops of which were screwed off on\r
Sundays, so you couldn't sit there on the Lord's day, tho' you could still sit and drink at a table.\r
That was a Boston rule, too. No sitting at the bar on Sunday. \r
\r
I often went there on Sundays to avoid mass and to sit at a table with friends and then go\r
home to dinner. It was a place to meet them and beer away a slow day or night.\r
And It was the first place I came back to after my time in the Navy and before school at BU.\r
\r
Like every thing else, It's different now. But it certainly used to smell better. And did I mention\r
it? Beer, whether draft or bottled, was always in a glass. \r
\r
And Civil as it was back then, it was always known as ""The Jungle"". Always. But the place is\r
gone now as surely as the beautiful huge trees in the middle of the circle and the horse\r
trough known as ""the soup bowl"" which we would sit on in the summer. Don't know where\r
that went and I miss that too. All of that. . . . and all of THEM. Bob
more