March 17, 2021 - Pensacola
Pensacola brings back a lot of memories. After graduating in May 1981 from the prison-like, regimented life that was the Naval Academy, I arrived a month later in the laid-back, sleepy southern town of Pensacola. After what I had been through, the next three or four months until I checked into VP-10 was like being on a continuous vacation. I had the time, but alas, being only an Ensign, did not have the money. Still, life was good in those days. We were all young, and our whole life was ahead of us to be explored.
The first thing I did was six weeks of Aviation Indoctrination, or AI. It was purely groundschool where we learned about aerodynamics, engines and other aviation-related stuff. It wasn't too hard. I didn't start the training squadron VT-10 for a couple of months after AI so I had a lot of time on my hands. I played golf, went to the beach, drank beer.
We drove through the town of Pensacola, and it seemed run-down to me. We looked for the Spanish Bluffs apartment where I lived for six months and also the apartment where Lynnette and I lived briefly right outside the main gate but both were long gone. Other than the Seville Quarter restaurant/bar complex, there was almost nothing in the town that I remembered.
But the Naval Air Station had hardly changed at all. The Mustin Beach Officers Club, A.C. Read Golf Course, flight line hangars -- all were still there. The commissary was gone -- moved outside the base. The platoons of Aviation Cadets, in their silver helmets -- like the movie Officer and a Gentlemen -- no longer marched around. I recognized the name of the Admiral in charge on a sign; he had been a junior officer in VP-45 when I was a department head!
And here is the building where it all began -- where I went through the six weeks of Aviation Indoctrination.
We cruised through downtown mainstream which is S. Palafox Street.
One of the establishments here back in 1981 was Trader Jon's, a famous aviator bar and hangout, decorated with photos and memorabilia. I only went there once, for some reason. The bar was widely known for the eccentricities of its owner. Martin "Trader Jon" Weissman did not set prices for drinks; rather, they varied depending on his mood and how well he knew the customer. This practice was often referred to as "Tradernomics." He was known for wearing mismatched socks and offered a reward to any patron who caught him in a matching pair. He also exchanged drinks for bits of Navy memorabilia, which led to the bar's signature collection and helped reinforce his "Trader" moniker. Trader Jon's closed in 1998, a year after Weissman suffered a debilitating stroke that kept him from work; he died on February 18, 2000.
Continuing south down S. Palafox Street we came to the end of the pier, which has been turned into a nice area with statues and placards about Pensacola's history.
The Spanish expeditions of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539 both visited Pensacola Bay.
In 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano -- pictured in the below statue -- landed with some 1,500 people on 11 ships from Veracruz, Mexico. The expedition was to establish an outpost, ultimately called Santa María de Ochuse by Luna, as a base for Spanish efforts to colonize Santa Elena (present-day Parris Island, South Carolina.) But the colony was decimated by a hurricane on September 19, 1559, which killed an unknown number of sailors and colonists, sank six ships, grounded a seventh, and ruined supplies. The colony was abandoned and settlement was not reattempted until 1698 by the French.
I was surprised to learn the colonization of Pensacola predated Jamestown by 50 years and St. Augustine by six years. But it was unsuccessful which is probably why you don't hear about it.
From their web page: "McGuire’s Irish Pub first opened in 1977 as a small neighborhood pub in a shopping center. In 1982 McGuire’s moved to its current location; Pensacola’s original 1927 Old Firehouse. Inside the pub you’ll find a turn-of-the-century, New York Irish Saloon themed 615-seat restaurant. We are celebrated for our atmosphere boasting more than One Million signed dollar bills hanging from the ceilings and walls of the Pub."
Not sure why we didn't eat dinner here; I wish we had.
