By Juan Montoya
Praxedis Garcia was fresh out of the U. S. Navy when he enrolled in Texas Southmost College on the G.I. Bill back in the 1970s.
(Well, not everyone can be a Marine, you know.)
As was usually the case back then, TSC college vets would usually hang at the Barrel House downtown to knock over a few cold ones after class. That's when Garcia got acquainted with Johnny Quiroz, who was managing the Barrel House.
After a while, Quiroz moved over to the Palm Lounge, and his faithful fans moved over with him, Garcia included.
"Johnny wasn't the outgoing type," recalls Garcia. "He was serviceable, but not overly friendly. He was kind of picky, you know."
Quiroz made the Barrel House, and then the Palm, famous for his burgers, which he cooked on the large hot aluminum griddle behind the bar. Customers would see him use only high-grade hamburger meat and watch it sizzle as the odor of the frying meat wafted over the entire bar.
And once in a while – not often – Johnny would go up to a customer and hand him a wooden nickel. The adage of not taking wooden nickels still rings in some circles of that generation. But in the case of Johnny's wooden nickles, they could be redeemed for a mug of draft beer.
"I got one one time and put it in my pocket," recalled Garcia recently. "Then he gave me another one and I kept it. And then he gave me a third one and I kept that one, too. To me it was an honor. He just didn't give them to just anybody."
Decades later, after the Palm Lounge went through several owners which include Johnny's wife Queta, some of his fellow workers like Beto, El Toque, and then Sammy, and others, it was acquired and remodeled by Edwin Hernandez and wife Tere, Garcia recently came across the wooden nickles and decided they needed to go back home.
Garcia hopes Hernandez will be able to figure a way to encase them and exhibit them there for old time customers to reminisce and new ones to marvel at the quaint custom of days gone by.
(After giving up the Palm, Queta went on to establish the popular El Torito restaurant on the frontage road across the expressway from the El Globo grocery store.)
Of the three wooden coins, Garcia's wife – someone has to be prudent – kept one as a keepsake and allowed him to take the other two.
"I gave them to Edwin so he could display this bit of history in his historic lounge," Garcia said. "This is a piece of history dating back a lot of years. If you are from Brownsville and ever went to the Palm, you will remember them. This is where they belong. Besides, I don't think that Edwin would let me cash them in for a beer."
27 comments:
If the gringo museum takes them they will be stored some where in the back closet - NO MESKIN HISTORY IN THAT PLACE they only take tax money from meskins. MAMONES
Interesting....now they should produce them again....for profit.
Best burgers in Brownsville
In the early 60's I worked in a shoe store in downtown Brownsville and all of the employees would order hamburgers from the Barrel House on saturdays. They were 75 cents each and were made by Johnny Quiroz and the owner Paul Dornfeld. I would go pick them up and the place was always packed with merchants, shoppers & locals. No women were allowed. When I turned 21 I ordered a beer mug (or shell as they were called then)and a hamburger for $1.05. to celebrate. When the Barrel House moved to become the Palm Lounge the hamburgers tasted the same as before. This hamburger and Rutledge's hamburger were my all time favorites. If anybody out there knows of any good tasting hamburgers like these two, let us know. Great article Juan.
Juan, El Blimp sigue con su unique spelling.
"Gallop Polling has shown the people"
It's GALLUP, pendejo!!!!!
Tito is my idol!
"The Unidentified Flying Objects have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet,"
El senile wantabe president will probably start raising taxes and El pinche half coco mutt retard will be paying his taxes with wooden nickles! Hahahahaha!
December 8, 2020 at 10:59 PM
I D I O T A !
That looks more like an Indian penny the nickel had an Indian head and a buffalo on the other side.
“It is necessary sometimes to take one step backward to take two steps forward.” Vladimir Lenin
Anyone who wants wooden Nickels should get hired by Brownsville PD where Chief Felix "EL CHAPO" SAUCEDA has teamed up with Brownsville Police Officer's Association President to screw the Officers of BPD overand pay them with wooden nickels!
#worstchiefever!!!
Simple informative article on the Palm Lounge wooden nickels and some of the comments are way out in left field. Get a life and stop being so freakin' angry. Pobres sonsos!
In the early days, hamburgers tasted like hamburgers and they were something special that few of us could afford. The best hamburgers were made by our
mothers at home and even though we did not use hamburger buns, we substituted with Holsum bread slices that tasted just as good.
I also enjoyed the special flavor of the 19 cent hamburgers at the Glass Kitchen at 4th and Elizabeth, where we would sit outside and put nickels into
the juke box and spent times with our friends. The broil-a-burgers were specially made and on sale every Friday night. That is why we could afford to have one after a football game de los Eagles.
Glass Kitchen? I don't remember that one? any pics?
there are comedians every where and they make life a little better and comedy can change how we think and even how we act.
Comedians here do not charge for the entertainment they provide so YOU be happy!!!! PENDEJO
Does anybody remember the Oasis Drive Inn on boca chica blvd, where Country Casuals is now located? They had curb service, great burgers with shoe string potatoes and great hot chocalate.
Yes, the Oasis' hamburgers were humongous = Texas Burgers. It was a popular
hang-out around 3 AM when cars circles the area to pick up one of the carhops and get their free hamburgers! But the jukebox also had great music.
Glass Kitchen was located right behind the old police station at Washington and 4th. Charro Days has taken over the place now. It was a white building with red trimming and a carport cover with a juke box. It was owned by
David Leal. He opened up the 2nd one at Dan and International later on. Those Friday specials were for real specials. What about Zestos on Palm Blvd and Dairy Burger on West Elizabeth. Eagle Pharmacy and Den Russ pharmacy also sold good ones but those were for the high-fulluting population. Rutledge was for the barrio people.
So you mean the barrio people ate better? Zesto by the tracks had the most expensive juke box one dime one song. Juke box selection on the walls at that restaurant next to the majestic (forgot the name)? And the midnight shows at the majestic with a gorilla on stage and climbing up the outside sign..
There was another drive inn close to 4 corners forgot the name and of course the vermillion with that nice lady that would put all the trays and sometimes count the change on top of your car hood...coooool
No, the barrio people did not eat better but we valued what we did have to eat and our parents were never on welfare. Huevo con papas, papas con huevo, y huevos a papas! We didn't even know what pizza was but we had our own Mexican pizza - tortillas de harina con mantequilla y bien que nos las comillanos.
We never had throw away food. We ate at Rutledge cause they were one nickle.
Value over taste aaaaaaa I don't think so, mama's cooking was the best in the world todo esta SABROSO and its papas a huevo...
No wonder there were no ducks nobody threw food away.
December 14, 2020 at 4:13 PM
Right.
The drive in at four corners was Davico's and the lady at Vermillion was named Ruby. Best fried chicken plate we share since it had 4 pieces.
I was a shoeshine boy and newspaper boy back in the late 50's and vividly recall the California Cafe, El Tropico, White's Cafeteria, Higgie's, the A-1 Cafe (nickel flour tortillas and nickel coffee), and of course, The Texas Cafe. The Sunday newspaper would go out at Saturday midnight and we'd run around most of the early morning selling papers. I'd go check in my money with Pa'le and get my few nickels of profit and end up at the Texas Cafe at around 5:00 AM for coffee and a biscuit. Imagine 9-10 year old kids doing that now? Tough days but, still "the good old days". The flour tortillas at the Bus Station counter on 13th and Adams were also very good!
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