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STEELE'S SHIP BAR
Thomas Stretch
In 1939, H. Roy Steele traveled to the Somers Point, N.J., looking for a new investment opportunity.
At the time Somers Point was a sleepy little town that you passed through to get to Ocean City. Roy found
what he was looking for at 943 Bay Avenue, an old tavern named "Stretch Inn".
The tavern had been owned and operated by Thomas Stretch. Since he had passed away his widow, Bertha, had decided to sell the Inn. Steele
and Bertha Stretch entered into an agreement to lease the inn for $40.00 a month for three
years. The inn was described in the lease as a Tap Room and Cafe, which was a very
accurate description. It suited Steele perfectly. Above the bar was an apartment with five
bedrooms, one bathroom, dining room, living room and kitchen. The inn had one large
room with a huge bar in the shape of a ship. Behind this room was a kitchen and storage
area. Steele asked his Son in law, Elmer Blake, to come to the shore and help him manage
the tavern on Bay Avenue now known as Steele's Inn. So Elmer and his wife Edna and their
daughter Jean moved in above the bar with their parents. Not long after this Steele's
younger son and his wife also made the apartment of Steele's Ship Bar home.
All those people and one bathroom, remarkable.
In these early years the bar was run like any other local tavern. Draft beer, mixed
drinks and a kitchen that served up sandwiches, fries and great cole slaw.
Edna Blake helped by serving food to the patrons. She liked to tell the story about two customers
who came in and spoke with very heavy German accents and she was convinced they were
spies that had been landed by submarine. Who knows--stranger things have happened.
In 1945, Steele became very ill and was hospitalized much of the time. He died in
1946 and left the bar that he had purchased to his wife Georgina. Georgina continued to
live with her family above the bar. Elmer and Edna Blake ran Steele's until the winter of
1965.
Much has been written of the Point in the 1960's. The rock and roll bars, the great
music and the endless summer party. Steele's shared some of that, but it's real era was the
decade before--the fifties. The post-war fifties was a gracious time when people wanted to
forget the horror of World War II and the Great Depression. It was like the whole
country could breathe a sigh of relief. The economy was booming and so were families.
It was a time that was right for music, dancing and partying till dawn.
The Ship Bar was quite plain on the outside. The only unique characteristics were the front door that was
wooden with a porthole window and the other windows which were all port holes. Inside there
was the main ship bar complete with bandstand in the center. Surrounding the main bar
were four smaller bars. These were in the shape of docks which completed the nautical
theme. The walls behind these bars were painted to resemble harbor scenes.
They had all been created by Elmer's friend Charlie Shane. In the later years, the front door was
replaced with a double glass front door. A side addition to the original
structure added three more side bars, bringing the total number of bars to seven.
Over the years many bands played in the bar. The first memorable one was Dave Apple and the Applejacks.
Bill Haley and his Comets were there. A group called Dicky Doo and the Don'ts, Pete Carrol and the Carrol Brothers and in the later
years Mike Pedicin became the regular attraction. These bands never took their audiences
for granted. They knew there was too much competition next door and across the street.
Customers could be lost very easily if the band wasn't catering to what they wanted to
hear.
The band members constantly came up with new ideas and gimmicks to keep the
entertainment new. Mike Pedicin's band had an excellent drummer. He would do a drum
solo with his hands in white gloves and blue lights shining on him. The house lights were
turned down and the only thing you could see were the hands flying. The only sound was
a magnificent drum solo. New acts and performers were always joining the regulars on
stage. The bands, however, were not the only attractions at Steele's.
There were the regular bartenders that people came to count on for entertainment as well. Mac
MacNamara was there season after season. It was said that Mac once played with the
Boston Pops and wrote MacNamara's Band. Somehow he got sand in his shoes and made
his home at the Jersey shore. He would share his gift on the violin with the whatever band
happened to be appearing. Patrons who were not regulars were always surprised when
their bartender suddenly joined the band and played his wonderful songs. There was also
the group known as the Cherry Sisters. This group would consist of a group of younger
bartenders dressed as women in feed sacks, straw hats and scarves. They would also
become part of the floor show. Jim Ross was usually the lead singer of the Cherry Sisters.
In addition to the regular bartenders, each year a group of college kids would earn next
year's tuition tending bar for the summer at Steele's. This was the group that usually
attracted the younger female college students each summer.
Although the Ship Bar was named a bar, it was really a night club. It usually
opened around noon. By day, fisherman would come in for a couple of drafts.
If it was a rainy day, you might get some of the beach refugees. During the dinner hour the bar was
very quiet. The music would start at nine and Elmer would be there, in his white dinner
jacket, to great his guest. Those were the days when people still dressed to go out for an
evening. Ladies dressed to the nines, men in their summer suits. There were three distinct
groups of customers. The first were natives of the area who would cap off a day of fishing
or golfing with an evening at Steele's. The second were the Ocean City summer visitors
that had finally worn the children out on beach and boardwalk and now where looking for
some great entertainment. The last group were the college students out on the town
looking for summer romance. They would all come to Steele's. Elmer used to joke that it
was only a good house if those that fainted had to remain standing up because there was
no room to fall.
Elmer was also part of the fun at Steele's. He always had a gimmick.
He would dress up as a trapeze artist in long johns and boxer shorts and do a skit with the band.
He'd walk into the bar on a busy evening with a ladder, paint cans, overalls and at least
one tooth blacked out and just start painting. Everyone including the band would wonder
where this strange man had come from and what he was doing painting the wall in the
middle of a busy evening until they realized it was just another of Elmer's gags.
He advertised a special appearance of Liberace and had a look-alike show up. He'd get on
stage with the band and lip-sync with the lead singer. Most of all he would entertain
people with great stories. He was a great joke and story teller that genuinely enjoyed
people.
In the early days, one band playing was usually sufficient to keep the crowd for the
evening. As time wore on and Tony Mart's and Bay Shores began to compete for the
same customers, the music would have to be constant or you could loose your entire
crowd during a break. So when one band would go on break another would pick up the
music and no one would notice the difference. The job of the entertainers didn't stop at
break time. Most of their breaks were spent chatting with the various groups of regular
customers. Everyone wanted to be friends with the band and owner and be able to say
they knew so and so personally.
What did Bay Avenue look like back then? It was very different from today. If you were coming around the circle the first street that took you down to the bay was Goll
Avenue. At the corner of Goll and Shore Road there was a billboard for Steele's.
When it was put up, Mike Pedicin was playing at Steele's. His lead guitarist was Sammy.
Sammy not only played guitar, he also charmed the audience with "risqué ditties" and so earned
the name of "Sexy Sam". The billboard originally advertised Mike Pedicin featuring "Sexy
Sam". Since this was the fifties, the sexy had to go. So for billboard purposes "Sexy
Sam" became "Suburban Sam". As you turned onto Goll Ave, you would pass the old
brick trolley station on your left and at the bottom on the hill on your right was the
Gateway. For a few glorious summers it was the Gateway Theater. A summer stock
theater that had marvelous shows. When it was open they would use search lights to
attract people. If you followed along the Bay front the next structure was a little pier
and in the summer it magically became "Ray White's Ski School" complete with ski jump
for the braver set. Bay Shores occupied the lot next to the Ski School. Next to Bay
Shores was a beautiful old seashore home that was called the "Customs House".
In summer The Customs House had the only front lawn on the corner. Unfortunately, this
home was subsequently torn down and replaced by a miniature golf course and penny
arcade. Completing the corner was "Dick's Dock" featuring smelly bait and leaky boats.
Tony Mart's and Steele's Ship Bar were located across the street from Bay
Shore's, The Custom House and Dick's Dock. This was the corner.
In one day you could fish, crab, water ski, see a Broadway show and dance, drink and hear great entertainment till the wee
small hours. (2:00 am for music, 3:00 am for drinks.)
 Tony Mart's was right next door to Steele's with only a narrow alley in between.
The alley was large enough for a dolly with a keg on it and that's about it. The owner
was Anthony Marotta. Although Marotta and Blake were direct competitors they also had
a great deal of respect for each other. In the early days Tony Mart's employed a band
called Len Carey and the Kracker Jacks. They were quite an act. The lead played
saxophone and was also a contortionists of sorts. He would play that horn from almost
any position; it was amazing. As part of the advertising for this band, Tony Mart's would
give away boxes of Cracker Jacks. Weekends in the summer on Bay Ave. were the best.
Each of the bars had what they referred to as a jam session or matinee. From 3:00 to 6:00
the bands would play and people would come in casual clothes to party. Rain drums were
beaten on weekend afternoons to get the Shoobies off the beach. The clubs would shake
with the sounds of "Someone's in the Kitchen with DinaHHHHHHHHH" "Alabama Jubilee" and endless cheers as a new keg was tapped.
After the matinees, customers would go back to their rental houses, clean up, have a little dinner at Mac's, Daniels, or the
Bala Inn and be back in time for the bands to start again at nine.
The Summer season usually started on Easter Weekend. Many visitors and locals
would join the Easter Parade in either Ocean City or Atlantic City and then spend their
afternoon on Bay Ave. It was always fun to see the ladies in their new Easter suits,
bonnets and corsages. Usually by the end of the day the suits were wrinkled, the flowers
wilted and the hats slightly askew but a good time was had by all. Most of the places
including Steele's were open on weekends from Easter to Memorial Day. Memorial Day
weekend became the official start of summer and seven nights a week of rock and roll.
Labor Day meant the end of summer. The corner would go from noisy, crowded, brightly
lit to a ghost town the next day. The bands would play their last song and say good-bye
for the winter. The cars would leave the parking lot for the last time and finally the band
members would have all their equipment packed up in their cars and leave. Summer was
over and the party at the corner ended for another season.
Thank you to Elizabeth Blake Houck.
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