Postcard from Plush Mills: In the Pub
Pub bartender Tony always dresses for the occasion. Photo: Ken Wright
Isn’t it interesting how some folks seem to make things run so smoothly? Here at Plush Mills, we have the good luck to have a bartender in the Pub — located right next to the dining room — who makes everyone feel welcome. Tony is your perfect “Sit down and let me take your cares away” kind of bartender. He knows just how to smile and touch your shoulder. When he introduces new residents to established ones, they often make friends.
Tony’s been a bartender since he left the Air Force, almost 50 years ago. He has a great smile, and nobody believes he is over 80. He barely looks 60. He always dresses for the occasion. If it’s Valentine’s Day, he is in pink. St. Paddy’s Day finds him in green with shamrocks on his bowler.
The Pub is one of the nicest places in Plush Mills. When PM opened 12 years ago, the wine was lousy, but now it’s drinkable. They have a nice cab and a decent chardonnay. They serve Yuengling lager and Miller Lite, as well as non-alcoholic drinks. Tony will even make you a cherry Coke with real maraschino cherry juice. All for free.
Lots of folks here are on meds that don’t mix with alcohol, but they can still enjoy the Pub. With five little lights hanging over the bar, it’s welcoming: not too bright, but not dark and dismal either. One thing that is a problem is some of the tables. Two of the five tables in there are so tall, only a few of the residents can even get up on the chairs. Really, they should be replaced before somebody falls and hurts themselves.
A Plush Mills resident savors his nightly martini. Photo: Ken Wright
Besides the free stuff, Tony will keep whatever you bring in a cubby for your use. If you want a mixed drink, he will make it. With an older group like this, he mixes a lot of old fashioneds and Manhattans, or a classic Beefeater gin martini, stirred not shaken. I keep some good wine for when my wine buddies come to visit. Raspberry rum for summer, Laphroaig single malt for sipping in the winter. If it’s good enough for the royal family, it is good enough for me.
One of our older residents comes in every night and has his special martini. Just one. Every night. He sits and savors that drink and talks to Tony. Tony is a big part of his day.
Believe it or not, people fall in love in the Pub. They are not planning to. They have all been married before and think romance is over. But then Tony might introduce a woman to some guy. He’s not anything like her late husband. They start to flirt. Nothing serious. Until it is.
Tony makes sure they sit together.
Every night, a small group of women wait in the lobby for Tony to come open the Pub at 3:00 p.m. From 3:00 until 6:00, when they go in for dinner, they sit and enjoy whatever is on TV and watch the comings and goings. Every day.
I asked, “Hey, Tony — what do they talk about so long?”
“Nothing special,” he said.
No gossip from Tony. What happens in Plush Mills, stays in Plush Mills.
Ken Wright has lived in four different houses in Swarthmore. He currently resides just over the town line at Plush Mills.
