Night Clubs of Winchester: Part Three

PeeWee’s Jazz and Blues

In 1995, James F. Robinson, known to all as “PeeWee,” pur­chased a build­ing at the cor­ner of Madison Avenue and Third Street for a night club.  He worked on the build­ing for a year to get it in shape, per­form­ing much of the labor him­self.  Nicholasville artist Damian Blanton dec­o­rat­ed the inte­ri­or with music-themed murals.  Finally, PeeWee had to jump through reg­u­la­to­ry hoops to pro­cure a zone change and beer license.

PeeWee’s Jazz and Blues fea­tured some of the best African American musi­cians in the region.  Well-known per­form­ers like George Gentry, R. C. Smith, Mike Allen Trio, Sweet Rock Band, Greg Figgs Jazz Band, and many more per­formed at the club.  One of the best, Tee Dee Young, also played at PeeWee’s.  Tee Dee, blues gui­tar leg­end and Kentucky Music Hall of Fame artist, still plays in Lexington.

On nights with no band booked, dee­jays, Russell Gipson or Walter Lee Hampton played record­ed music.  In addi­tion to the main bar­tender, Larry Skinner, the club employed sev­er­al wait­ress­es.  During the day, PeeWee’s daugh­ter Tasha kept a beau­ty salon in a small room at the back of the building.

PeeWee’s place became an impor­tant part of the Labor Day cel­e­bra­tions and reunions, with the day’s fes­tiv­i­ties end­ing in a dance at the club.  PeeWee’s also host­ed Prom Night, a par­ent-chap­er­oned, all-night par­ty at the club fol­low­ing the school prom.

PeeWee Robinson kept the club going until around 2013 when he retired.  The build­ing now hous­es a Pentecostal church.

Appaloosa Night Club

In 1987 Orville Shouse Jr. opened the Appaloosa Night Club at 43 North Maple Street, where the famous Blue Grass Restaurant (site of the giant bull) had oper­at­ed in the 1960s and 70s.  (In 1967, the restau­rant adver­tised its steak din­ners for $1.55; ham­burg­ers were 35 cents.)

One of Shouse’s inno­va­tions was Teen Night.  In try­ing to pro­vide Sunday evening enter­tain­ment for teenagers when the club was closed, Shouse ran afoul of some of the city fathers.  They claimed the club was groom­ing future drinkers.  Then some­one dug up an old ordi­nance that pro­hib­it­ed danc­ing on Sundays, and that end­ed Teen Night soon after it began, in spite of protests by local teens.

While it bore the appel­la­tion, Appaloosa did not func­tion as a night club, accord­ing to my def­i­n­i­tion. They served food and alco­hol, but I could not find any men­tion of live music. By the late 1980s, the club had become a row­dy place reg­u­lar­ly men­tioned in police reports. By 1991, it had closed.

Old Silo

Lewis B. Flynn opened the Old Silo at the cor­ner of Sycamore and Cherry in 1949 near an old silo.  By the fol­low­ing year, it was just “The Silo.”  The enter­tain­ment des­ti­na­tion, styled as Flynn’s City Heights, offered a dri­ving range, fish­ing lake, restau­rant, and dance venue.  They served “steak and chick­en din­ners and beer with atmos­phere.”  Several nights a week, The Silo held dances with live music by the Blue Grass Rhythmaires, Bob Eckler and the Mel-O-Tones, Tag Vail Trio, and others. 

In 1954, Tony Noe took over man­age­ment of the club from Ernest and Bettie Wright.  In 1962 the club reopened as Pat’s Silo Club under the new man­ag­er, Pat Manis.  While still host­ing live music events, the club saw fre­quent dis­tur­bances involv­ing law enforce­ment.  The most seri­ous of these came in 1972, start­ing in February when three men were wound­ed in a shootout.  In April, Bill Manis, Pat’s hus­band, shot a for­mer Winchester deputy sher­iff.  In September, a patron was shot to death in the club.  That December, the club was gut­ted by a fire and nev­er reopened.

Dixie Inn

Hubbard Spencer’s Dixie Inn at the north­east cor­ner of Wainscott Avenue and Dixie Street began as a café serv­ing sand­wich­es, ice cream, beer, and soft drinks.  In 1936, cit­ing a long ill­ness, Spencer put the busi­ness up for rent.  When it reopened that November under Russell Wright and Wilmer Griggs, it func­tioned, for a time, as a night club.  The restau­rant and bar, open dai­ly from 6 AM till mid­night, adver­tised “danc­ing every night.”

In 1937 Dixie Inn offered live music and danc­ing only one or two nights a week.  Their first adver­tise­ments men­tioned a five-piece band or six-piece orches­tra.  That soon gave way to announce­ments for groups like Claude Hanners and his Rhythm Ramblers, Kentucky Woodchoppers, Prairie Vagabonds, and Scott’s Night Hawks.

Starting in 1945, Dixie Inn focused on food ser­vice, no longer fea­tur­ing live music.  In the 1960s they focused more on the bar busi­ness.  That decade saw many inci­dents of pub­lic intox­i­ca­tion and brawls at the inn.  They man­aged to stay in busi­ness until 1983, when the Dixie became the site of an under­cov­er oper­a­tion by the Kentucky State Police.  Twenty-three indi­vid­u­als were even­tu­al­ly con­vict­ed of crimes for sell­ing con­trolled sub­stances and unlaw­ful traf­fick­ing in food stamps.  Those arrest­ed had used food stamps to buy or sell drugs, appli­ances, hand­guns and rifles.

Thanks to James “PeeWee” Robinson for infor­ma­tion on the Jazz & Blues club.