I was cut off - guess I reached the limit for comment words - - - oh well, I was getting near the end anyway. Bob, Gloria and I had a good run until I was transferred to my company's Washington, D.C. office in 1970. Bob Steger became part owner of the Gourd with Tom Thorpe in the early 1970's; they split a couple of years later - Tom kept the Gourd, and Bob proceeded to build The Holy City Zoo (which started with music, but when Bob lost his hearing suddenly, evolved into the earliest and best comedy clubs in The City.

Bob's story is tragic, but there isn't enough room to tell it, sadly. To wrap this up: the Gourd years of th 1960's are a wonderful and treasured memory that will be with me until . . . . .Last comment: I have the sign "Drinking Gourd" in stained glass that I think hung behind the bar- it's in my garage, and if someone creates a Gourd memorial, I would happily donate this artifact from those happy years (along with Barbara Stagers chalk banjo player. Finally: delighted to read the posts from Barbara Steger(are you in touch with your brother Mark?); Pete Brandelius; Joanne Spence! - and I enjoyed all the other posts from people I don't know, but may have met along the way. Heartfelt Best Wishes!

Special thanks to Deckman for starting this thread over a decade ago.

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Spaces added for readability. We'll make sure that Bob (Deckman) knows that this is here. Thanks! ---mudelf