End of an era

A friend of mine emailed me a story link yesterday that made me feel both nostalgic and very sad. A Halifax icon, the North End Pub, otherwise known as "Joe Comeau's" was destroyed yesterday in a fire. Thankfully, no one was injured.

Fire guts popular pub
North End Diner and Beverage Room goes up in flames

JENNIFER TAPLIN
The Daily News

HALIFAX - It looked like the aftermath of a war zone.

Debris fell, a pile of timbers and a crooked power pole burned in the street, and a loud bang startled a crowd of hundreds of onlookers. Firefighters battled not only an out-of-control blaze, but also a -25 C wind chill. It froze their equipment. It even froze the water they pumped, creating an ice hazard.

The North End Diner and Beverage Room went out in a flourish of flames yesterday, creating a spectacle that kept people watching for almost two hours in sub-freezing weather.

I looked around the net for a history of the pub, but couldn't find anything. I know it goes back to before World War II.

The pub was located on Gottingen Street, across the street from Stadacona.

I've a lot of good memories of that place, a few not fit for publishing here!

Great times spent at Joe's as a young Signalman on my TQ5 course. Nothing like a few pitchers of draft and a bunch of glasses to practice your Fleet Maneuvering! Formation Foxtrot's were especially dangerous to accomplish - too much spillage.

No more sliders at Joe's.

Update: just another quick memory. General John Cabot Trail of the Cape Breton Liberation Army and his regular bits from Joe's - Priceless!