1139 Minnesota Avenue

The members took over in July 1957. In 1959, the Minnesota Street property was purchased by Kenneth Stringfellow and B. Floyd Farr, non-alcoholics, the Club rent going in July from $135 to $150 per month until September of 1961 when it was raised to $160 per month. The rent was consistently at least a month late, going to about two months late after the $160 rate. The lease had one year to go when the Club moved to Fair Ave in 1962, so the property was sub-leased to various groups, among them the San Jose Gospel Choir.

A little over a year had passed since the Almaden St. clubhouse had burned down, and 1139 Minnesota Ave. was a far cry from the warehouse on West San Carlos that was the temporary Alano Club of San Jose. The membership grew once again, and the Club began acquiring new assets. The red couch and easy chair, recovered in vinyl after the fire, were some of the few things reminiscent of the first clubhouse above the Padre Theater. The Twelve Steps, of course, had made the same moves also, surviving the fire intact. A coffee bar was built, the clubroom was carpeted, and captain’s chairs and folding chairs were bought to provide seating for the attendees.

A small house, or shack, to the side proved a delight for the card players. The Club opened at noon, and if you weren’t there on time, you’d find a line waiting for the next opening. There was no regular closing time, at least for card players, so many a night the lights burned bright while the deal passed hands. Johnny B.’s wife, Amelia, would call, wanting to know when he would be home. Finally, one morning about 4 AM, she came in and all —- broke loose. Jim C., President of the Board, installed a timer on the lights, set it for 11 PM and that took care of that – no light, no cards.

Evelyn W. managed the Club on a voluntary basis, receiving only expenses, but the task was more demanding now, with a larger membership, and it soon became apparent that volunteer efforts were not enough. The Board thought about it for a while, then decided that a full time, paid manager was the answer. Paul S. was there and seemed to fit the description of what they wanted, so Paul became the first hired manager of the Club. He was quiet, nice, and easy going and everyone liked him. Not too neat behind the bar, but the rest of the Club was kept up in fine shape.

Inter-Group Service Council held their monthly meetings here, and Al-Anon Groups met weekly. In October, 1957, Al-A-Teen began holding their meetings every week, as well. That created a few problems, however, since they weren’t supervised all the time and things got a little out of hand now and then. More than once, President, Jim C. got a call for help and came down to get things back under control. As time passed, a new Board was elected, with Herman S., President, Al E., Vice President, Margarite P., Secretary-Treasurer, and Milt S. and Glenn G. completing the ranks. Milt and Glenn put their heads together and came up with some good ideas. Regular Bingo games and re-start the dances again. Milt was busy, so Glenn went out and found the Bingo equipment: cards for the players, a hand turned cage for the numbers, and corn and buttons to mark the ones called. Money was collected for each game at ten cents a card, three for a quarter, and the game took off. It started out in the front room, but over capacity crowds soon pushed some into the back room. Someone had to stand in the hallway to shout the numbers to those in back.

Glenn had met a man, Buzz D., at Soledad, where he carried the message, and Buzz agreed to help out with the dances. Buzz had a band and offered to play for nothing. The price was too low, so they settled on fifty dollars to play. The group wasn’t too good, but they were loud, so it worked out all right. Except for the trumpet player, there was a different set of guys that showed up each time. Dances were free, and the board soon wanted to charge money. Glenn didn’t agree, so he had a talk with Dick P., Secretary of the Saturday Night Alano Family Group. There was a schoolhouse across the street, and they told the board if money was charged, they’d hold the Saturday night meetings there. The board didn’t listen, so for a while the schoolhouse became the meeting room. That didn’t last long, and free dances came back to the Club along with the Saturday night meetings.

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