'Destination' Boar's Nest bar to celebrate 10 years

Down at Joe's place, it's still the old way

Pickled eggs in a jar and a Blue Ribbon sign

Ol' boys and bankers sitting side by side

Down at Joe's place, down at Joe's place

Joe Smith's wife and daughter didn't believe him when he told them on a cold January day in 2004 he was opening a bar in his pig-barn-turned-card-playing hangout south of Scott City, but the next day a vendor pulled into the Smiths' driveway with a pool table in tow.

While the business is licensed as Joe's Place, it is known as the Boar's Nest by all who frequent the establishment, which pulls in a crowd on weekends but is open 365 days a year -- never closing for holidays or bad weather.

"People will come out in mud and blizzards and ice storms. People drive their four-wheel drives, four wheelers and tractors in order to get to the bar," said Smith's daughter, Tammy Mouser, who built a home next to her parents'. "During the blizzard when power was lost, Dad got two generators and hooked up the bar, and even during the three days the bar was without power before getting the generators, the bar was still open and customers still came," she said.

Smith died in 2011, and his wife, Joyce -- whom he told everyone was a "500-pound mean old lady," but who is actually sweet and petite -- and his daughter continue his legacy. The bar has boards covering the concrete trench once used to carry out manure and began as just a place for him and his friends to play cards and shoot the breeze.

When the bar opened in January 2004, there was no cash register. It offered only pickled eggs made by Joyce for snacks, beer and a pool table. As time went on, a bowling machine, jukebox, bar, tables, bathrooms, televisions and more were added, including a cash register Joyce bought. Joe Smith never liked using it. He didn't like being behind the bar working at all; he wanted to be sitting, visiting with his friends.

"I was one of the first bartenders to join the team and was a senior in college at the time," said Suzi Clover of Benton, Missouri. "It was a rainy Tuesday; me and a couple friends decided to go check out the new bar. Joe was there, we visited, and he asked me if I wanted to come to work for him. And I did just that, and it was 10 years ago at the grand opening of the Boar's Nest that I met my husband."

Along about midnight, a few hangers on

Are still hanging out at the bar

If the telephone rings, it's an understood thing

Joe don't know where they are

Smith always said the song "Joe's Place," sung by Joe Nichols, was written about his bar. It's on the jukebox right alongside "Hello Darlin'," and you can bet if those songs were played -- and not on a digital jukebox, either -- Smith was finding a pretty girl to dance with.

There has never been a phone at the establishment. Joyce Smith said if people needed to know whether a certain person was there, they needed to drive down and see for themselves.

If patrons need to use their cellphones, it's not as easy as just making a call, Mouser said. Even to acquire a cellphone signal, the phone must be kept on the windowsill while in the building and the service is sketchy at best. For somewhat better service, one can walk up to the pond levee and find that certain spot ... if you hold your leg up just right and hold your breath, she said.

Joe Smith never had a cellphone, but before he died, a Facebook account was created for the bar, and he was always asking, "How many friends do I have?"

There's a jukebox that's full of records

By Willie, Haggard and Jones

There's a picture of Elvis and ol' John Wayne

Hanging side by side on the wall

These same pictures can be seen at the Boar's Nest and were hanging there before the song was released. The atmosphere is casual, according to Clover, "a come-as-you-are kind of bar."

She said people come for many reasons; some to play cards, some to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play on television -- Joe Smith was a fan -- and some come to the bar just to get out of the house.

"I think the majority of people come because it is a place full of family and friends," Clover said.

And while the bar has regulars, there always seem to be new visitors stumbling across the Boar's Nest.

"The Boar's Nest is particularly popular with the winery customers," Clover said. "On any given Saturday or Sunday afternoon, there will be a busload of visitors from the winery stop by."

Mouser said if a stranger comes in, they aren't a stranger by the time they leave.

"By the time they leave, we know who they are, where they are from and if they are related to anyone from Scott City," she said.

Mouser and her sons hold fond memories of spending time with her father at the bar. Her sons often would go there after school to visit with their grandpa, have an afternoon snack and drink a soda.

"It's just a down-home family atmosphere; my kids are there every day and other people bring their kids," she said. "My middle son learned how to play pool there, and Dad never let anyone take it easy on him if they played."

Not much has changed since Smith died. Many will agree his absence has left a void.

"He aggravated everyone when they came into the bar, yet made them feel so welcome. I miss that a lot," Clover said.

The bar now has a phone line, but only for ATM use. Pictures of Smith adorn the wall, and much to the ladies' delight, the bathrooms have been remodeled -- one of the first moves made by Joyce.

Mouser said they have great bartenders -- Smith called them his helpers -- that help keep the business alive.

"It's not just a bar; it's a destination," Mouser said.

A celebration of its 10-year anniversary will be Saturday. The bar will open at 11 a.m., as it does every other day of the year, with a washer tournament beginning at 1 p.m.

"It never really starts at one, but we say one," said Mouser.

At 2 p.m. a Texas Hold 'em tournament will take place, as it does every Saturday. A silent auction will be from 2 to 6 p.m., benefiting the Scott City Women's Club and its Christmas for the Elderly and Children project. Fried fish will be ready at 4:30 p.m., but when it's gone, it's gone. From 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., the band The Intentions will play, which requires a $5 cover charge. A designated driver service will be available from 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

skluesner@semissourian.com

388-3648