VIGNETTE > Local Pubs

In the 1940s, Ray Miller, an operating engineer who drove bulldozers, backhoes, and frontend loaders, lived with his wife and kids on East Blithedale.  On the way home from work he would have a beer with the guys at a bar at #8 Locust near Miller — Brother’s Tavern, known as “The Brothers”. In 1947 Ray bought a house in Homestead Valley.  His buddies at The Brothers suggested that he was no longer welcome there. He should go to the 2AM Club on the other side of the tracks. Ray complied and soon got to know a new group of regulars at the 2AM Club. Before the war, Ray had played semi-pro baseball in Texas. The 2AM Club could now plan on consistently beating The Brothers baseball team.  In 1957, Ray retired and moved to Sonoma. Many years later he would tell stories about the bizarre goings on at the 2AM Club. One example: raucous camaraderie at the bar would turn into complete silence, whenever three or four “suits” having gotten off the Greyhound bus from the city would come in, sit at a table and order martinis.