Konrad Morgan Lehmann
Today when people think of a tavern they think of two things: drunkenness and wild sports enthusiasm. However, taverns used to be much more than that. Have you ever wondered how much taverns have affected America’s past and its people? At the beginning of Colonial America there were not many people, so meeting someone new was very hard. At the time, taverns were the main place to meet, talk, and enjoy beverages. You would have time to express all your feelings and not be judged. Although the Natives Americans and some enslaved Africans did not have “taverns” they still had locations where they would meet and talk over drink and food. Taverns were not just a place for locals of the town to meet up, but also a place for travelers to stay and relax after a long journey. Colonial taverns had a significant impact on early America. They also played a very large social role in all classes and cultures. When the first colonial taverns were constructed, they were not for women, people of color, or Native Americans. Later on they changed this, slowly allowing entry to women, African Americans and then Natives. However, many fights and violent acts came from views that differed in taverns. In all cultures, taverns were the center of political life.
Sam Saslow
2016
Sam 11/15/16
7B A Day In the Life Of Thomas Trey
It was Wednesday. And it was starting to get colder as winter was on it’s way. I looked outside and saw snowflakes coming down slowly. Great, I said to myself, the most busy day at the tavern. My name is Tobias Trey. I am a middle class man. I am also the bartender at The Armoured Tavern in Glen Mill Pennsylvania. I live with my wife and two kids. We live in a small, tight room upstairs in the tavern. My uncle Tobias Trey is the tavern keeper here at the tavern. My uncle has always been more of a father figure then my own father. I never liked my father. He always came home drunk and beat me as a kid. That was one of the hardest points of my life. I used to live with my father but then moved out. It was a relief when I was away from his fists and his screaming. For a few months my family and I had no place to stay. That was until my uncle offered me a room in the tavern.
I got up and put on my rumpled white shirt and my brown trousers and walked down stairs to the bar.
“Morning,” my uncle said to me.
“Barely,” I replied backed to him. It was too early for niceties.
My uncle always said I had a little bit of an attitude. I walked over to the bar and started cleaning the glasses. On top of me I heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Hi dad,” Charlie said. Charlie is my oldest son.
“Hi Charlie, you ready for your morning classes?” I said. Charlie is my oldest son. He is almost ready to work, he is a very strong handsome man.
“Yup,” he replied back.
“Charlie before you leave, go outside and clean the stables, will you,” Tobias said.
Charlie sighed and carried on outside.
“That’s some boy you got there,” Tobias said, looking at square in the eye.
“Ahhhhhh!!!” Charlie screamed.
I ran outside as fast as I could. I could feel the wrinkles of my shirt pressing against me.
“What is it my boy?’
“There-there-there is a drunk!” he said pointing at a man laying on the ground. The man on the ground was out cold but breathing. He had a long thick grey beard. Breathing heavily I poked him with a stick but he stayed asleep. I hate these drunks and picking them up all the time. It is part of the job though. “Tobias, you might want to see this,” I called, my head halfway through the door.
Tobias walked outside slowly. The expression on his face changed quickly as he saw the man on the ground.
“Not again. It’s Mr. Woods. This is the second time this week. I gave him a chance but I’ll have to report this.” Tobias walked back inside.
I walked back inside and looked around the tavern. The silver glasses on the ceiling and the different colored drinks on the wall is an everyday sight for me. I never think to much about my surroundings, but today was different. Sometimes being a bartender can get crazy when people are plotting and talking about rebellions on the British. I love working at the tavern though it’s not the nicest lifestyle. It’s not the nicest because of the conditions. Living in the tavern and picking up drunk people really bothers me. I long to live in the gentry class and when I do my uncle will live with me.
Looking back on my childhood my uncle was a very important person in my life. Without him I would not be where I am at today. I thank him every day for everything he has offered me. My goal is to change my attitude and make him proud.
A variety of food and drinks were served in colonial taverns. The types of food served at taverns varied depending on class. Taverns were different based on types of class. For example, the more wealthy was the gentry class and the less wealthy was the lower class. The food served came from the fields and from animals which were on plantations and farms. People of the gentry class ate higher quality food then the lower class did. If the gentry class did not like what was served at taverns they could request something else. Usually there was a set meal and people did not order off a menu. The gentry taverns were more luxurious and had better food and drinks than lower class taverns. The gentry taverns were also more expensive than the lower class taverns when it came to food and spending the night. Colonists would be able to tell if a tavern was a gentry class tavern or a lower class tavern, by the way it looked. However, the lower classes received only what was being served at taverns. You had to pay extra if you wanted something else to eat. Lower class citizens could not afford to pay extra. At the lower class taverns, the food, drink, and the tavern itself was not as nice as a gentry class taverns. In addition to being served many different foods, tavern patrons expected a wide variety of beverages and alcohol.
Caroline Maltz
2015
Taverns in Colonial America
Taverns were a crucial aspect of our history because they had a huge impact on future events. The American Revolution burned out of political meetings that were held in taverns. The taverns had a drinking game called Skittles that could have affected how our modern game bowling was created. Women were excluded from taverns because they weren’t allowed to vote or talk about their opinions. It was also unfaithful for women to interact with men who were not their husbands. Taverns were not only an essential and necessary part of colonial life in America. People travelling depended on a tavern every few miles. After travelling for a large amount of time, a tavern was needed for the tired and hungry traveler to find food and drink and a bed or floor to sleep on. Most colonial taverns were the only available public meeting place in early America.
Jack Schnall
2016
People did many things at taverns. One thing that they did was play games. A game that they played was skittles. Skittles was a game like bowling, but with nine pins. The pins were made out of wood, and it was played at the gentry and middle class taverns because you could make them yourself, if you couldn’t afford to buy them. People also played card games. The English would play card games that didn’t include counting because after they drank, it was hard for them to keep track of things. They would play games like colors, or crazy eights. Cards wasn’t the most played game, but it was one that they played occasionally. The men would also have drinking contests and other people would bet on who would win. It was very sinful for people to bet and go to taverns, but they did it anyway because they wanted to win money, and it was also fun. Some people would even get addicted to drinking, or gambling. “Inns and taverns in New England were notorious havens for gambling and drinking. Both were sinful acts, and so they tended to take place away from home, hearth, and churchmen. Men drank hard and played hard, throwing bowls, hitting skittles, hurling darts at a dartboard, and played at high stakes at poker,” (Thorp, Colonial America, 1998) This shows that drinking wasn’t a very good action because it was bad for your religion. But people getting addicted was good for the taverns because those people would just keep coming back for more drinks, and that would give the taverns lots of money. They would also make lots of money by people gambling against them because if the customers lost, the tavern would make money. Also, since customers would bet against each other, the loser would have to buy the winner another drink, which would mean that they had to buy it from the tavern, and they would make more money. Overall, people did many things at taverns like play games, gamble, and most of all, drink. But not only did they play games, they also ate and drank many different things that came from plantations.