Was Wanda a Prostitute?

[Justin]

I have heard from a few sources that where Grindstaff Automotive is now used to be a grill called Wanda's. Older people joke that you could order a $5 "fur burger," or "hair pie," and that there were two rooms in the back where gentlemen could enjoy the company of a lady for a short time.

Can anyone validate these tales?

Justin

[draftdodger]

Justin wrote:

I have heard from a few sources that where Grindstaff Automotive is now used to be a grill called Wanda's. Older people joke that you could order a $5 "fur burger," or "hair pie," and that there were two rooms in the back where gentlemen could enjoy the company of a lady for a short time.
Can anyone validate these tales?
Justin

too young at the time to know abut such things but that was the talk of those days .I can say the grill was on the corner where Majic Ride car lot sets the school bus ran by there.

[elizabethtonite]

my grandma used to tell me about the prositutes that were in the area where magic ride and sammons are now. she said there were rooms on the back of the business that was there, im guessing now that it was a grill and they had the red porch lights on the rooms so the woman inside could notify the men if she was available or not. she said that was the bad part of town back then, kinda like a ghetto i guess and that men would only go there when they were interested in the special services.

[Bullwinkle]

Back in the early 70's one of the guys we hung out with had a sister that worked there. He was a big dude and we knew never to mention her name or he would beat us up severly.

[Cyco]

Justin wrote:

I have heard from a few sources that where Grindstaff Automotive is now used to be a grill called Wanda's. Older people joke that you could order a $5 "fur burger," or "hair pie," and that there were two rooms in the back where gentlemen could enjoy the company of a lady for a short time.
Can anyone validate these tales?
Justin

A couple of rooms in the back but the recreation was in a set of small rooms detached from the building at the back of the property, kind of like a motor lodge if you will. The area was formally known as Tucker Town (After Wanda Tucker, a cousin of my mother). The light was yellow not red (A bug light). Wanda ran the joint by hand along with a couple of employees. The Greek Sherriff had a personal interest in the establishment and due to certain circumstances decided to close it.

[draftdodger]

A man named Dave Tucker and his wife Kalley (spelling?)bootlegged beer out the back door of their home for years.The house was across the street from Edens Carpet

[walk on water]

wasn't dave tucker a judge at one time? beside's a bootlegger and a pimp.

[LeonardPostoasti e]

Dave-eye Tucker was an attorney, and a good one.
He is still alive I think.
A very good man irrespective of what has been said.

[Earl Wiggins]

Dave- eye was the son of Dave Tucker. Very good man and a good attorney. Still alive.

[draftdodger]

Bootlegging was common years ago .I meant no disrespect Dave Tucker did raise a fine man .

[Earl Wiggins]

DD,he had 2 sons. Fred is dead. He was an insurance executive in New Orleans. He retired and moved back here and died a few years ago.

[draftdodger]

Earl Wiggins wrote:

DD,he had 2 sons. Fred is dead. He was an insurance executive in New Orleans. He retired and moved back here and died a few years ago.

Ididnt know of the other son and to the best of my memory the only thing Dave Tucker sold out the back door was beer .You got it and left nothing else I could be wrong .Wanndas I dont know about Ijust remember where it was.

[Red]

The health department closed it because a couple of the women spread syphillis so bad they were sent to Atlanta to a disease control center. The greek sherriff and a certain Senator knew about it and took a cut of the money that they were bringing in.
The same Senator also used to own a club at Lakeshore Marina, but had the club that used to be where Winn Dixie was, behind Pizza Inn, closed cause people didn't want a nightclub in the town. Out of sight - out of mind type thing.

[sweet T]

Red wrote:

The health department closed it because a couple of the women spread syphillis so bad they were sent to Atlanta to a disease control center. The greek sherriff and a certain Senator knew about it and took a cut of the money that they were bringing in.
The same Senator also used to own a club at Lakeshore Marina, but had the club that used to be where Winn Dixie was, behind Pizza Inn, closed cause people didn't want a nightclub in the town. Out of sight - out of mind type thing.

Shannigan's. I knew it well! But of course,that was in my younger days. I wondered why it closed. Everyone was afraid to drink there,anyway. The EPD sat in the parking lot,waiting on people to leave, so they could arrest them..... NO JOKE!!!

[draftdodger]

Red wrote:

The health department closed it because a couple of the women spread syphillis so bad they were sent to Atlanta to a disease control center. The greek sherriff and a certain Senator knew about it and took a cut of the money that they were bringing in.
The same Senator also used to own a club at Lakeshore Marina, but had the club that used to be where Winn Dixie was, behind Pizza Inn, closed cause people didn't want a nightclub in the town. Out of sight - out of mind type thing.

Would the certain Senator be Nave ?

[walk on water]

Red wrote:

The health department closed it because a couple of the women spread syphillis so bad they were sent to Atlanta to a disease control center. The greek sherriff and a certain Senator knew about it and took a cut of the money that they were bringing in.
The same Senator also used to own a club at Lakeshore Marina, but had the club that used to be where Winn Dixie was, behind Pizza Inn, closed cause people didn't want a nightclub in the town. Out of sight - out of mind type thing.

Red shame on you for saying that about "The GREEK" he was the LORD of the county didn't do no wrong (HAHA).

[Red]

The club only cost a dollar for membership. Most of the church going type people thought that having a nightclub in town would bring in drunks and other bad elements so they fought against it and it was closed, the epd harassed people and the owner so much that no one wanted to go there, and yet it was okay for the Nave family to still have a club on the lake. As long as no one seen what was going on, it wasn't a disgrace on the city.
The Greek lord of beating up teenagers. He had a lot of teens at the time beat for no reason. Others caught having a party they would take thier beer and anything else they could find and keep it for thier own use.

[Justin]

After a conversation with someone, I've learned some things about Wanda's. There was a basement where the ladies of the evening stayed. Wanda's also had delivery service. If a gentleman did not wish to be seen entering the establishment, he could get a room at Happy Valley Motel and enjoy the company of a lady.

[Justin]

$5 Fur Burger

The west end of Elizabethton was the red light district for Carter County at the tern on the 20th century. The area was known as Tucker Town, named after Dave Tucker who owned a boardinghouse and bar and also provided gentlemen with the company of young ladies for a short time. The area kept its “seedy” reputation well into the mid-1970s with Wanda’s Grill.$5 was the cost for a lady of the evening.

In the mid-1920s, Carter County swelled in population. German-owned American Bemberg opened a plant in Elizabethton and began manufacturing rayon. Two years later, American Glanzstoff, later known as North American Rayon Corporation, began manufacturing rayon as well. Dave Tucker spotted the monetary promise and opened Tucker’s Boardinghouse at the corner of present-day Railroad Street and McArthur Avenue. He bought the building next door and opened a bar called Tucker’s Cave. Beer was 20¢ and ladies were $3. There were no back rooms at the bar, however. Men had to bring ladies to their rooms at the boardinghouse. This presented a problem. Rooms were lined with beds and eight to ten men usually stayed in one room. As a rule, if a man was with a lady, he hung a tie on the doorknob to notify others. Hard economic times eventually closed the businesses.

Wanda’s Grill, owned by Wanda Tucker, filled the gap after Tucker’s Cave closed. It was well known that if a man wanted to negotiate pricing with a lady, he had to order a burger and lay $5 on the counter. There were private rooms in the basement. Wanda’s also had delivery service, so to speak. Influential men who did not wish to be seen entering the grill could rent a room at Happy Valley Motel across from Taylor House at Sabine Hill and call in a delivery order for a $5 burger. Local gossip maintained Senator Marshall T. Nave was a frequent customer. Wanda’s was closed down in 1976 when former Sheriff George Papantonio was elected to office.

©® Thomas Young

Bibliography:
Fridays with Frank: A Complication of Newspaper Columns, Volume One 2004 - 2005 by: B. Frank Robinson

[Cyco]

draftdodger wrote:

<quoted text>Would the certain Senator be Nave ?

Keep this between you & me.

Deacon B owned Shannigans. Marshall N. owned the Dairy Queen across from the old bowling alley (long gone), the Lynnwood housing projects (imagine that) & Doe River Gorge (once upon a time a theme park).