This was a New Year’s to remember for many people who braved the cold to come out, although more bundled up than usual, but none more than a bartender at Woody’s in Bayport, Mary who got married.
The next day, when one of her co-workers was asked if she had to be on duty the previous night, the response was that she took off for this special occasion. For their part, Mary and her new husband hit the town for a while after the ceremonies were done, then early the next morning got up and ran a 5K race!
Holding a wedding ceremony on New Year’s Eve is not unprecedented; another couple did so as they rang in the new year as the millennium turned more than a decade ago. They took their vows in the back room of the cafe of the former Dibbo’s, then Jerralyn and her hubby had their wedding dance to the music of that night’s rock band. Someone who remembers that far back, my friend Bill, said that he heard a theme all through New Year’s 2015, that they missed the Dibbo’s all-night band and wished that somewhere, anywhere in downtown Hudson there was live music on this night. (There was a group playing at Willow River Saloon, but technically, that’s in Burkhardt).
The dance floor at the Smilin’ Moose was so packed that you wouldn’t want to lose a contact lens, as was one man’s fate. So many people were dancing that he quickly took his search way to the other end of the tavern.
There was one tall guy on the dance floor who literally stood a head higher than anyone around him. (He didn’t need the heeled cowboy boots). At Dick’s Bar and Grill, there was a man just as tall, in a three-piece suit, who looked like a cross between Brendan Frasier and Keanu Reeves. Nearby was another dude in a suit, but with just a brown vest and without any sports coat or tie, although he did have white tennis shoes. So, he looked like David Lee Roth in an old video.
Concerning this type of footwear, one woman wore a little black dress, complete with red canvas tennis shoes. My friend Lana also wore something like that, but on the other end of her body, scores of long, knotted cloth dreadlocks flowed out from under her scarf.
One of the group of women sporting tiaras early at Dick’s was also wearing a Batman shirt with the bat logo. Superhero princess? And would Superman wear a tiara, being a guy, like one of the male patrons did there?
Another piece of persistent headgear was the tiny party top hat. One bald guy had his stuck on about three inches above his ear, with the cord running diagonally down the middle of his head. Another man, with a bit more hair, had his hat worn in exactly the same place.
Breakfast was served at the Kozy Korner in North Hudson starting at 1 a.m. It wasn’t long after that, when the big crowd at the Cajun Club began filing out. There were lots of people, but staff members said the guys were staying belly up to the bar, not the stage area, and they weren’t spending much money or tipping dancers that well — a benchmark for how long the place would stay open that night. They must have spent all their dough earlier, by taking their wives out for an expensive night on the town. (Oops, did I let the cat out of the bag on that?)
A lot of people couldn’t catch up on their sleep for long, as come 11 a.m. the next day, there were college football bowl games. People had to choose between watching the Gophers and Badgers, as the games ran almost simultaneously. At Woody’s in Bayport, virtually all the screens were on the Minnesota team, with only one on Wisconsin. Late in the games, with both teams down by about a field goal, both sets of TVs announced there was only 24 seconds left — in the fourth quarter for the Badgers and the third for the Gophers.
Meanwhile, at Buffalo Wild Wings, a sign had been posted saying to come watch the Minnesota team. (Don’t they know we’re in the Badger State, although that was aired too?) But here’s a clue why: The Gophers were competing in what was officially called the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.