EDITOR:

My sister called me and said “It’s down.” Not being the brightest bulb in the pack, I responded with, “What’s down?” She said “The Westwood.”

Around 1934, August Boden (my grandfather) bought the restaurant on the west end of Delta Avenue. Due to the end of Prohibition a year earlier, August was able to secure a beer and wine license. The nearness to the Soo Line depot made the bar a popular place for railroaders.

The first major change happened in the late 1950s. The four lane highway demanded that the building be moved one block east. Biden’s Bar (Westwood Tavern) stayed in the family until my uncle sold it to the Sandersons who renamed it Sandy’s. After a time, they sold it to Fay and Pat Hoop who renamed it the Sailors Shipwreck Saloon. Fay recently sold it to Daryl Miron.

I was told that in early 1949 I learned to crawl in the Westwood. A “friend” told me I used that method of travel a lot more recently than the 40s. No doubt a reference to my habit of stopping there for fifty quick ones.

Even though I no longer drink, I wish Mr. Miron good luck and much success.

Jeffrey Boden

Gladstone