November 04, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (edited for briefness)
PENSACOLA, Fla.
Changes in culture and lifestyle have caught up with Trader Jon's, a ramshackle waterfront bar, filled with naval aviation memorabilia, that for a half-century catered to military personnel from raw recruits to generals and admirals.
The famed bar, which also attracted astronauts, politicians, royalty and movie stars, including John Wayne, Bob Hope, Elizabeth Taylor, Prince Andrew and Brooke Shields, will close this weekend, owner Matt Heckemeyer said Tuesday.
Heckemeyer bought the bar from the estate of Martin``Trader Jon'' Weissman, who died in 2000. Weissman opened the bar in 1952 and ran it until he suffered a stroke in 1997. About 10,000 items, including photographs, crash helmets, flight suits, model airplanes and assorted aircraft parts, will be acquired by a law firm that then will donate them to the museum foundation. Blue Angels photographs collected by Weissman over the years will be used in a future display about the Navy precision flying team at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola Naval Air Station. The last event at Trader Jon's will be a Blue Angels party Saturday after the Pensacola-based team finishes its season-ending homecoming show. ``It was the social heart of the Pensacola naval aviation community,'' said retired Capt. Bob Stumpf, a former Blue Angels leader. ``It's going to be missed. There's no replacement for it.''
