Spring edition<\/a>. Num\u2019s was the perfect summer hangout, with the deck on the ocean and a lot of Monmouth staffers behind and in front of the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Laff-Inn and Brighton were the winter places to go. The Laff-Inn, Phi Kappa Si headquarters, had pizza night on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For a cheap investment of maybe $100, Tony, the Laff-Inn’s omnipresent owner, had guaranteed packed houses of college kids waiting for their midnight pizzas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Brighton, pre-punk days, was the home base for TKE and the preferred Wednesday night hangout\u2014home of the “frosted mug.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a member of the cross country team, my friends and I would spend a few hours at the library, then supplement our workout day with a late-night, six-mile run through Long Branch\u2014up Norwood, turning right on Broadway, to the Boardwalk. Loaded with $10 in our pockets, we\u2019d make a right in West End and end up around midnight at either the Laff-Inn or Brighton. Our understanding was that if any female college friend chose to drive any of us home, the other guys would fend for themselves and run the last mile back to the dorms together. At about 120 lbs. each, in sweat clothes, and pungent from our run, I can report that all of us always ran that last mile home together. John O’Rourke, our old coach, would have been proud! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Ed Halper \u201980<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\u201cThey might as well have called it Club Monmouth.\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\nMichael Lodato\u201982 shared this photo of the former Club Spanky, once a popular hangout for Monmouth students.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOne of the most popular college hangouts while I was a student at Monmouth University (then Monmouth College) was Club Spanky, located on Ocean Boulevard in Long Branch. Once we found someone with a car on campus, my friends and I would often venture to Club Spanky for a break to escape the stresses of school work and to enjoy some good music, performed by bands such as Phantom\u2019s Opera, The Salty Dog, and Cahoots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Club Spanky was a very popular spot for Monmouth students during the 1978\u201382 time frame. The drinking age at the time was only 18, so the club would often be filled with students, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. They might as well have called it Club Monmouth, because most of the patrons were Monmouth College students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afterward we would stop at the Windmill, at its former standalone location with an actual windmill on the building, for some late-night food\u2014such as their famous grilled hotdogs and California burgers. Back then they were open very late\u2014or very early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Michael Lodato \u201982<\/em><\/p>\n\n\nChristmas at Ron\u2019s<\/h3>\n\n\n Ron\u2019s West End pub was one of my favorites. There was a back room where the owner would let us get our fantasy football going, and he would put the model train up around Christmas time. It was always a great time sipping a pint while sitting on the rockers on the front porch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another favorite was \u201cThe Pit\u201d across from the Windmill; it was a narrow path you\u2019d have to go down to the beach. Someone brought a boom box and you could bring a cooler with some frosty beverages. There was a volleyball net too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Matthew Chodosh \u201997, \u201900M<\/em><\/p>\n\n\nAll\u2019s well at the Inkwell.<\/h3>\n\n\n Coffee at the Inkwell after cheering for Ronnie Kornegay and the great basketball team of the day at \u201cBoylan Gym.\u201d College Algebra in the \u201c chicken coops.\u201d Standing in line in what was then Wilson Hall as they pulled blue cards for our class schedules. Learning some public speaking at the them-new arts\/drama building. Watching the sit-in protests on the Great Lawn. Interesting times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Gerri C. Popkin \u201971A, via LinkedIn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nI remember some students who were totally out of it and thought it would be a good idea to put their face into the Inkwell’s famous hot chocolate and mounds of whip cream. While delivering orders I would pull their heads out of the cup. Good thing there were no cellphones around then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Robert Small \u201971, via LinkedIn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\u201cWow, if I could go back for one night!\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n OMG, these photos brought back great memories from days gone by! I was at Monmouth from 1973\u201377\u2014so special! Thursday Nights were the best after a Delta Sig party, then to the Laff-In and Brighton Bar for beers for a dollar. The Inkwell had the best fries and sandwiches, and the Windmill had great onion wings and burgers. Wow, if I could go back for one night!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Kathleen Sullivan \u201977, via LinkedIn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\nCeltic charm<\/h3>\n\n\n The Celtic Cottage had the best jukebox and burgers on the beach! And don\u2019t forget to add a side of cottage fries to your order<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Laura (Embrey) MacDonald \u201910<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A trip down memory lane and through the West End to revisit some of our favorite college hot spots. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":12226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":57,\"y\":79}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-back"],"thumbnail":"
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