1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

Faculty and Proctors during one watch. The big trade usually began to reach its climax 'about 4:30 in the afternoon, when the cock– tail crowd was now streaming into the hotel from all parts-not only of Manhattan but the United States at large-and at six o'clock trade was at the peak. Among the barmen were John O'Connor, who was an old-timer; Mike O'Connor; Paddie Hafey, sometimes called "Patsy"; Frank MacAloon; Billie Lahiff, who now owns a big restaurant; Johnnie Solon, and "Dan, the Barboy." Of the last tw.o, more will be told further on. Each of the bartender~ had his own "specialties." Or, there were certain drinks he had the reputation, with a certain group, for composing perfectly; so that each had his own customers, apart from the trade that came in and patronized the "barkeep" at whose station the smallest queue was waiting to be served. Some of the early barmen, becoming expert, were seized with an ambition to go back to Ireland and wean the Celtic pala te away from the home-m ade drinks that had been drunk down throµ,gh the ages, but whose orig– inal Gaelic names had been adopted by. perfidious Brit– ons and transmogrified. Why, even then, when they wanted tha t "water of life," of which poets had sung as Uisgebeatha, and kings and long and growing lines of descendants had popularized- even then thirsty Irish– men were calling for "whiskey" though "Ould Irish" was usually uttered. Edward F. Flynn, one of the ablest of American jour– nalists who ever served as correspondent in foreign coun– tries, long correspondent of the N ew York A merican in London, and later editor of the London Daily Mirror, [ 75]