Tuesday, January 9, 2018

LEWES HAPPY CLUB


ROBINSON'S COLISEUM
AND/OR
HAPPY DAY CLUB

As early as 1921 Robinson's Coliseum, aka Robinson Hall, sat on corner of DuPont
Avenue and 4th Street. Cab Calloway and his sister Blanch, a singer, had appeared there.

When the owner, Jim Robinson died, several of the young people in the neighborhood
took over the operation and called it “Happy Day Club” but the place realy ddid not “get going”
until Herry Hill bought and renovated it after WWII.

The Happy Day had it's heyday in the late 1940's and early 1950's when the were a lot of
“fish factory” workers at Lewes and needed a place to spend their hard earned wages where
the blacks were welcome.

Henry had performers, such as Duke Ellington, and bands from Philadelphia, Washington and
Baltimore. He had added a stage and a master of ceremonies and the shows became so popular
that the balcony was fitted for the white people to attend, only after midnight.

Once there was a stripped. Tengerine, very popular because she removed all of her clothing.

Delaware law ordered the club closed at midnight each day, which it did, but reopened a
few minutes after.

After the fish factories left town, Hill sold the business to Archie and Marshall Lockwood
who had been servers in the White House dinning room during Harding's adminstration.

The late 1970's Brown, McClain, Smith and Washington purchased it as the Happy Day
Club and had a successful bar and club, however, lightning hit it, and the structure was left in
ashes.


This abstract of an article in the 2001 Lewes Historical Society journal presented by

Harrison H. January 9, 2018 for facebook, www, and www.iinni.blogspot.com

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