Photo Of The Week: Gary Smith

This weeks photo is a picture of Gary Smith (dressed in black) taken at the Hull Ave. The Hull Ave in Des Moines advertised itself as Des Moines oldest legal bar. The legend has it that when prohibition was repealed in the 1930s the owner of the Hull Ave were the first to get their liquer license so that in turn made them the oldest bar in Des Moines. Of course other establishments could argue that they had been around longer, but they would be breaking the law if they did:-) In later years the Hull Ave use to have a great blues jam session. Back in 1999 and running to around 2007, every Sunday night was jam night. Originally started by Me and Jimmy Pryor it grew to be a pretty big show. Eventually my good friend Gary Smith took it over and ran it for several years until he became to sick to keep the show running. Unfortunately the Hull Ave is no longer playing blues on the weekend, the last time I was in there it had become a biker bar. Nothing wrong with a Biker bar, because I have played in quite a few, but I do know that the Jam is no longer there on Sunday.