It Happened in Crawford County: A bartending job leads to bar ownership for Larry Williams
Larry Williams is a son of Howard Williams and Mary Quesinberry and his sisters are Wanda Sharrock and Darlene Sulser. The family moved to Bucyrus in 1955 when Larry was in the fifth grade. He didn’t want to leave West Virginia; they lived in the "holler" where he had fond memories and had carved his name on many trees. Growing up, he mowed grass, set pins at the bowling alley and washed and waxed cars for Parsel’s Garage.
Larry quit school and joined the Army in 1960 when he turned 17 and was stationed in Detroit. His mom made him promise to get his high school diploma while in the Army or she wouldn’t sign for him — and he did. She was a wonderful mom and gave him good advice. He hitched hiked back and forth to Bucyrus every weekend. He was discharged from Ft. Hood in Texas in 1963.
Post-military life
After the military, Larry worked at Crawford Steel four or five years and then Tecumseh in Marion. He also got his first bartending job for Zeller’s Beach at Lake Erie. It was perfect because he loved the lake.
Years earlier, Larry delivered the Columbus Dispatch newspaper to bars in Bucyrus, inspiring him to own his own. His good friend, Jim Candel, helped him get started. Larry became the third owner of the “98 Lounge” located near Swan Rubber, along with Dave and J. R. Wenner.
His second adventure in the bar business was working with Dave Wenner at the “All Vets” located across from the golf course. It was a military club, a nice building, and a very good business. They went their separate ways so Larry could be on his own.
He bought the “Gaslight Inn” located in Upper Sandusky. He built it up from scratch. It was a loser, and he added a disco upstairs, naming it “Crazy Larry’s Disco.” The business boomed and he made a lot of money, but after five years, in 1981, he decided to sell and come back home to Bucyrus.
Caring for the down and out
On April 1 of that year he bought the former “Plaza” and became partners with Elmer Kafer in the freshly named “Crazy Fox Saloon and Weaver Hotel.” Larry has so many stories about the "folks" who came to live in the Weaver. Larry and Elmer had the idea to help people by letting them stay in the hotel until they got a job. Larry told them “I’ll feed and house you, but if you use drugs, be gone.”
The partners worked with the Salvation Army and churches for discount housing to help them find a real home and jobs, but it was often difficult. Larry is very proud that he tried to change lives, for the "down and out people" who would have been on the street. They became like family, sometimes living there for 20 years. Because of his interesting life, Larry has been written about by the media, including WBNS-TV in Columbus.
Larry wasn’t the only one in the family with a kind heart. His late brother-in-law Ken and sister Wanda Sharrock would drive around after church and give groceries to people in need. Wanda, with the kindness of her heart, continues to help others.
Co-owner Elmer Kafer managed the Weaver. He just turned 100 on Oct. 12 — a WWII veteran and a very hard working and honest person. He could fix anything and did all the remodeling of the bar, while Larry managed it. He bought Elmer’s half of the business almost 20 years ago.
A speak easy in Bucyrus
The “speak easy” was in the basement and open during prohibition. It came about because of Al Capone’s gambling visits to Bucyrus from Chicago. Some years ago, The Bucyrus Little Theatre came to Larry and asked if they could do performances there. Tour buses started coming and it was a real event. Larry retired after 38 years, 6 months and 1 day and he still loves The Crazy Fox. Now, everything is up to the current owner Brian Rockwell, who bought the business from him in 2016. Brian remodeled the bar and is starting to remodel the Weaver.
Larry had a home in the Florida Keys, living there during the winters. He recently sold it and returned home. He says of his fiancée of 45 years, Cheryl Kiess, “she’s kept him out of trouble, and on the straight and narrow.” Larry’s family is Chad, a retired policeman and Green Beret veteran; Kim a social worker; Krista, a teacher; daughter Shane, a teacher; Brian, an engineer in Columbus and John, a policeman in Washington State.
In closing, Larry said its been a great life. He has traveled many places, but the highlight was Cuba. He loves his family and friends, and he’s thankful for the move his family made to Bucyrus. It changed his whole life. "It was also nice to have a toilet that flushed," he said about the move. Just one example of Larry's natural humor.
Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Larry Williams and his winding road to becoming a bar owner
