Peggy Drury, left, with her longtime boss — and friend — Joe Elliott
If you ever went to Jugs on a Friday night, then you know who Peggy Drury is. She could sling some drinks faster than just about anybody you ever saw, and if somebody started getting a little too rowdy, she could usually get them to calm it down with a stern scowl and a gruff “Hey!” If that didn’t work … well, she’d come out from behind that bar and take care of business.
I first met Peggy at the Jugs on Congress Avenue, and I spent many a night laughing at her silly stories — like the one about the time she was trying to impress a girl (her beloved Diane, who was at that time not yet her girlfriend) by super-gluing her upper lip to her nose. She’d come over when she had a minute to give me a hug, and when she was feeling particularly feisty, she’d grab my head between her hands and lick my glasses. Then’d she laugh and laugh.
Later on, after Diane had passed away unexpectedly, Peggy moved to Irving with me and Betty Pepper. I will never forget the two of them calling me at work in the afternoons so I could listen as Peggy’s dog Bubba “sang along” to the “Jeopardy” theme song.
After Joe Elliott died and Howard Okon kept Joe’s Place open, as the small bar at The Brick, Peggy worked there, too. But eventually health problems forced her to retire from the bar business, and these days she hangs out with her sister and brother-in-law in Garland.
But Saturday night, Oct. 15, Peggy is coming back to the gayborhood for a party in her honor at Liquid Zoo Bar and Grill, 2506 Knight St., from 7-9 p.m. There will be food for munching (sandwiches, chips and dip) provided by the bar, a special cake and, of course, the beverages of your choice available for purchase. Organizers — Deedee Heart, Norma Jean Featherson and Shelley Benson, want everybody to wear green — Peggy’s favorite color.
Make your plans now to go by and say hi to Peggy — or, as Dedra always called her, Poogy. It will make her day, and yours, too.