Frank Moskus in Exile

[RickMG]

Originally Posted by anduarto

I remember the tamale man! Wow! Talk about things I thought I'd made up! I only saw him once or twice but he was great!

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'm not completely delusional after all.

Is Frank Moskus - the man or the bar - still around? It really was a great place. So, Mrs. Moskus was turkish, huh? My life partner is turkish. I'll have to tell him. Frank was greek, right? Ah, true love overcomes all barriers.

As for pretzel guys, there was a man who sold them on Sunday - mostly in the winter - on River Des Peres Drive and, what, Morganford maybe? The benchmark by which I've rated every soft pretzel I've ever had since. Delicious.

Does stuff like this still exist? I kind of feel sorry for kids growing up in a world of Starbuck's and Cinnabons.

According to tax records, there is still a Frank Moskus who owns a duplex on Jefferson in the city. As for the tamali guy, I had always heard of a guy who would sell them off of Grand & W. Florissant (or near there) in North St. Louis back in the day. I saw the pretzel guy a few weeks ago on a Saturday or Sunday in the middle of Jamieson just south of Hwy. 44.

[mark richardson]

Frank and Jan's place is gone. It was right across the street from Jimmy's which is still in business just a bit south of Gravois and Loughborough. Jan was the belly dancer Jan Mahanna ( probably not spelled even close) she was a bit younger than Frank. Frank was always buying rounds for the patrons especially the " Nischkolaska" again not spelled corrrectly. This was truly one of the greatest most unique places at the time in St louis 1978 ?

The watermelon place was "Sam the Watermelon Man" . Bunch of falling down picnic tables, a string of old used car sales lights across the front and good cold slices of melon for like .50.

Another favorite haunt was the VFW off broadway with a view of the river. They sold beer even on Sunday ( when such was banned) Get there about 9-10 pork sanwhich out on the tables and $1.00 ice cold long necks.

[Heiei Umscheid]

Frank Moskus past away in 1998, my mother and Jan were very close friends.

[anduarto]

Thanks for the information, Heiei.

My condolences to Jan. If she's still with us, I hope someone will let her know that she and her husband are fondly remembered on this thread and elsewhere.

Hats off in memory of Frank Moskus.

[Crazy Jake]

Exile bar was at 6920 Gravois. He was Russian, his father (or grandfather) served in the Csar army. His wife was Jan Mahanna. Frank died in 1998, and i think his wife moved to Louisiana. They were good people and good friends.
I have some of his paintings if anyone is interested in purchasing. Frank used to joke that he would never become a famous painter until after he died... maybe he will still get his wish.

[sandrabarry]

I definitely remember the bar. It was great! He was an artist, too. He sang a guitar dittie, "Have some Madeira, My Dear." It was in the early 1970's.

[PenforPrez]

Originally Posted by anduarto

Meanwhile I'll go to the Olympia on McCausland. Great greek place. Yum.

I'm ashamed to admit this, but I live two blocks from there and I've never been there. I walk through the neighborhood all the time, and just never stopped in.

Originally Posted by anduarto

Something else I'm beginning to wonder if I dreamed: Anybody remember people setting up make shift watermelon stands in their front yards in the summer?

They were doing that on McCausland this summer between Southwest and Arsenal. Some guys had a melon stand set up on weekends.

[Rillifane]

Frank's place on Gravois was the last bar he owned but not the first. He had a riverboat for many years and then a place in Gaslight Square called "The Gaslight". That's where I first met him.

I had just arrived in St. Louis and walked down to Gaslight with my guitar over my shoulder. Gaslight Square was well into its death throes and only a handful of places were still open.

As I walked by Frank's bar I heard a tapping on the window from within. There was Moskus waving at me, gesturing playing the guitar and mouthing "do you play?" I nodded and he beckoned me in, mouthing "FREE BEER". Once inside he explained that he was a bit horse that evening and that the other singer who was supposed to be there was a no show. "Get up and play something!!" and "What are you drinking?" were all the encouragement I needed. That began an association that lasted several decades.

His wife Jan was the daughter of an oil engineer and she had gone to school at the American University in Beirut.

The crew of regulars included Steve Mott, Charlie Pfeiffer, and Bob Abrahms among others. I spent a lot of time there and was there the evening the bar burst into flames. Although the fire didn't do that much damage, Frank knew it was time to leave. O'Connells, across the street, was about to close and make its move south and Frank found the spot on Gravois to which he relocated.

Although the "in Exile" location was successful for many years, things began to wind down as the type of music that the regulars enjoyed went laregly out of fashion, and all of us moved away, found other things to do, or simply grew older. Frank, who had been doing esssentially the same material for half a century had oulived his audience.

When "In Exile" closed, Frank continued to play around town for many years but much of the spirit had gone out of it all. Jan's decision to go back to school, which required her to leave town, seemed to drain much of the life out of Frank. When she eventually decided to settle in Louisiana (largely because of a religous conversion she had experienced) Frank followed but passed away in just a few years.

Away from his music, his fans, his old friends, and the life he had known for so many years, I suspect there was just nothing left for him to do but exit the stage forever.

He was a good man who filled his world with music, good humor and friendship for all. I miss him.

[aragx6]

How neat. That gave me little shivers up my spine and I never even knew the man.

[PointJoe]

Just a little info...Frank was Lithuanian. His parents were both from Lithuania and immigrated shortly after the turn of the last century and met in St. Louis. Frank's father fought for the Czar in the Russian army as Lithuania was traded back and forth from conquering countries. Jan is from Kansas...Mahannah is a relatively common name in Beirut. The Exile Bar is now a Quick Trip.

When Frank was asked about Gaslight Square's demise he always told the story of how the police captain of the district at that time had asked him how to save the area. Frank replied that with the amount of crime in the area that beat cops were what was needed to make visitors feel more safe. The next day as he told it, the last beat cop was taking off the neighborhood's streets.

He sang in thirteen languages, painted street scenes of St. Louis, wrote poems and always enjoyed traveling and music.