Willoughby: Eye of the beholder

The March announcement about the Paul JAS Center in The Aspen Times made me think about what two of my uncles would have thought if they could have seen it.

My one uncle, Frank Willoughby, would have been thrilled because, for him, the Red Onion, was his go-to bar and restaurant, and it was there that he saw his favorite jazz singer Billy Holiday in 1952. My other uncle, Larry Kelleher, who lived in the building because his father owned the building and ran a restaurant and bar there, would have grimaced. The differences attest to the maxim that truth is “in the eye of the beholder.” The following family history will explain.

When I was in eighth grade, my parents gave me a pool table for Christmas. My father taught me how to play and told me about when he learned to play when he was in high school in the 1920s. His best buddy was Dan Kelleher (Uncle Larry’s elder brother), and they played pool and billiards at what later became the Red Onion. Father, while recounting stories, brought up Dan’s father, Timothy, signaling what a great person he was. It was then that I learned about me being named Timothy. My first name is Fred, I was the third one in a row, so from the very beginning, they called me Tim.

Kelleher worked in Aspen’s mines, mostly the Smuggler and the Hope, and simultaneously operated a bar-restaurant. He married a local, Mamie Connors, in 1906, and Dan was born in 1908; Larry was born a couple years later. Mamie had ill health for several years and died in 1916. Kelleher remarried in 1919 to Nora Carey.

His bar-restaurant operation spanned much of Prohibition limiting his business. The bar had been installed by Tom Latta, the original owner/builder of the building, then known as The Brick Saloon, featuring cigars, whiskey, and beer. Kelleher acquired the billiard and pool tables when he bought the building.

He and his wives kept the business open, but he worked in the mines to supplement their income, and later, they rented out cabins, some of which they recycled from other locations. For many years, they lived on the top floor of the building. 

Kelleher’s bar/restaurant was a popular locals’ gathering place, much like the Red Onion following it, and much of the patron draw was Tim’s enthusiastic and welcoming personality. It was known simply as Tim’s. As you can see from the photo, its upkeep was marginal, as was the case for most Aspen buildings during the Depression.

As the two boys got older, there were conflicts with their stepmother. Dan began leaving for the summers, and then, he moved out to get away, ending up working as a miner in Park City in 1926 after graduating from high school. Larry, soon after, left high school before graduating to go to an auto mechanics program. He married my mother’s sister, and they moved to California where Dan had also moved to.

There was one version of the story that the family was having a hard time making ends meet, so the stepmother drove them out, so she could rent out their rooms. Kelleher sold the building in 1945 and died soon after. It was purchased in 1946 by John Litchfield, who reopened it as the Red Onion.

My uncle Frank’s memories of the building started like my father’s with the Kellehers. He was a classmate with Larry. But all his memories were of a building and the people involved with it were positive. Uncle Larry’s memories were dominated by his experience with his stepmother. He only made a few trips back to Aspen, mostly so my aunt could visit with my mother and their other sisters. Dan never came back after moving to California.  

Tim Willoughby’s family story parallels Aspen’s. He began sharing folklore while teaching at Aspen Country Day School and Colorado Mountain College. Now a tourist in his native town, he views it with historical perspective. Reach him at redmtn2@comcast.net.