Rockport Hotel burns down September, 1952
 | Rockport Pub stands on the spot where the Rockport Hotel was originally built. The Hotel burned down in September, 1952. A tavern was rebuilt in its place owned and operated by Gurnie Stafford, naturally he called it "Gurnies". Some time in the early 1960's the tavern was purchased by Carl "Bud" and Valita "Babe" Keesecker and renamed "Winkys". Winkys was the local hot spot in its day and catered to a clientale of roughhousin' loggers and truckers. Bud or "Winky" as most people remember him was the full time bartender in the later years. Most people remember his very dry sense of humor and that his beer prices were pretty reasonable, often times forgetting to even charge you. To this day people come in and ask what ever happened to ol' Winky. Bud and Valita still live in the same house right behind the tavern. The Keesecker's owned and ran the tavern for over 30 years and in the early 1990's sold it to Harry and Martha Mercer. Upon new ownership the tavern was renamed to the Pleasant View Inn, which although it really is not an inn, it does have a very pleasant view of the Skagit River. Harry passed away about two years after they bought the tavern and Martie ran it by herself for over 12 years. Unfortunately, Martie passed away in June 2009 losing her battle with cancer. I worked for Martie for three year's and then purchased the bar in August 2005. I renamed it Rockport Pub. 2010 marks the 5th anniversary of my ownership. |