Picture Vernon: Revisiting An Old Watering Hole

VERNON, CT — The latest installment of the Picture Vernon series takes us to an old watering hole and restaurant known just as much for its rough and tumble atmosphere as its convenient location — the old Silver Dollar.

"The Dollar," was located on Route 83 near the Windermere intersection. A chain pharmacy store now sits in its place. Images of the place are rare, but one retired Vernon police officer came across an image of a free beer token in the records division.

"The Silver Dollar was adorned with a sign resembling a silver dollar," he said. "As the story goes, when the building was being torn down, a former patron stood by with tears in his eyes, begging the contactor to give him the sign."

That's not all the cops remember. Many a call was responded to. Former patrons shared some of the incidents on the Vernon Patch Facebook page:

• "Got arrested the night before a concert there. It took a couple cops to restrain me and cuff me. Spent many days and nights there."
• "Got both of my legs broken there one night."

It wasn't all drinking and brawling:

• "Was there a few times in my life when I was younger and lived in Rockville."
• "Played a lot of pool there."

The Silver Dollar was owned by George F. Lamoureux, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 76. Lamoureux was a veteran of World War II and served in the US. Navy. He also owned bars like Club 84 in Hartford and the Gaslight Café in Manchester.

Picture Vernon is a periodic series featuring images of the town, past and present.