Outspoken bartender remembered
Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 10/01) - Michael Grant's friends smile when remembering their favourite bartender.
"Mikie was the nicest, grouchiest guy you'll ever meet," said Darcy Taylor from his perch at The Gallery pub.
When Grant, 54, died from pneumonia on Jan. 1 in Kingston, Ont. this year, a piece of him stayed in Yellowknife.
"He'd give you the shirt off his back," added Tony Coe.
No one at the smoky bar remembered when Grant rolled into town. Sometime in the early 1980s, they mused. What they remember is his farewell party last September when the witty Grant could barely walk, much less pay his bills.
"I told him I'd miss him and he told me to shut up," lamented Barb Franklin over an icy coke.
His virtues were many, she said: loyal, honest, trust worthy and kind.
While in Yellowknife, Grant worked at various watering holes, including, The Gallery and the Explorer Hotel.
He was a lover of spicy food, science fiction, the Oakland Raiders and horseshoe games at Cassidy Point. The infamous Glee Club -- a posse of pseudo-snarly beer drinkers -- was Grant's brainchild.
After 20 years serving beer and advice, Grant took his tired bones home to Kingston in September. Years of rheumatoid arthritis had knotted his hands, knees and ankles. Even in the mid-1990s, friends like Coe and Taylor were carrying flats of beer for him at work.
"He'd act all gruff and say he didn't need help but it was an act," Coe said.
"By the time he left he could barely open a beer."
What made him so likeable, Taylor said, was his crispy yet kind demeanour. Like the glass jar of change he kept behind the bar. Once filled, the contents went to the Elks Lodge.
The eternal bachelor loved a good laugh. Like getting rid of unwanted patrons by popping in a Nana Mouskouri tape.
People had his number, too. One summer, "someone" locked him in a bear cage during a trip to Cassidy Point (just for an hour, just to keep him in line.)
Regrettably, his health paled in comparison to his humour. Coe said Grant knew he was dying, one reason he returned to Ontario.
He tried to stay in Yellowknife. Unable to do manual labour, Grant applied for a government re-training program. His efforts were stymied by his age and experience. No one, it seemed, would sponsor the 50-something bartender. Unable to financially or physically support himself, he left town. When it came time for Grant's farewell party, two decades of beer drinking, chain smoking friends raised a glass to their departing friend.
"Even us tough guys got a little teary eyed," barked Taylor.
Lisa Tesar replaced Grant as Gallery manager several years ago. She said the bar may approach the city about a park bench in Grant's honour. The bar is also planning a traditional Irish wake for their friend.
"He had very high morals and was a very honest and caring man with a very dry sense of humour. Those who knew him were very privileged," Tesar said.
