THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502100494
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
Over the din of an auctioneer's bark, a funny thing happened at the Peppermint Beach Club on Thursday when a throng of bargain-hungry businessmen descended on the aging, Oceanfront nightclub to salvage its last useful belongings.
The club's contents - mostly stainless steel restaurant equipment and an assortment of odds and ends - were auctioned to prepare the 88-year-old building at 15th Street and Atlantic Avenue for demolition next month.
Instead of mournful talk about the passing of another landmark, the auction sparked a flood of happy memories for those who once roamed the dance hall in search of fleeting romance.
That included Col. Calvin Zedd. Today he is the king of auctioneering. A generation ago, he was a toe-tapping beach lover with a taste for the easy rhythms of shag music.
``This was the jumpin'est joint at the Beach,'' said Zedd during a break from the sale. ``It was always fun to be here. But I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd auction it off. I used to come here all the time.''
Not a minute before, Zedd had walked into a crowd of friends who had gathered at the apron of the worn stage for an impromptu conversation about old times.
Chester Rodeo was there. He once ran the Peppermint when his legs were sturdy and staying up all night was second nature. Now 73, he returned to laugh it up one more time inside the cavernous hall.
``I don't know anyone who came in here and didn't have fun and then left to straighten out their affairs and go on to lead a useful life,'' said Rodeo. ``There were a lot of good people here. But now, it's time for this to go.''
His old friend, Vick Sands, 67, smiled approvingly.
``It's the memories, that's it, the memories,'' said Sands, who once booked musical talent for Oceanfront clubs. ``If you could somehow write about the people who met here, who fell in love, and who are now grandparents themselves, man, that would be a great story. It's all about the memories.''
Seeing his buddies laugh it up, John Vakos strolled over and listened for a moment. Sands brightened up and said Vakos once managed the Top Hat at 29th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Long gone now, the building was razed and replaced by the Ocean Front Inn.
``When he had the Top Hat, I booked Fats Domino and Roy Orbison and Joey D and the Starlighters,'' Sands said. Vakos laughed.
``The big thing back then on Saturday night is the guys would come up here and watch all the girls,'' said Vakos, who demurred when asked his age. ``There's a lot of history here. There are businessmen from all over Tidewater who once played here.''
Apart from the reminiscences, there was work to be done. The Peppermint was filled with restaurant equipment, and dozens of area restaurateurs held auction cards in hopes of snatching a bargain on an oven, refrigerator or warming tray.
The Peppermint will be replaced with a parking lot, at least temporarily. Elkan Lachman, whose family owns controlling interest in the building and property, did not attend the auction. He has said previously that the land will be developed, but he has not said how.
When the building comes down, it will mark the near end of the resort's shingle-style buildings, an architectural style that once flourished at the Oceanfront and is now all but gone.
Popular since the 1880s, the shingle style has been called by many art historians America's first modern architecture. Its name derives from the cedar shingles that were used for roofs and as siding.
The chance to find something old and familiar brought Ted Franks of Newport News into the Peppermint one last time.
``If you're from around here, then there is a nostalgic element to all of this. So some of the things you might find could fetch a penny or more, you know?''
Franks was in search of neon signs, but to his mild disappointment, there wasn't much available.
``The good stuff seems to be gone,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MORT FRYMAN/Staff
Auction workers, above, show plates to prospective buyers at the
Peppermint Beach Club at the Oceanfront on Thursday. At left,
Stephen Zedd tries to drum up interest in a large cooler. Stephen is
the son of auctioneer Col. Calvin Zedd.
Color photo
[This photo appeared on page B1]
MORT FRYMAN/Staff
Ricky Dunnington carries a memory and a good buy from an auction
Thursday at the Peppermint Beach Club in Virginia Beach. The
88-year-old Oceanfront landmark, at 15th Street and Atlantic Avenue,
was being cleared out in preparation for its demolition next month.
Dunnington said the sign will find a new home in The Raven
restaurant, which he operates down the avenue.
by CNB