From the first time I thought of Coon Holler, I always pictured it as a bar by the highway in Regina, a small community in New Mexico. An earlier post captured the bar, under the ownership of Thelma Howard. I was unaware the bar's beginnings were so interesting and diverse from what was initially learned about Coon Holler.
Mr. Marvin Coons and his wife Dorothy lived in Las Alamos. Mr. Coons worked as a lineman on and around the base (which was secretly developing a plutonium implosion device), as well as White Sands. Mrs. Lawson remembers sneaking under the fence of the base with her friends and riding their bikes in the canyons.
Mr. Coons, around 1950, purchased a log cabin house just outside Regina, NM., which was located off the main highway, in a secluded setting. The family soon moved to that location. Mr. Coons converted a portion of the front of the house to a small bar, with a jukebox in the corner, which maybe had 4-5 stools.
- Original Location of Coon Holler Bar
- Original Cabin w Bar Marvin Coons Jr. Birthday Party. Marvin and Glen were born in the same year..jpg (110.39 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
Mrs. Coons ran the business and Mrs. Lawson shared several stories on how her mom would have to break up altercations as well as a gunfight at the bar. Mr. Coons continued to work in the Las Alamos area and came home on the weekends bringing beer and supplies and helping to run the bar during the weekends.
- Marvin Coons at the Original Coon Holler Bar
- Marvin Coons at Original Coon Holler.jpg (50.62 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
- Original Coon Holler Bar
- Warren and Joyce Howard (front) Bernice Lomax (m)(Pollys Grandmother) at Original Coon Holler Bar.jpg (90.01 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
Mrs. Coons' father, John Lomax decided to build a house across the driveway from the log cabin. When Marvin Coons went to check it out, he “scooted across the floor in his boots” and said that the floor was so nice, it should be used as a “dancehall”. And this is how Coon Holler was born. The property Mr. Coons had purchased now offered a dancehall and a bar to local folk.
- Coon Holler Bar and Dance Hall Outside Regina, NM
- Original Setting of Coon Holler Bar and Dance Hall.jpg (112.4 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
Glen mentions Coon Holler several times in interviews and he states in his autobiography:
“All I could think about was playing music. I got a job playing on Friday and Saturday nights at the Coon Hollar Club in Regina, New Mexico, with a singer named Texas Slim."”
Mrs. Lawson shared that when she knew Glen, he was just another kid, so she really didn’t pay that much attention to him. She said he would come by and hang out. She added that he would put nickels in the jukebox and play along with his guitar. She remembered him playing with his Uncle Dick (Biils) and Texas Slim at the dancehall. She shared that her mom recalled that Glen only played at the dancehall when it was located by their house.
- A Possible Photo of Glen Dancing at Original Coon Holler Dancehall
- Possibly Glen Dancing at Coon Holler Dance Hall.jpg (61.53 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
- H.C. “Texas Slim” Lasater Playing at Original Coon Holler Dancehall
- Texas Slim Playing in the Original Coon Holler Dance Hall.jpg (80.8 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
Mr. Coons later brought a piece of property on Highway 96 (where the bar/home sits today) and moved the dancehall to that location around 1954.
- Marvin and Dorothy Coons (Front Left and Back Center) at Coon Holler on Hwy 96
- Marvin and Dorothy Coons at Coon Holler Bar and Dancehall on Hwy 96.jpg (357.48 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
The original log cabin, which included the original bar, is still at its original location, although it has been added to. The Coon Holler dancehall which was moved to Highway 96, at some point, was added on to and became a residence.
- Original Footprint of Coon Holler Bar on Hwy 96 prior to additions.
- Current Coon Holler Structure.jpg (100.34 KiB) Viewed 2682 times
Mrs. Lawson went to see Glen in the '60s when he played in Farmington. She stated he recognized her and went to her house afterward to visit with her mom and dad.
I want to thank Polly and Mike Lawson again for sharing all this wonderful history, along with their pictures, with Glen's fans. Here is a picture of the Lawsons.
- Polly and Mike Lawson
- Polly and Mike Lawson.jpg (39.14 KiB) Viewed 2682 times