For a good time:
It may have started as just a bar, all those years ago, but it has been much more than that to many aggies. For over 50 years, we’ve been on Northgate, celebrating the big wins, knocking back a few after a tough test, reminiscing and reconnecting with friends. We’ve been there for the awkward first dates, the 20 year wedding anniversaries, the nights to remember and the nights to forget!
we shared a couple pitchers talked for hours...
Well I’ve finally gotten around to sending you some pictures and telling our story….the summer of 95 I was working at the chicken…first in the kitchen flipping burgers, then the bar pouring drafts and finally a manager. Although just about every night was memorable at work at the Chicken, one was more so…the night I met a girl who worked upstairs counting money with Peggy. Looking back over 20 years we still have slight variations of the “true” story but the one common element we both recall is that life changed for both of us that night. After work we shared a couple pitchers talked for hours and 6 months later, we were engaged to be married. We took our engagement pictures on the front porch and had our reception party at shadow canyon. The Dixie Chicken has always been such a huge part of our lives that when we finally built a house 20 years later, we built a room that resembled the place we met, with wood walls, animal trophies hanging, pictures of good friends, license plates, neon signs, beer mirrors and even an authentic domino table we bought at an auction. Some of the best moments of our lives with some of the best friends we’ll ever have were right there in the famous Dixie Chicken.
Erick, c/o ’95, & Erin, c/o ’97, Westerholm
My grandfather is my best friend...
Got a story for yah, Ags!…
It was the scenic route that took me to the only place I would want to transition from the military to civilian life at. My grandfather is my best friend and FTA class of 1945. I have been attached to him at the hip since I can remember. Whether it was at home, tending to the cattle and fences on the ranch, or one of his various project construction sites…he had an Aggie tale for me. My favorite probably being how he lost (and retrieved) his Aggie Ring by way of a pregnant cow in his veterinary days.
After a lifetime of these tales from my best friend/grandfather, I knew that if I was going to turn the page on a chapter as special to me as my 5 years in the US Navy was, it could only be because nearly 70 years after he left campus, I would be going to campus. He left FROM campus to go off to WWII and I came TO campus from OEF.
Now, school was never my strong suit, no matter how many times I “studied” all night at The Chicken; but due to my loyalty to Texas A&M and my grandfather, I was determined to graduate. Finally, in August of last year, graduation arrived. My sister came all the way in from Paris (not France) and my brother came in from Miami, FL to celebrate.
With the memories of decades carved in the very fiber of this place, I thought it only fitting that we celebrate at the Chicken to share with them some of my own Aggie tales I had gathered over “4 years and some change”, and reminisce of the stories our grandfather told us of this town that planted the special love of Aggieland within our hearts at a young age. Here’s to many more nights throughout many more decades…at The Chicken.
My grandfather couldn’t make it in town for graduation due to physical limitations at age 94 but I still wanted to include a photo of he and I at my little graduation lunch with just my grandparents and I in my hometown of Clarksville, TX. (He’s not wearing his ring because it was stolen about 10 years ago in a break-in at their house…but I swear he’s an Ag haha)
John Kelty ’16
PICTURED:
(Me, sister Laura, brother Brent)
(grandfather James F Kelty, Me)
College Choices
Every summer my dad and I would take a trip to Galveston together and after my sophomore year of high school we were heading back home to Dallas and my dad said “why don’t we go check out college station?” knowing that I wanted to attend A&M. So we jumped off 45 and headed to Aggieland. But instead of going straight to campus or on a campus tour we went straight to the Dixie Chicken. Had a burger and dad had a beer (of course) and we hung around talking with the bartenders on staff. When we finally walked out of the chicken, probably 3 hours later, we both were blown away at how friendly everyone was and how when asked about Aggieland and Texas A&M their faces would light up, you could just see how much they loved this place and how different the environment was. I knew right then and there I wanted to be a Fightin’ Texas Aggie. I didn’t need a campus tour, I just needed a visit to the Dixie Chicken! ????�
Today it is still my favorite place to go on a Friday night. My husband and I have played many games of dominoes in there and it will forever hold a place in my heart.
(Also worked at Chicken Oil for about a year in 2010-2011)
Brittany Coker ‘14
We always started and ended...
It was always ladies night for us at The Chicken! We always started and ended our Northgate nights at The Chicken! The best part was heading back to the bar for one pitcher of beer, some Tijuana fries, and Goodnight Irene! I believe our bathroom tag is still in the big stall somewhere- Hussies Class of 2006! We look forward to trips back to remember our great times! Thanks for all the memories!
❤️ The Hussies
I bought my first legal beer there in '76...
I bought my first legal beer there in ’76, when you just had to be 18. Worked for Don & Donnie summer/fall of ’79, when all the beer was iced down longnecks. 50¢ for most beer, Lone Star was 35¢. Wine coolers 60¢.
To his daughters: He used to have an office upstairs with a cute picture of you two with makeup all over your faces. He would use that to warn us about stealing and said: “When you steal from me, you steal from them”.
I was in the market for a part-time job...
Greetings from Syracuse, New York.
In 1983 I was a sophomore at A&M, living just across the street in Crocker Hall (now gone). I was in the market for a part-time job and someone suggested the “Chicken”…my first thought was… “yeah..I like fried chicken!” Went over and was surprised that it wasn’t a fried chicken joint but a beer saloon. Asked the front bartender where to go to apply…he sent me to the back and up the stairs…as I recall it was Peggy’s first week on the job, she handed me an application….then a deep voice inside the connecting office asked… “Who’s out there? …..come on in Bud.” I went in and sat down, first a bit intimidated by the guns on the wall and the pistol on the desk, “I’m Don he said, lookin for work?”….. and we proceeded to have a nice 20 minute conversation…..having nothing to do with my qualifications to work. We instead talked about where I was from, my family, my hobbies…like you were talking with a long-lost uncle..catching up on things. At the end “Don said… “OK Bud, we’ll give a roll in the hay, Peggy sign him up!” That was my first introduction to Don and the Dixie Chicken.
Started out on Bud Crew….as most do. The first job I had was cleaning out Pookies, the building across Bottle Cap Alley. It had been a shot bar in the late 70’s, full of old furniture, cases of old liquor, mixes and such. We filled Don’s truck 3 times with stuff to haul off to the dump. Don was turning it into an ice cream parlor as I remember.
Ended up working at the Chicken Oil Company, then back to the Chicken, swamping, then the back bar, then the front bar and eventually weekend manager. Worked from 1983 thru 1986. Have wonderful memories, I helped with changing out the snakes, we rotated the rattlesnakes between cages upstairs and the wall cage. Every once in a while a city highway worker would show up with a bigger rattler and we’d have to shuffle snakes. The Chicken only served beer at that time, bottles up front and glass pitchers at the back. Can’t tell you how many Sundays I spent polishing the brass at the back bar. I remember the ruckus Don started when he suggested raising the price of a longneck from 75 cents to $1. We were making a quarter tip on just about every bottle sold. We convinced Don to raise the price to 90 cents so we could still make a dime on each. Remember the cast of character’s who frequented the bar on weekends.
Enclosing a couple of pictures from the good ole days.
The first is of the front of the Chicken around 1983.
The second is of the Chicken staff at the 1983 (1984?) 4th of July party Don held out at some land he owned next to the Brazos River. I’m the blond guy holding up the Miller High Life in the middle of the picture. JB Fletcher, in the green hat, was the manager. The girl in the front row with the white hat is Don’s niece (don’t remember her name). Next to her is one of Don’s daughters, Don is holding the other. I only remember Katie’s name. I can remember all of the faces and voices of everyone in the picture but not names….time has erased them from my memory.
Hope this brings some joy and memories. Was very sad to hear the news of his passing a number of years back. He was one of a kind.
– Ross Shepherd
So many memories...
We’ve been married 35 years this year
One perfect summer afternoon in 1983 I met my future wife at the Dixie Chicken. She was sitting a few tables over playing 42, wearing a low cut summer dress with her perfect legs and big blue eyes. I decided I just had to meet her.
I talked my Corps buddy James to go with me to meet her. On the way over James stumbled and knocked the stove and stove pipe over into me. Resulting in me dumping a half-pitcher of Lone Star onto her barefoot. Classic smooth moves for two Ag major cadets.
Fast forward to Fall 1983. We were steady dating, she was a good catch because she could talk JD into a free pitcher with her big blue eyes. One night, she was sitting on my lap while I played 42 with my Corps Zip buddies Dondo, Terry, and Old Man ( Jay). I carved our initials into the tabletop inside a heart.
My nickname was Gramps. I got caught as a freshman one bitter cold morning in Fall 1980 wearing thermal underwear under my uniform at formation. Just like an old Grandpa.
My steady girl and I got married a few years later and raised a family. A couple years ago she went to The Chicken and found “ our table”. And it stunk, like three decades of spilled beer. And bought it. $$$$$. One of the best presents I was ever surprised with. We’ve been married 35 years this year.
The top is worn smooth. I calculated a minimum of 20 domino games a day, for at least 320 days a year, for over 35 years. That table was worn slick with over 200,000 domino games. The tables were old in 1983.
I cut the legs off and hung it on my wall. Our initials are in the lower left corner. My nickname is on the lower right side. Amazing they didn’t get worn off.
Love you sweetheart!
– Louis Peter
A story about Don
This story had less to do with the Chicken and more to do with Don but here it is. That year had been dry. Don owned a little place kind of west of town over by the power plant. His cows had gotten out and were running on a much larger place. Don knew this but he did not have any grass so he just left them there. Finally the guy that either owned or leased the other place politely told Don that he was going to take those cows to the sale and where did he need to send the check….LOL. So late one afternoon we had to go out there and find his cows, drive them back to his place, and fix the fence. Now we had never seen his cows and we had never been on the other place which was quite large. Well against all odds we managed to find his cows and get them back. That only left fixing the fence before we could call it a day. There were 4 of us but only Nathan and myself had ever built fence. We were stretching the top wire when Don decided to intervene. He said we had not stretched it enough. We told him nope it is plenty tight. He disagreed as only Don could so we made it tighter and tighter. Finally when you could play music on it he was satisfied. Nathan and I were both concerned that that sucker could pop at any moment so Don grabbed a hammer and a fence staple and started pounding that sucker in. He had one misfire and that was enough. The wire popped and a barb went right across the top of his bald head. It may have bled a little. After that he left the fence building to Nathan and myself.
More beer please
This is what I'm talking about.
One time, beer. And then this other time, beer. The best part was when, beer. But then after that, beer. And then again, beer. But the crazy part, beer. In conclusion, beer. Nevertheless, beer. Will we be back? Yes because, beer.
Kasey Irvin
16 years later
I worked at The Chicken in 1989…. my last semester in Aggieland. Started as the daytime front bar man and worked my way to Manager.
At the time, I noticed a pretty little sophomore working in the kitchen with Janelle and Freddie, named Maria. Smiles turned into flirts, turned into dates and we spent a few months dating.
I graduated, we broke up, and I moved away but I never forgot that pretty girl I dated while working at The Chicken.
16 years later (2005), I get an email, “Remember Me?” and six months later we were married!! We now have 2 kids (Class of ’26 & ’28).
Ben Denison ’88
Maria Theologos Denison ’94
The Chicken will be a place we will return to for years to come...
