I was raised in the small town of Groton, Connecticut (population around 40,000). I graduated from Mary Morrison Elementary School, Robert E. Fitch Jr. High School and Robert E. Fitch Sr. High School. And, as is the case of most small towns, the “legal age” residents (like myself back then) were usually looking for something fun and/or exciting to do post graduation.
I was in luck that year. It was 1980 and the nightclub scene in Groton and the surrounding towns and cities was lit! Again this is wayyyyyyy back in the day so Disco music was very popular. And the dance scene was all the rage. Saturday Night Fever had already shown at the movies so everyone was looking to out-do John Travolta and his partner on the dance floor (smile). I personally liked Disco Music because it was fast paced with heavy bass and lots of beats. Disco dance tunes also seem to go on forever when dancing.
I so vividly remember this time in my life. Going to nightclubs at 18 (which, incidentally, was the drinking age back then) and having plenty of options to choose from. It was a different time, for instance I was able to survive on very little sleep (smile). So starting the Summer before I left for college, I would ‘club’ 4 or 5 nights a week and still manage to get up in time to work not one, but two jobs – as a full-time Drive-Through-Window Cashier at Wendy’s Hamburgers in Groton and as a part-time Cashier at a small grocery store directly up the street from Wendy’s.
I recall on weekdays diligently packing my large overnight bag with my Wendy’s uniform, my grocery store tunic and Levi jeans, and my nightclub gear. I had a long day ahead of me so preparation was key (smile). After getting off from the grocery store, I would excuse myself and go to the ladies room in the rear of the store to wash off and get dressed for the evening. My bff Connie would then pick me up If I was not driving my mother’s blue Mustang (smile).
And grabbing food on the go was a cinch as I truly had a cast-iron stomach. I would inhale Wendy’s French fries dipped in tartar sauce for breakfast and wash it down with a delicious chocolate Fribble. Lunch would sometimes consist of a Wendy’s Crispy Fried Chicken with Cheese Sandwich and a Dr. Pepper. Dinner could be a Junior Whopper with cheese and fries courtesy of Burger King. Healthy eating was not a factor in my life then. And “clean eating” to me consisted of washing my hands before and after I ate and wiping the corners of my mouth while eating a messy burger (smile).
Rhana Pippins, located in a shopping center called Lighthouse Square in Groton, was the premier Disco nightclub as well as ya girl’s personal fav. There were other nightclubs in town but everybody went to Rhana Pippins on Wednesday nights and I mean everybody! As it turned out, the ambience was key – it was beautiful inside with gargantuan frogs which served as the motif and doubled as speakers. Also Wednesday nights was the traditional Ladies Night and word had spread quickly throughout Connecticut about free admission for the ladies, the Chippendale male strippers, the cheap drinks and the hunky men who arrived afterwards…
Saturday nights at Rhana’s Pippins were also Fire! There was a different vibe on Saturday nights though, people came dressed to impress. Saturday Night Fever had revolutionized the nightclub scene so it wasn’t uncommon to see men dressed in open collared shirts and designer threads. It also wasn’t uncommon to be entertained with an upscale fashion show and/or other nightclub event. I found the crowd older and more sophisticated on Saturday nights and therefore preferred the Wednesday night crowd (smile).
Fun fact: Rhana Pippins means frogs in Latin. I often wondered why the dance floor was surrounded by gargantuan frogs that doubled as speakers. I also uncovered this tidbit: West Hartford, Connecticut’s own native Suzanne Langlois designed the interior of the nightclub. Very Cool…
Anyway on Wednesday nights at Rhana Pippins, me and my BFF Connie, fresh out of high school and feeling ourselves, were quite literally the first females to break out with dressy shorts, nice blouses and low heels. At first the other females were looking at us like we were crazy for wearing shorts at night (dressy or not!) and then suddenly everybody was doing it (smile). We also couldn’t forget our sunglasses. Sunglasses at night. It made us look cool, dark and mysterious (smile).
Connie and I were at the age where we didn’t think we were cute, we knew we were cute (LOL!) and we went to Rhana Pippins on Wednesday Nights not because the Chippendale dancers were there but because of the free admission, cheap drinks and hunky men who came in later.
My drink of choice back then was at first Seagrams 7 & 7 and then Alabama Slammers or better known as a “Southern Slammers.” By the time I was in my early 20s, I had graduated to Long Island Iced Teas (you can’t go wrong with 7 different liquors – LOL!).
As soon as the Chippendale dancers begin to come out on the dance floor me and my BFF Connie quickly headed to the rear of the nightclub close to the large bar, sipping our drinks on the bar stools and watching the comedy parade unfold. The “30+ something” married women were always one of the largest demographics on Wednesday nights and seemed to also be the most aggressive, waving their dollar bills in the air and gyrating their hips like they just don’t care (smile). The former was so the Chippendale dancers would come over to give them big kisses and more…
Connie and I weren’t paying them any mind, we were doing our own thing, chit chatting, snapping our fingers to the music and slowly sipping our drinks until the “real men” arrived. By this time we were thoroughly liquored up and ready to partaaay!!! We were young and cute and therefore always asked to dance. Once out on the dance floor we gravitated towards the middle where the huge mirror ball hung with its sparkling multi-colored lights and lost ourselves in the music…
At 2am, Rhana Pippins shut down for the night but Connie and I were not ready to go home. IHOP in Groton was the place to be after all the nightclubs closed. And around that time we were famished so we ordered large breakfast food (pancakes and sausage and coffee or eggs, bacon, toast and coffee) and talked throughout the night with our respective dates.
I would get home just in time to get in 2 hours of sleep before the alarm clock went off then I would shower, dress and start my day all over again. Frog eyed and Bushy Tailed (smile).
P.S. Rhana Pippins was my number one nightclub choice back then but here are some notable mentions: The Love Boat, Christopher’s and Atlantis in Misquamicut, Rhode Island just to name a few. However, they still didn’t compare in my eyes to Rhana Pippins which to me had it all: ambience, music, fashion shows, dance-offs, a variety of specialty drinks and lots of eye candy (smile).
And incidentally, Sundays were for Church service and Mondays were our ‘official rest days’ (smile).
If it happened to be raining outside, I would ride my Big Wheels up and down our driveway underneath the car port (as long as my father was working) which meant that our oversized two-toned family station wagon was not parked underneath it and not in my way (smile).
