An Interview with Former 219 Owner: Helen Felber

As you may have ascertained from my bio, this company is named after my grandmother’s bar: the 219 in Sandpoint, Idaho. Almost ten years ago, I published an interview with Helen about gin and what was necessary to craft the perfect gin martini.

My grandmother was a single mom and divorcee in rural Idaho during the 1950s. As if that wasn’t enough of a stigma, she became a bar owner and bartender in the early 1960s—something women of that era didn’t do. Her grit and determination are still an inspiration to me today. While Helen passed away many years ago, I’ve re-posted that article here in tribute to her and as a manifesto for Two-Nineteen:

This is Helen Felber. She is my mother's mother. She is 93 years old, drinks a gin cocktail every day, and is still going strong today in Sandpoint, Idaho. Sharp as a tack, physically fit, and prolific in her activity, people are constantly asking her: what's your secret? Gin, or at least that's what she claims. My grandmother was a bartender for many years and gin martinis were her specialty. I sat down for an interview with her yesterday to gain her insight into gin and its many medical qualities.

David: I was wondering if you could tell me what your gin consumption is like now that you're in a retirement center with round-the-clock help.

Helen: Here we only have a libation maybe two or three times a year. Wine, you know? We had a party tonight to celebrate the new facility manager. It's not really something we do often. Maybe just a small glass here and there.

David: So how often are you drinking gin yourself?

Helen: Between you and me?

David: Yes.

Helen: Every day.

David: Oh good.

Helen: I believe gin is the elixir of life. Just recently I saw an old Charles Dickens movie and one of the things I read about these situations is that women in those days—you know how people were poverty stricken—and you had these bars in basements, and the women all drank gin. I'll stand corrected, but I think it was invented in Holland, and it told in these stories that a lot of these women lived practically on gin. I always remembered that. These prostitutes and such were in the bars, hanging around, and gin could be had for like five cents a glass–this was years ago, and I've never been a drinker myself—VO was my drink at the time—but I had one gin martini almost every day.

David: So if (Seagrams) VO was your drink why did you switch over to gin?

Helen: Well...I don't know. I guess it was because I had a great reputation behind the bar as being a great gin martini mixer and I felt I had to live up to that. I like gin better than I do anything else nowadays, but I never have more than one drink.

David: So you would make gin martinis, but you weren't necessarily drinking them?

Helen: No, I had a reputation for being a great martini mixer, but not a drinker of martinis. Still, I always keep a bottle of gin around. We get orange juice here in the home everyday, so I save my orange juice and then dump in some gin and have a gin and juice.

David: Gin & Juice!!

Helen: I'm serious, however, when I say you shouldn't drink to excess. I think gin is healthy for you if you don't drink too much of it.

David: Well, it's supposed to be full of medicine.

Helen: Well, I'm 93 years old and I had the nurse here just the other day for my ear infection and he said, "For someone who's 93 years old I would never dream that you're that old." Because I'm still healthy and strong, you know? Maybe it's just my imagination, but that's what I think. You've been to my old home. For more than ten years I would go out on to my deck every evening and have my martini. I never had more than one, however. I never wanted to be drunk.

David: So when did you start in the bar business?

Helen: I came into Sandpoint around 1960 after coming from Spokane. My girlfriend owned a bar up here, but due to liquor laws I had to establish residency for one year in order to be a bar owner, so I took a job with Northern Lights—the electric company here. I had been coming up just to visit. In any case, I ended up buying into her bar—the 219 here in Sandpoint.

David: How long did you operate the 219 before selling out to new ownership?

Helen: I would say six or seven years.

David: Were you the bartender most of the time?

Helen: We had three shifts. There were three owners so we split that time up.

David: So who taught you how to make a martini?

Helen: I just had a knack for it. I was never a drinker. I never have been a drinker. But I do know how to make martinis and I do make a martini everyday.

David: So if people came to the 219 did they come just for you and to have your specially-made martinis?

Helen: Yes, they would come in on my shift to have a martini.

David: And if you weren't there?

Helen: Well, it wasn't a big deal, Barney and Augie made good martinis too. But most people thought I made a damn good martini.

David: What was the secret?

Helen: It's kind of crazy, but there is a knack to making a martini. You can't just pour one, you know. It's kind of like a painting. It's an art, in a way. The main thing was to have a good gin—not too strong. One of the gins we used for many years was Booth. I still think Booth is a damn good gin today. Most people didn't want a strong gin. They said, "Pour me that gin you usually pour." Do you know it?

David: Yes, it's still around.

Helen: I still think it's a damn good gin. With just a bit of vermouth. I just had the knack, however. A lot of people, no matter how hard they try, they can't pour a good martini. Some people just have the knack. There's a secret something.

David: Did you shake or stir?

Helen: Definitely shaken not stirred. I always shook my martinis. I always had chilled glasses, too. There's nothing in my mind that can compete with a good gin martini.

David: How do you feel about olives? With olives?

Helen: Oh yeah. With olives. No matter where I went there would be big parties and people would ask me, "Helen, are you going to mix some martinis?" and I would say, "Yes, if you want me to." In fact, I still make a martini every day. But I'm a bit careless now. I still use Booth's gin, a bit of vermouth, and an olive (laughs). And I'm 93, and most people that are 93 are in wheelchairs.

David: Most people don't live to be 93. They're already dead!

Helen: Right! And I don't have arthritis or health issues the way other people do. I just can't see. I can't operate the stove or the thermostat, but I'm good otherwise. If there's one thing I can say about gin it's that people want a nice, easy-going gin that's not too harsh.

David: What is it about gin that people like, in your opinion?

Helen: For one thing—well, you know that old saying: you drink three you're under the table and four you're under the host. A lot of people are only going to have one drink before dinner, and if so, a martini is a nice drink to have.

David: But why not something else? Why not a shot of whiskey?

Helen: Well, because when you drink a martini you're really getting two shots. And to this day people still see it as something special. As something that's good for you, ultimately.

-David Driscoll