06/09/2021
The social scene in West Marin is picking up steam as Covid-19 restrictions wind down and bars open up. The Old Western joined Papermill Creek and Smiley’s Schooner Saloons in reopening last week, and bartenders are excited to be back. Customers are returning to improved venues, with better lighting, fresh paint and new pool tables. They’re drinking a lot and tipping well. All eyes are on June 15, when capacity limits and mask requirements are set to fall away. Live music acts are booked, and people are ready to party.
“When we finally got the go-ahead, it was exuberant,” said Freda Keltner, a bartender at the Western for the last six years. “It couldn’t have been more of a love fest.”
Jump to navigation Courtesy of the family Thomasina Wilson and her husband, Woodrow, bought the Papermill Creek Saloon in 1969, transforming it from a rough biker bar into the social hub it is today.
By 05/05/2021
Thomasina Wilson, the owner of the Papermill Creek Saloon for over 50 years, died on Jan. 20 at 96 years old. Thomasina moved to the valley in 1948 and raised 14 children in Lagunitas. At the bar, she was known simply as “the boss lady.” She bought the saloon when it was known to have nightly fights and an undesirable crowd, and she turned it into a hearty social hub, with a profit.