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Saying Goodbye To Mary, Lame Goose Tavern Owner Retires at 97

MINERSVILLE — Folks gathered at a long-time business in Schuylkill County Friday night to say goodbye to the owner. For 58 years, Mary Wernosky has called...

MINERSVILLE -- Folks gathered at a long-time business in Schuylkill County Friday night to say goodbye to the owner.

For 58 years, Mary Wernosky has called Lame Goose Tavern in Minersville home. She runs the tavern on South Street in the borough and lives above it.

She and her husband opened the business after he returned from World War II. In fact, it is named for him.

"My husband was in the Battle of the Bulge and he got shrapnel all over his body, mostly in his legs and he was about to lose his leg, but they saved it. And when he got better, he walked with a limp and somebody said, 'You walk like a duck.' And from then on it became a goose," said Wernosky.

Mary's husband passed away more than 35 years ago. Mary ran the tavern since then, always using the original cash register. The tavern has held dances, even a wedding once, and Mary befriended generations of customers.

"She can come out with some dandies. I have many a good laugh and still do. We talk on the phone every night and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff she says," laughed Mary Hendricks, a friend of more than 40 years.

"She really is an icon and you can see by the people, they just love her," said Minersville council member and friend Walter Miscavage.

At 97 years old, Mary Wernosky has decided to retire.

At a party in her honor Friday (which she told her friends not to have, by the way), the mayor of Pottsville stopped by with a letter of achievement for her and a key to the city.

"Back in my younger days, I played a little ball and we would frequent the place and I got to know her back then and when I heard she was going out of business I knew I needed to come and say thank you and goodbye," said Pottsville Mayor James Muldowney.

Mary Wernosky will be moving to West Virginia to be near some family members, but says she will miss this place and, of course, her many friends.

"It was nice, always having someone to talk to, somebody to listen to, somebody to drink with. I guess I'll have to get used to a quiet life," she said.

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