Trader Jon's: Cradle of U.S. Naval Aviation

For nearly four decades, Trader Jon's was where the men who trained to fly the monster jets of the U.S. Navy let down their hair before going off to fight-and sometimes die-in lonely battles above obscure patches of water and land over Korea, Vietnam, and Bosnia. One measure of the Navy's deep regard for Weismann is the singular honor afforded him by the naval air station of naming a runway after him-TRADR-ONE. Trader Jon's is a biography of the man and the legendary Pensacola, Florida bar. It was where America's astronauts contemplated their future as they gazed at the time-worn artifacts of the past. Alan Shepard the first American in space and John Glenn the third American to travel in space were frequent visitors to the bar. It was where the famed Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy's precision flying team, met each year to induct new members into their ranks. Also among the celebrity Navy pilots who trained in Pensacola was late U.S. Senator John McCain, who was a regular at the bar during his training. He later said: "Trader Jon's was a place where Naval Aviators went to relax, swap stories and enjoy each other's company. I cherish the memories of my time spent there." It was where nearly every major symbol of the American Dream, including John Wayne, Bob Hope, Henry Fonda, and Elizabeth Taylor, found temporary solace. Artifacts lined the walls, pasted floor to ceiling, along with hundreds of framed photographs of the pilots, astronauts, and movie stars who visited the bar-and from the ceiling hung giant model airplanes, their wings tipped in mock flight as they circled within the soft glow of 25-watt passion lights. The passion lights were there for the young women who danced topless at the bar at night. Most of the women were local girls just out of their teens, most of whom experienced difficult childhoods or first marriages and sought refuge in Trader Jon's protective atmosphere. The women typically were the same ages of the young sailors who frequented the club. They eased the pain of separation from loved ones and kept the sailors off the street where they were likely to accost local women. Naval purists dismiss the importance of the women to Navy morale, but to do so would be to dismiss the importance of Trader Jon's to the Navy. Those women are an important part of this story.

About the Author :
After a career as a journalist for three Pulitzer Prize winning dailies, The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, the Clarion Ledger-Jackson Daily News, and the Delta Democrat-Times of Greenville (MS), James L. Dickerson he began a career as a full-time author. His book Mojo Triangle: Birthplace of Country, Blues, Jazz and Rock 'n' Roll earned a first place award from the Independent Publishers Association, and two music-related books, Goin' Back to Memphis (since republished as Memphis Going Down) and That's Alright, Elvis, co-written with Elvis Presley's first guitarist, Scotty Moore, were finalists for the prestigious Gleason award. He co-wrote a second book with Moore titled Scotty & Elvis. This book is his first movie rights sale. Two of his books have been translated into Chinese by publishers in China. The Italian language rights to Colonel Tom Parker were sold to a major publisher in Italy. The German language rights were sold to a publisher in Austria that sells books in Germany.Dickerson was the editor and publisher of Nine-O-One Network, at one time the third largest circulation music magazine in the United States, behind Rolling Stone and Spin. The magazine was the first magazine published in the South to obtain newsstand distribution in all 50 states. The magazine also had distribution in most European countries. In Russia it was read by underground radio announcers who worked to overthrow Communist Party domination.Dickerson is the editor and publisher of Sartoris Literary Group, one of the most successful non-academic trade book publishers in the South. Sartoris has been licensed to publish the works of William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright, Shelby Foote, and others. Steve Gardner is a photographer and roots musician who performs under the name Rambling Steve Gardner.

Review :
"Trader Jon's was a place where Naval Aviators went to relax, swap stories and enjoy each other's company. I cherish the memories of my time spent there."-U.S. Senator John McCain. "You talk about bonding, and you talk about brotherhood, and you talk about hat naval aviation was all about. Trader Jon kind of provided that foundation.-Retired Vice Admiral Jack Fetterman, as told to Associated Press. "Trader's itself feels like a cartoon. It's unique. There's no other place like it in the world. Trader is one of the most generous people I've ever met. He's a classic."-Jeff MacNelly, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and creator of the cartoon strip Shoe.