In a place where the people revere the Victorian architecture and familial ties to history, the “last call” at Zeke’s Place in Victor was a time to reflect, mourn and celebrate the past.

More than 100 people, residents and friends, gathered in front of Zeke’s Place the morning of March 21 to bid farewell to a piece of history.  

Closed for nearly three decades, Zeke’s retains its place in Victor lore, the story of a bar that meant so much to so many from 1968 to 1991, when Ohrt Yeager established his legacy. 

For public safety reasons, the city now intends to tear down the building, which is filled with asbestos.

According to the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum, Yeager sold the building in 1991 to a Nebraska family, then retired with his wife Rose and moved to Florence.

With the ongoing disrepair, the city bought the building, agreed to remove the asbestos and demolish the building to resolve the public safety risk.

But not until hosting the farewell gathering and serving chili based on Ohrt’s famous recipe.

Shorty and Mary Bielz met at the bar more than 50 years ago. Mary Bielz, who had left the convent, needed a second job to supplement her income as a teacher at the Victor school. Yeager needed a bartender and remained unphased by hiring an ex-nun who knew zilch about booze.  

“Ohrt was a wonderful man who was rigorous and disciplined; he was here at 6 in the morning and kept the place open until 2 in the morning,” Bielz said, speaking in front of Zeke’s at 108 Third St., where the city had placed picnic tables for people to eat chili and walk down memory lane.

Known as the “bank of Victor,” Ohrt was always up for a loan to those who needed temporary help with rent or utilities, for instance. 

“His generosity, his steadfastness and love for Victor and the Gold Camp District laid the cornerstone,” Bielz said. “Hurrah!  Hurrah! Raise your glass in a toast to Ohrt. This is the ‘last call.’’’  

Shorty Bielz talked about the old days before strapping on his accordion and playing the Beer Barrel Polka, as he did for 30 years at Zeke’s Place. The Bielzes, who have four sons, celebrated their golden anniversary, 50 years, this summer.

Before Zeke’s Place, there was the Stope Café and Bar, a place Charlotte Cox remembers as one of her hangouts. She recalls that Yeager bought the Stope Café and Bar, did some remodeling and opened Zeke’s Place Bar and Grill in 1968.

“I learned to polka here from one of the guys,” said Karen Muntzert, a lifelong resident of Victor.

Cox, who is Muntzert’s mother, gets a laugh out of recalling the devotion of a regular, Albert Nothaus. “He lived in Goldfield and he walked every day, even in a blizzard, to Zeke’s Place for a beer,” Cox said.

Yeager owned the bar during Victor’s heyday, when several mines operated in the area so there were plenty of customers to keep Zeke’s Place going.

“This celebration today epitomizes Victor,” said Greg Liverman, who lives in Four Mile.

As part of the celebration/memorial, the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum showed a 1999 video of Yeager talking about his life at the bar, from an interview by former Victor resident and historian Jan Mackell Collins. To raise money to help preserve its own historic building, the museum sold engraved pint glasses with Zeke’s name and event information.

Maintaining the historic district is a prime goal of city leaders, they said.

“We know this Zeke’s building matters,” said Jessica Thurman, the city’s community and economic development director, in a press release. “Preservation remains a top priority and we are committed to continuing efforts to protect our historic buildings — and to supporting property owners through connection to resources, funding opportunities and partnerships that can help prevent situations like this in the future.”

Part of the city’s historic preservation efforts include a façade grant program that will help private owners improve the exterior of their downtown buildings. Those grants were recently awarded to 17 businesses.