R54 , you might have known Jimbo's older brother Tom , if you used to hang out at Cascade Dam with the Tiburon crowd then you must know him . Actually that is who I met first , long before I met Jimbo. There dad was Gene. When was Tiburon incorporated to a City ? Yes Tiburon has changed much , you can't even pound a few nails without someone calling the Building Dept. and being red tagged for building a bar for youths without a permit , and no liquor license either ! And of course there was white and green dope available too. For all the parents concerned about having kids drinking un-supervised , there was never one incedent that occured from the existence of the private bar . The only thing that happened was to me , I came out onto Tiburon Blvd. on night and saw some headlights way down the road , so being young and stupid I blew the Stop sign. Low and behold it was a Tiburon cop behind those headlights. He pulled me over and asked me where I was comming from , when I told him Jimbo's , he said OH! , have you been drinking ? I said yes that I had 3 beers. He said that it was smart of me not to lie to him , because he said he could smell the beer. He told me that since I was honest that he would let me go Scott free without any citation , and that if I had lied , he would have thrown the book at me.
Tiburon is where I grew up in the 50`s and 60`s. I dont think I know Jimbo but my brother might. I did know John the weekend bartender at tommies who would set us up when we were 19 or 20,drove him home a few times. When we where about 10 or 11 ,12 we would sneak on to the train pier and go down between the pilings to spear big perch that we would sell to Tiburon Tommies for 25 cents each. Big money for us then.
Back then the county sheriffs were the law that would cite us if they caught us , witch wasnt very often. But when we were driving they would pull us over for anything . Many of times late at night I can remember being pulled over on the side of the road and Sheriff cars all around lit up like Christmas . Funny thing was they all would have their flash lights out looking on the floor boards ? We had some good time back then. Will have to tell you about the water tank story some time Tiburon today has changed to mutch for me.
In the early '80's, I remember Opening Day, for the sailboats, being a huge public party. It hasn't been like that for a long time. I work in Tiburon, and, believe me, it ain't the same as it used to be! If you loiter on the wrong street, especially if you have an old car, you will soon be visited by Tiburon or Belvedere's finest. No sight-seeing for you, peasant! Move along!
I never really got to know the people of Tiburon - Belvedere until about 1972 , when most of the kids went to High School in Larkspur. One of the first people I met was Jimbo B. , his father was a bartender at Tiburon Tommy's. Before we were 21 , Jimbo built a non permitted addition to his parents house that's sole function was a full bar for under aged kids , a place to go and party like adults did only with no police walkthroughs. It was there I got to meet most of the people in Tiburon. Later when we turned 21 we would all go down to Main St. on weekend nights. Sam's and Tommy's were total hot spots. And there was lots of good live music happening at the Caprice and other places I don't remember. I met a bunch of girls from S.F. that would go to Tiburon and party every weekend. Then there was opening day of yaught season , a huge celebration all over the bay on boats and a big bash out at Angel Island during the day and later all the bars on Main St. were overflowing. I know some people in the music business who used to book lots of music at the clubs down there back then , and they tell me that now it's not happening any more like it was. I'm glad we were there when it was peaking. I still go down to Tiburon - Belvedere all the time to do electrical work , and I still love the area , another classic Southern Marin bayside community with great views of the City , and now that I'm older , I don't care about the nightlife so much as I used to , and I still have fond memories.
