Known by many as the friendliest little place on Hyner Mountain, Pat Reeder’s opened its doors 100 years ago this June as a little hole-in-the-wall tavern. And, by design, it really hasn’t changed all that much since then!

For the past 43 years — since 1979 — the husband-and-wife duo of Malm and Margaret Riggle of Renovo have operated the tavern. They’re only the third owners, having taken over from Malm’s father Dale, who had worked for Pat Reeder and inherited the bar when Reeder died in 1978.

And, yes, the walls at Pat Reeder’s do have more than a few stories to tell!

The huge fish mounted behind the bar is a muskie that Pat Reeder reportedly caught in Canada in the 1930s. “It’s been hanging on that piece of oak ever since, and it’ll stay there until it falls off,” says Malm of what’s been a conversation piece for years. In fact, one of the regulars at Pat Reeder’s, a petite, smart looking woman, likes to point to the fish and exclaim, “I’m even older than that fish on the wall!”

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLINTON COUNTY ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP Malm Riggle, at right, and next to him his wife Margaret, swap stories with friends and patrons at Pat Reeder’s Tavern, which they’ve owned for more than 40 years. The memorabilia-filled wall behind them tells decades worth of tales as the Tavern this year celebrates its 100th anniversary.

The bar, as well as a small dining area Malm and Margaret added in the early 1980s, opens at noon seven days a week and has a loyal following. It’s not uncommon, for example, to see the bar lined with people early on a Tuesday afternoon. There’s plenty of friendly chatter, as the group has just finished making hoagies for the Haneyville Fire Company’s monthly hoagie sale and is enjoying a few drinks before heading home.

“There are so many stories and shenanigans – people having a good time,” is how Margaret describes the atmosphere. She says many of their friends and customers were flatlanders who spent time in the area over the years and have now retired and moved here to live.

Clientele on many days are hunters who stop in for a cold beer and something to eat after a day in the woods. Toward evening, the crowd can include locals, people who are spending time at their camps in the area, motorcyclists on a scenic ride, and others just passing through on their way to somewhere else.

“We added the restaurant about four years into it, after Malm saw people leaving our place around 4:00 in the afternoon to go get something to eat,” says Margaret. “We purchased some second-hand equipment, extended the kitchen and made a dining area. We still use the original grill, but we’ve updated other equipment since then.”

She adds, “We still have the original cash register. too. The highest it rang was $1.95. We had to stop using it when we opened the kitchen for food sales.”

“We had to get into food,” explains Malm. “By five o’clock, everybody would clear out. So, we decided, we’ll feed them here. It’s done well for us — we’re busy every day.”

Margaret agrees, saying food sales now make up much more of the overall business than bar sales. “We’re very blessed. We’re repeating generations — there are so many people we call friends — everybody is friendly and we all get along. And we always have something fun going on; we celebrate birthdays, weddings, one year we even made calendars with pictures of people at the bar. Giving back to your customer base is what it’s all about — we’re successful because of them. I would also say the place is a little old-fashioned,” she adds with a laugh.

Says Malm, “Look down along the bar. You won’t see one cell phone – you can’t use them here (there’s no cell service), so people have to talk. It’s a social hall, and nobody’s buried in their phone.”

Operating Pat Reeder’s is definitely a labor of love for Malm and Margaret. They credit their staff over the past four decades with much of the Tavern’s success, as they both had day jobs and for many years worked the tavern only evenings and weekends. Malm is now retired from the Wayne Township Landfill and Margaret had been a para-educator at Bucktail High School.

While the couple has certainly grown the business, they’ve also stayed true to the quiet, but remarkable man who started it all, Grover Cleveland Reeder, known to his friends as Pat (the story goes that one of his girlfriends used to call him Pattie, and the name stuck).

“In his early years, around 1909, Pat was a pro baseball player for the Tri-State League,” says Malm. “In 1922 when he opened the bar, he was just trying to make a living. This was during Prohibition, mind you.

(Legendary moonshiner) Prince Farrington serviced this place before Pat got a liquor license. Pat lived above the bar, and had rooms in back for hunters who would come and stay. He’d put them up and feed them.”

“Pat loved the outdoors and he was quite the hunter himself,” continues Malm. “He was an avid bird hunter and supplied several cities with our state bird, the ruffed grouse. In the community, he was a 50-year member of the Elks Club in Renovo.”

Right after Prohibition ended, Pat received his first liquor license from the state, dated 1933-34. He was the 49th person in Pennsylvania to receive a license and that document (another ‘if walls could talk’ story) still hangs on the wall today in the Tavern dining room. With only one exception, Malm and Margaret still have every liquor license issued ever since!

Malm and Margaret invite folks to take a trip up Hyner Mountain to help celebrate the anniversary of Pat Reeder’s Tavern. While you’re there, take time to enjoy some great food and drink, and maybe listen to a few more stories about the Tavern’s past 100 years!