Written by Madeleine Mason
Part 1 of the Locals, Legend & Lore series about The Tugboat Saloon can be found HERE
If only stories could hold up walls, the Tugboat would still be standing. Unfortunately, memories can only survive in our hearts rather than support beams, and the building was leveled on July 23, 2024 after standing for 52 years.
Memories of the Tugboat exist in the hearts of many (although many of them may never be shared publicly), and while the building may no longer be standing, its impact has proven to stand the test of time. Local families began with run-ins at the bar, lifelong friendships were forged over cold beers and good music, and I’m sure a few arrest records could point one back there too.
“It’s definitely Era ending,” said long time local, Ulrich Salzgeber, who described the Tugboat as “The Community Center of Steamboat in the 70s and 80s.” He spoke of all the celebrities and important people who walked through the doors of the Tugboat. Clint Eastwood, William Shatner, The Kennedy Family, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Seal Team 6, and Clint Black to name a few.
Willie Nelson made the Tugboat his home base when visiting Steamboat in the 70’s. From an essay in the Library of Congress about Nelson and his 1975 album, Red Headed Stranger, the author writes, “At the start of the long drive home back to Austin, Texas, from a January 1975 ski vacation in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Willie Nelson mentioned to his wife. . .that he needed to deliver an album to his new label, Columbia Records, and he had no clue what to record.” By the time they reached home, Willie Nelson had outlined and composed the album which went gold within 5 months and eventually double platinum. Perhaps he was inspired by the downhome vibe and general awesomeness of The Tugboat.
Bill Murray lived nearby for a time and would sit at the Tugboat bar waiting for people to recognize him and would get annoyed when they didn’t. Larry Lamb remembers Olympic Gold Medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton dining at Table 8 and iconic country singer Tanya Tucker, a frequent customer, once sang Delta Dawn while dancing on the bar in scandalously tight pants.
While being a good place to party, The Tugboat also sought to support the community that made it a home. The phrase, “It’s just business” typically indicates an impersonal approach that focuses only on profit. Larry and Hank made other people their business. They supported the community, provided entertainment and revelry, lifted up individuals, became family for employees and regulars, helped raise money for worthy causes and were a landmark for returning guests.
Lamb offered financial support to Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club athletes through the Alpine Ability Scholarship fund before there was any formal funding for the program and was honored when successful athletes returned to thank him. The Tugboat hosted dinners after events like The Moose’s Loose Golf Tournament that was in honor of Olympian, Moose Barrows, and benefitted SSWSC and the Ski Town USA Golf Classic put on by Doak Walker and Vern Lundquist. TheTugboat hosted many local fundraisers to help individuals and families struggling with illness and misfortune.
The Tugboat was part of the DNA of Steamboat. Quoting a 2008 Steamboat Pilot article, “Many locals have specified in their Wills that their wake should be held at “The Tugger,” and many were. There was the fancy, white cowboy boot of Olympian, Skeeter Werner, filled with champagne and passed around at her Tugboat memorial. The Tugboat was more about people than profit, experiences rather than bottom lines, it was cherished and they thrived because of it. Their generosity was as iconic as their festivities.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, this wasn’t just another old bar with layers of grease and cigarette smoke on the walls and decades of sticky beer on the floors. The Tugger shut down twice a year and was cleaned top to bottom. Walls scrubbed, dirty rugs pulled out, everything spit-shined and polished before reopening.
Environment was important to Hank and Larry, both inside the restaurant and throughout the community, which is why the short-lived and coveted Annual River Fest was put to an end in 1979 after only 5 years. The event had grown each year until there were 5,000 people in the river, 5,000 more on the banks of the Yampa and several news helicopters flying overhead. It started at what is now The Ponds, and went all the way into town. There was a mandatory shot station going under the Tree Haus bridge so it’s no surprise things could get out of hand. Crazy floats and costumes were a staple of the Festival and, every year, with Vern Lundquist, the famous Sportscaster, announcing, everyone knew what to watch for. There were always surprises that generated questions like; What exactly was Billy Kidd thinking the year he brought his big Catamaran down the river? Whatever it was, he likely regretted it after he hit a powerline and melted the mast of his boat.
Larry and Hank quickly realized the negative impact the debauchery of the River Festival was having on the ecosystem of the Yampa River and made the sobering decision to discontinue it. It was a demonstration among many of their devotion to being an asset for the community and not a liability.
“It’s like losing a good friend,” Annie Nowe wrote in the Pilot about the 2013 business closure and now, in 2024, the building is gone. The lot won’t stay empty for long and one can only hope the new occupants won’t be spooked as they are sure to hear the faint echo of a guitar riff, a phantom swell of raucous laughter, the scratch and shuffle of ski boots across the wood floor, a phone ring being answered with “World Famous Tugboat, how can we help you” and, if one listens closely, the whining of an outnumbered Tom Cat named Tugboat.
The Tugboat was a legend and filled the souls of many who crossed its threshold for almost 4 decades. While it will be missed, Legends do live on in the memories and stories of others, so we must never stop telling the stories.
For more stories about the history and impact of The Tugboat, listen to our Common Folk in the Boat podcast, presented by Billo Premium Cannabis, featuring Larry Lamb.
