Former Hershee Bar owners continue their Thanksgiving tradition
Spot where lesbians gathered closed, but dinner still goes on
Thanksgiving Day in 1983 started like any other.
Annette Stone opened the bar she co-owned — Hershee’s — perched on the corner of Sewells
Point Road in Norfolk.
But because there were only a few places for lesbians to gather without judgment at the time, the bar was much fuller than she expected.
“A lot of our customers did not have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving,” said Stone, who’d opened the bar with partner Bill Tyndall that year. “Some of their families
were just a few minutes away, but they couldn’t go there.”
She made as many turkey sandwiches as she could that first year, she said. The next, they had a full meal.
“I had to learn how to cook a turkey,” Stone said with a laugh as she remembered some of the lighter moments.
The annual event continued for more than 30 years before Hershee’s closed in 2018.
But a new tradition is now in the works. This year will mark the second Thanksgiving celebration at Stone’s other bar, 37th and Zen.
The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. Thanksgiving Day.
Stone said they’ve previously served a buffet spread, complete with everything from turkey to ham, stuffing, deviled eggs, steamed shrimp, as well as vegetarian and vegan options such as tofurkey and mashed potatoes,
sans the butter.
“We did two L-shaped, long tables full of food,” Stone said about previous celebrations.
They can’t do that this year because of the pandemic, so patrons will now be able to place an order and have a server bring it to a table.
Over the years, the number of attendees at Hershee’s ranged from 30 to 100. Stone said they’ve had regulars come every year for decades.
Getting into the event is simple, Stone said. She’s not picky.
“Be hungry, or just in need of companionship, or have communion with your friends and neighbors,” she said. “Just come enjoy the day with your family of choice, or whatever family you can have that time.”
General Manager Brendan Mulligan also stressed that the annual dinner is a space for people to feel loved because it hasn’t been easy for them.
“Years ago, it wasn’t OK to be out,” he said. “A lot of the lesbi
ans and gays, and it still happens now, get ostracized by their families and they don’t have any place to go.”
That theme of love has prospered over the past three decades, he said.
“People will always have a safe space and they will always have a family here if they don’t have one,” Mulligan said.
And it isn’t just young, gay people who show either, Stone said.
Back when the event first started, many people in the area who were disabled or didn’t have transportation would come too.
“Everybody from that community at Five Points knew they could come there,” she said. “They knew that they could, in fact, get a nice meal. That is more gratifying than I can even say.”
Now that their current location is 20 minutes away, she is worried about some of those old regulars. She’s made sure some people can get rides to 37th and Zen.
Stone said she remembers how
much fun they had celebrating Thanksgiving despite the loss some of them felt not being able to see family.
Guests, now grown with their own families, often tell her how much Thanksgiving at Hershee’s meant to them, she said.
It was also special for Stone because her parents, who didn’t quite understand her life’s work, showed up.
“They would come to support me too,” she said. “It was a hard time for everyone to come mingle and understand one another, but my parents put forth such a great effort.”
Stone said she’s glad she was able to help so many people at Hershee’s and that she can keep doing it her other bar.
“The elation that we all felt to give back to our community is immeasurable,” she said. “It’s beautiful. I wish I could do it for the rest of my life.”