Reminiscing On Rogers

Dear Editor:

I am a local resident. This is my 60th year on the beach. So, I’m no spring chicken.  In 1968, I turned 18, and I remember going into a bar in the arcade on the beach block of 116th Street. The owner’s name was Daniel Maher. Behind the cash register was a picture of Rogers Hotel, but it didn’t say Rogers.  It said Maher’s Hotel. I mentioned this to my father, who told me Mr. Maher’s wife was the sister of my grandmother, my mother’s mother. I keep hearing about Roger’s being the oldest hotel in Rockaway, but that picture always comes to mind.  I tried looking up this bit of history with no success. I belong to a local senior center, and was talking about this to a friend, when another fellow said he had his first drink in Maher’s hotel bar in 1956 when he was 18.  Well, lo and behold, I finally have someone who can say the picture is real. I don’t know how long Mr. Maher owned Rogers, but I think this puts a dent in Rogers being the sole owner of that building.

A Local Resident