Club 68: Rosalyn Jackson keeps island history alive!
(From the Archives)
When it comes to the richness of Galveston’s black community, Rosalyn Jackson is standing on hallowed ground in the 3100 block of Market Street. The one-story wood frame building once housed the Vagabond Club, where many of the island’s black movers and shakers gathered to share laughs and insider news about All Things Galveston.
Today, the building is home to Club 68, a hip nightspot that is carrying on the legacy of The Vagabond, Margaret’s Club and Club Paradise that followed. There’s also a new clothing store run by Rosalyn's daughter, Venicia Jackson, a soul food restaurant and more businesses in the works.
Rosalyn, who was born and raised in Galveston, is now the proud owner of the historic building after closing the deal in December 2020. She shared her thoughts about the momentous news with Humans of Galveston:
Humans of Galveston: How does that feel to own a Galveston institution?
Rosalyn: It’s scary. This is my first time ever owning a building. But it’s glory to me to see people come in here and smile and have a good time, especially the older people that stop in because they didn’t have a place to go. They feel at home and it makes me feel good when people from out of town come in here and say, ‘Man, this is a nice place and we’ll be back.’ And they came back.
Humans of Galveston: How did the sale come to fruition?
Rosalyn: I had been leasing the building since 2017. Preston Malott, who was the owner, said to me, ‘I think you can do it (purchase).’ I ran a Community Outreach program next door. People that couldn’t afford clothes and stuff, I would give it to them. We would feed everybody for Thanksgiving. I was running that and Eddie Jones was running Club 68 in 2012. Before he died he said, ‘Rosalyn, one day this is going to be yours’ and I said, ‘No, you’re doing a good job.’ But he told me, ‘Rosalyn if anything should happen to me, keep it going.’ So I’m like, ‘Ain’t nothing going to happen. I stayed that third year in 2017. Eddie passed away that third year. I was supposed to have left. Preston Malott came to me and asked me, ‘Rosalyn, do you want to run a club?’ and I said, ‘Nah, I can’t run no club.’ He said, ‘Yes you can.’ The club was leased by Eddie and Lenore. So I kept it as Club 68 because of Eddie. It already had history.
Humans of Galveston: Who are your customers?
Rosalyn: Most of our customers are older people. They came from Cedar Terrace, Palm Terrace, Magnolia Homes, and many have returned since Ike. Now that I’m here, they come from Louisiana, Houston, Dallas.
Humans of Galveston: What final words would you like to share?
Rosalyn: I want to say, ‘Keep your dreams alive. Keep hope and have faith in God and everything will guide you the right way.’
Published by Bobby Stanton
Opmerkingen