Post #807121 by MadDogMike on Sat, Dec 31, 2022 2:49 PM

Bamboo Ben passed on a message to me from Susan Lillis-Brouck Smith, the daughter of the owner of Kelbo's

"Thank you for putting up the color version of the KELBOS flyer. My father, Jacklin Henry Bouck was the artist of the Conversation Window. I watched him assemble part of it in the kitchen of Kelbo's when they were in the midst of rebuilding it after it burnt in 1962. My father was a percussionist and played on the cruise ship that toured the South Pacific from 1926-1930. He collected recipes from his many ports of call. He would cook in the ship's galley after the orchestra stopped playing and would feed his fellow musicians. Back in LA playing at a venue, his drums burnt. That was at the beginning of WW2. He got a job at Todd Shipyard as a welder. That is where he met Tom Kelly. Invited him over for dinner at my parent's apartment. That was the start of Kelbos. Please print this so everyone will know the real story. Thank you, Susan"

From another conversation "My Dad owned Kelbos. He made all the resin art work including the door face made out of keys. He invented all the recipes when he was a musician on the Orient So. Pacific cruise ship (1926-1930) After he died in 1971. Tom Kelley built the lighthouse in the parking lot and moved into it. He refused to let us into Dad's office to get any of his possessions or recipes. Mr. Kelley also added many new things to the menu."

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2022-12-31 14:57:47 ]