ALTON - This year's flooding has had a troubling economic impact in a lot of area businesses.
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In Alton, Morrison's Irish Pub has been closed for two months and reopening is still a future prospect without a definite date. Structural issues and wiring problems could set that reopening further in the future and make it more expensive. The full extent of the damage won't be fully realized until the water finally recedes. With as much as two months' income being subtracted from the situation, Morrison's will need all the help it can get - and many Altonians are heeding its call.
Dale Henderson, one of the several folks who call Morrison's a home away from home when it comes time to sing a good shanty, has been donating tips accrued by shanty singing to the overall well-being of the Morrison's family - including folks out of work because of the flood. He and fellow Morrison's performer, Mila Raye Duffy, decided to do something more to help.
Duffy planned an event at Bottle and Barrel and Henderson worked with Lovejoy's event space owner Russ Smith to host a benefit there. The two have since joined forces to host a joint event at 7 p.m. Thursday at Lovejoy's in Alton.
During that event, Shanty singers will be inside with a barrel of Guinness, singing Irish folk songs.
"That's what you need for a good shanty - a barrel of Guinness and maybe some Jameson," Henderson said with a chuckle. "We can have anywhere from five to 15 people to even more for a good shanty."
During the shanty portion, a collection of musicians, including Duffy and her band, The Dead Roses, will be performing outside the event space at the elaborate patio area.
There will not be any entry fee for the event. Henderson said people should feel free to donate from their own volition. He said the money will go to the folks who operate Morrison's as well as their workers.
"Before I retired, I would work for shanty night," Henderson said. "So it's a little selfish for me because I love going there and singing shanties."
People are going to be joining Henderson who have sang across the country to make this event the best shanty event yet. The addition of outside music performances makes it even better, he said.
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