Since the 1940s, The Oasis, perched on the side of US 27 in Palmdale, was the infamous, legendary watering hole for local cowboys and weary motorists who wandered in. The lighted welcome sign brightened the horizon, luring travelers to the one and only diner between Moore Haven and Lake Placid. Minnie Mae (deceased) managed The Oasis and was known for miles around for her special discipline of rowdy Saturday night cowboys. Muscle-bound, two hundred pound, rough and tough cowmen just off their horses would cower to Minnie Mae when in her quiet manner she warned them that if they didnt behave she would ban them from The Oasis for two weeks. The worst penalty she could administer was not allowing them to come inside the Oasis and enjoy the camraderie after a tough work week out on the prairie. Until it closed in the 1980s, music from the jukebox streamed down the highway trailed by the sweet aroma of grilled hamburgers wafting in the breeze into the wee hours of the night. Minnie Mae used to always say You could leave The Oasis but The Oasis never left you; you smelled like a hamburger. -excerpt from The Legacy of the Florida Pioneer Cow Hunters, In Their Own Words by Nancy Dale - photo by Waddy Thompson
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 03:06:54 +0000
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