Detours update: Sally Fisher

Sally Fisher, the ebullient former co-owner of Fisher's Club in Avon, Minn., died Oct. 16 at the age of 83.

I visited the supper club this summer for my Aug. 31 Detours column. Mrs. Fisher made a rare appearance at the restaurant, sitting to my left in her wheelchair as we ate walleye and Beeboparebop Rhubarb Pie. She loved telling stories about the 47 years she ran the supper club with her husband, George "Junior," son of founder George "Showboat" Fisher. Mrs. Fisher and Junior had their first date at the restaurant in 1946.

Mrs. Fisher, who sang and played ukulele, got a kick out of telling me about her secret recording sessions with rocker Bobby Vee.

I posted her touching ballad "47 Wonderful Years" on my Aug. 26 blog (blogs.suntimes.com/hoekstra). It was her ode to Fisher's Club. In forgiving tones she sings, "We've been told growing old is the pits/We thought we'd be here forever and never quit." It brought tears to my eyes.

"I didn't have to help her out much," Vee said in late August. "We pressed some up and gave them to her friends. It was so much fun for us to do that for her -- it meant everything. She's a saucy little singer."

I made the nearly eight-hour drive to Avon (pop. 1,144) by myself. I had ample time to reflect on why I search for such remote destinations. As I drove home, I realized I was not alone. Mrs. Fisher's spirit and songs were with me.

And they will stay with me forever.

-- Dave Hoekstra