Kozy’s Bar Back In The Family vBy Julie Eickhoff Kozy’s Bar on the west end of Yankton is no stranger to the locals. The welcoming gathering place has been there for generations. I had the opportunity to cozy up with Lawrence Kozak and his granddaughter Kristen Kozak about the transition of the business over the years. Lawrence, nicknamed Kozy years ago and now 88 years young, explained to me how the bar began. “Well, it was waaaaaay back,” he laughs. In the 1930’s, Kozy’s uncle, Frank Kozak, opened up a gas station west of Yankton. Kozy remembers the price of gas at that time around 8-10 cents per gallon. Frank Kozak wanted to move the station closer to Yankton, paying $75 total for the two acres of ground where Kozy’s Bar now sits. Gas at that time was sold for 10 cents per gallon. When Frank passed away in 1969, his brother Charlie took over, renting the station. Kozy purchased the property from Charlie in 1971 paying $5,000 for the two acres and the gas station. August 5, 1972, Kozy opened up Kozy’s Bar under his ownership, with the removal of the gas service. He added on the station in the early 1990’s. Over the next 28 years that Kozy owned the bar, he also hauled water, sold cars, hauled livestock and grain. He worked night and day, but still found time to have fun. He recalls his days delivering water, before rural water lines were installed. He bought three brand new commercial water trucks for the business in 1976 from a dealer in Sioux City, setting him back $16,000 for all three trucks. His request – he wanted a red one, a white one and a blue one. He had a couple of drivers that helped him with deliveries. The drivers would fill their trucks at the water plant in Yankton. He recalls the slow process of filling the tank, putting in one quarter at a time until the truck’s 1,500-gallon tank was full. He recalls one winter day, they had 21 orders and the temperature outside with wind chill was a bone chilling seventy degrees below zero. Due to the extreme cold, his drivers couldn’t help that day. Kozy started on deliveries himself and he got six orders competed before calling it quits for the day. Growing up in that area, I recall times visiting Kozy’s; the regulars would play cards together while their kids played. I asked my mom, Rose Schwarz, for a memory of Kozy’s bar. “Kozy would greet you by your name and usually had a joke or two to tell. Sometimes, by the end of the night, everyone knew the joke by heart. Kozy is one of a kind, a friend to everyone who walked in the door.” She recalls how they played cards and sometimes played When you want brand-name sunwear, choose Vision Care Associates www.visioncareassociates.net 605.665.2020 2701 Fox Run Parkway, Yankton, SD 57078 10vHERVOICEvMARCH/APRIL 2019 A S S O C I AT E S Dr. Steven Anderson, Dr. Aaron Feser, Dr. Laura Slowey