Mory's

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Mory's
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location: 306 York Street
New Haven, Connecticut
Architectural style(s): Federal
Added to NRHP: 2005-01-25
NRHP Reference#: 04001552

Mory's, known also as Mory's Temple Bar, is a private club adjacent to the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1849 and housed in a clubhouse that was originally a private home built sometime before 1817. The club's membership consists solely of those who have an affiliation with Yale, and the culture of both institutions is notoriously entangled. Several important traditions are maintained at Mory's that have deep resonance with certain Yale alumni and students.

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[edit] Traditions

[edit] Cups

One of these is the ritualistic consumption of a so-called "Cup," in which a party of members gather to share alcoholic libations of assorted colors and constituents from large silver trophy cups that look like handled urns and are passed amongst the gathered company. The cups are ordered by color, and some are based on sparkling wines, while others are based on beer. There is an elaborate ritual, including at the completion of a cup a drinking song, associated with the tradition. Cups come in the following colors: Red (Bottle of inexpensive champagne + glass of inexpensive rum + sour mix + grenadine for color + one large ice cube), Gold (bottle of inexpensive champagne + orange juice + a healthy pour of Cointreau + one large ice cube), Purple (bottle of inexpensive champagne + some purple stuff + one large ice cube), Blue (bottle of inexpensive champagne + glass of blue curacao + one large ice cube), Green (bottle of inexpensive champagne + some green stuff + one large ice cube), and Velvet (bottle of inexpensive champagne + a pitcher of good draft ale combined + one large ice cube then a draft of Guinness poured slowly over the top.)

When a member finds himself (or herself, as Mory's has welcomed women into its membership ranks since 1972, three years after Yale College) about to finish a Cup, he or she faces the decades-old challenge of "cleaning the cup" -- removing all moisture from the cup by using only one's own mouth and, to finish the job, hair. Friends to the left and right are at the ready with napkins to minimize drippage during this process. While the member is finishing, and to give that member extra time to "clean the cup," his or her friends are wont to chant the following Mory's Song, with the finishing member's name as the hero of the song:

It's [Name],
It's [Name],
It's [Name] that makes the world go 'round,
It's [Na-ame], It's [Na-me],
It's [Name] that makes the world go 'round,
It's [Name] that makes the world go 'ro-ou-ound,

Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum,
Save another drunken bum
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum and you'll be saved.

I was h-a-p-p-y to be f-r-double-e
f-r-double-e to be s-a-v-e-d
s-a-v-e-d from the bonds of s-i-n
Glory glory Hallelujah hip hooray amen.

Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum,
Save another drunken bum
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nicked on the drum and you'll be saved.

I was lying in the gutter,
I was covered up in beer,
Pretzels in my moustache,
I thought the end was near,
Then along came [Name]!
And saved me from my curse,
Glory glory Hallelujah sing another verse!

Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum,
Save another drunken bum
Sing Hallelujah! Sing Hallelujah!
Put a nickel on the drum and you'll be sa-aa-aved.

At the conclusion of the Mory's Song, the member places the trophy cup, upside down, on top of a cloth (or, more challenging, paper) napkin, whereupon three friends place their respective hands atop the base of the cup and tap firmly. The cup is then whisked away, and the napkin is inspected for any signs of moisture. In decades past, if the napkin were wet, then the finishing member would be forced to pay for the cup; if the napkin were dry, the member to the finishing member's right -- who himself chose to forego finishing the cup -- would have to pay. In these more egalitarian times, most toasting parties split the bill evenly amongst members, regardless of who finishes or doesn't finish a cup.

[edit] The Whiffenpoofs

The Whiffenpoofs, the a cappella group made up of Yale seniors who are recruited from other Yale undergraduate singing groups, sings weekly most Monday evenings in the dining areas of the club. They often perform the famous "Whiffenpoof Song" which mentions Mory's as the "place where Louis dwells." It was through this song, which was sung and recorded by the likes of Rudy Vallee, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley, that the Club became part of the national consciousness in the early part of the twentieth century.

[edit] Yale Political Union

Since the early-to-middle 20th century, some of the Parties of the Yale Political Union (particularly those on the right) have adjourned to Mory's, "as is traditional." While the Parties no longer actually go to Mory's after debates, as Party debates have gotten longer and Mory's hours shorter over the years, the tradition of saying that a debate caucus adjourns to Mory's remains. The Parties of the Union have, over time, picked up the tradition of dining at Mory's, though, particularly for weekly Friday lunches, and most hold toasting sessions there as often as two or three times each semester. Current and past Club members include John Kerry, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, John R. Bolton, George Pataki, Joe Lieberman, the late John Heinz, the late Paul Mellon and the late William F. Buckley, Jr..

[edit] Food

Mory's is not only a highly regarded drinking establishment, it also serves a full menu six days a week (Monday through Saturday). The Mory's menu is studded with dishes of some age and popularity. The most interesting is the so-called "Baker's Soup," a tomato-curry concoction, which is said to have been invented by an eponymous professor ("Baker") to cure the hang-over. The "rarebits" are also of abiding popularity, as are more "modern" items, such as the French dip and Vichyssoise, and the mud pie for dessert.

[edit] References

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