Helga’s Last Call
It was a quiet goodbye last Thursday night as one of Petaluma's most famous bartenders worked her final shift at a historic downtown bar after nearly 25 years of pouring drinks, winning hearts and not suffering any fools.
A few bouquets of fresh cut flowers and many hugs from loyal patrons -- young and old -- were the only outward signs that something was amiss, and that was the way Helga Lalonde wanted it.
"She said under no circumstances will there be a party," explained Kathy Andresen, the owner Andresen's Bar on Western Avenue, of the employee who worked for her for nearly a quarter of a century.
Lalonde, with cropped dark red hair, pearl earrings and little interest in fanfare, didn't like the idea of an article on her departure.
"I'm not into that," she said matter-of-factly in a thick German accent.
Although she declined to be interviewed, Lalonde did tolerate the interviews of others on that unusually busy weekday night.
So it was up to Andresen, her soon-to-be-former employer and the people who turned out for her last call to speak about the end of an era that came with the departure of the no-nonsense bartender known simply to all as "Helga."
Recalling quintessential "Helga" moments, Andresen produced a large pink press clipping from the early 1980s titled "Lady bartender shows her tough side."
The article details how a then-33-year-old Lalonde wrestled a would-be robber to the ground and held him there until the cops arrived.
Many of the regulars lined up at the bar were also familiar with their lady bartender's bravado.
"She's capable of picking someone up by their ear and dropping them on the curb," said Jenefer Duane of Two Rock, who has been coming to Andresen's for the past eight years.
"But even when provoked, she's cool as a cucumber," she said.
Rusty Hall calls Lalonde the "Helganator," because of similarities between her and California's brawny Austrian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"They're both very forceful, she's an enforcer," he said.
"She has to be to run this place," he added, referring to the Western Avenue bar where deer heads and old pistols line the walls and fistfights on the front sidewalk still break out on the occasional rowdy night.
But according to her loyal customers, beneath Lalonde's tough exterior lies a big heart and a sympathetic ear that has kept them coming back.
"I'm going to miss her camaraderie, friendship and support," said Duane, who went on to describe her as a "one-woman social service agency."
According to Duane, the same woman who was capable of throwing someone around by their ear, would also cook meals and deliver them to seniors in the area.
"She was a part of Petaluma," said Hall.
And she's a part of the town that will most likely be gone for good.
Over the years Lalonde left a few times before for brief spells, but something about this time is different, said Andresen.
Time has ticked by and everyone's retiring, she said, adding that her employee's departure has caused her to think about moving on as well.
However, retirement is not quite on the cards for Lalonde yet.
She's packing her bags and heading north to Newberg, Ore. with her new husband, where the plan is to eventually open a strip club and casino and where most she'll likely get a chance to use the skills she polished during all those years behind the bar in Petaluma.