Karen Musgrave

Editor’s Note: A retirement party for Karen Musgrave is set for Sunday, Oct. 20, from 1-4 p.m. at Bumblebee’s, 112 N. Broadway, Toledo. It is planned to keep the business open to Jan. 1 while it is being offered for sale.

In the mid 1970s, two young brothers had a vision, to be self-employed entrepreneurs like their father and grandfather before them. When the local business came up for grabs, Don and Galen Musgrave seized the opportunity and opened Musgrave’s Pool Hall and the rest is Toledo history.

After a year or two, Galen left to pursue other interests and Don became the sole owner. He, and his wife Karen, along with their two young children Christi and Christopher had moved into the spacious apartment above the business and for the next 30-plus years it served as a social focal point for the community.

The business was more than just a bar; it was a gathering place for weddings and wakes, reunions and revelry, a card game in the corner, a political debate at the bar, regulars and fresh faces and at the center of it all was Don Musgrave with Karen and the kids serving as support staff.

There were some changes along the way. In the early 1980s, Don abruptly closed the doors and during that time it was an annex for Horbach Furniture, the FHA office, and Walnut Acres, the woodshop business that Don had inherited from his late father Don, Sr.

But that phase was short-lived because as Don said “I’m a guy who needs to be in it.” There was a name change to Bumblebee Billiards, Karen opened Bumblebee’s Pizzeria to give customers food options, and Don brought in karaoke because “People who drink and sing are happy people.”

And for many years the sounds of crooning voices and clinking glasses filled the courtyard across the street.

Don passed away in December of 2016 and his last words to Karen were “sell it all.” Despite his request, the family has kept it open but it’s hard to steer a ship without a captain.

“Don was the poolhall” according to Karen. “He wasn’t just the sole owner – he was the soul owner.”

On October 20, Don’s dying wish will be fulfilled. After a labor of love that has spanned decades, Karen Musgrave is formally retiring and in true tradition there will a final fling at Bumblebee’s.

After years of being the workhorse behind the scene, she is looking forward to some well deserved and much anticipated “me time”. Everything is for sale” Karen declared, “And somewhere out there I hope there is a person who can take this on and make it their own. It’s time for it to be someone else’s treasure. Don would have liked that.”

Writer Terri Musgrave is Karen’s sister-in-law and is married to Don’s brother Mike. The couple lives in Omaha, Neb.