Bob Wagner
Robert ‘Bob’ Wagner was the original owner of the Half Moon. In the early 1930s, he built a restaurant, snack bar, bowling alley, and cabins on the Lakeside Avenue site of the former New Hotel Weirs.
Wagner was born in 1895 and passed away on March 5, 1980. He is buried at Bayside Cemetary in Laconia.
Wagner’s nephew, Allen R. (Chip) Loring Jr., was the source of the photos of the original Half Moon Tea Room, which were framed and hung on his wall at his home near Salt Lake City, Utah. Chip was an instructor at the Snowbird ski resort and was friendly with the webmaster’s brother, an avid skier, who visited Chip’s home and took pictures of the framed photos. Chip’s brother Bret owned and operated the Paradise Beach Club in Weirs Beach (now the Big House) for many years.
Wagner poses in chef’s uniform with the staff from the Half Moon Restaurant.
Sketches of Wagner by Ackerman. The artist is presumably the same Eva Belle Ackerman, seen in the above photo.
Wagner wearing the distintctive red fez of the Potentate of the Shriners of New Hampshire. The Potentate was the leadership position in this fraternal organization, known for their pediatric burn hospital in Boston, as well as other hospitals.
