Like I mentioned yesterday, I was going
to give you the answers to the six questions I wrote for the History
Center's “100 Years, 100 Questions” trivia contest Wednesday
night. You've had 24 hours (or 24 seconds, if you binge read these
on the weekend) to see if you knew what the answers were, so without
further ado...
The questions, and the answers!
Which seedy (but legendary) Marquette
bar was known by the nicknames “The Broken Jaw” and “The Bucket
of Blood”? That would be Snuffy's, the dump that sat out on County
Road 550. It acquired the nickname “The Broken Jaw” when a bar
fight the very first night it was open caused a lumberjack to walk
away with a busted jaw. It kept the latter nickname because of the
fights that continued throughout its history.
Which Marquette county town was home to
such taverns as Gigs, The Paradise, and The Congress? That would, of
course, be Ishpeming. In the 60s, it was apparently quite easy for
underage teenage girls to get served at Gigs, at least according to
people who were around at the time
Which former Marquette mayor owned a
bar in which women were not allowed (in the 1950s!). That would be
Joe Fine's bar, which opened at 7 every morning for workers getting
off of their overnight shifts and closed promptly at 7 each night, so
that the people who worked there could go home to their family.
According to what one of Joe's family members told me, he didn't
allow women in the bar because his wife was a little...off-kilter,
and he wanted a place where he could spend time without her barging
in. That's what I was told.
Which Marquette bar was named after a
character from “Gone With the Wind?” Scarlet O'Hara's, which was
located (if I remember correctly, because I was actually alive for
this) where Lagniappe is now located in the basement of a downtown
Marquette office block.
Which one-time NMU hangout was famous
for Car Crashes (the drinks, not the actually fender benders) and
Jell-O Wrestling? As many people at the contest said, “Duh. The
Alibi”. And, if I'm not mistaken, it was one of the few questions
every single person got right.
And...which Marquette County dance club
was founded by a reputed Chicago mobster named Mike Kelly? That
would be Kelly's Slide, opened after World War II between Marquette
and Negaunee. I don't know if it was ever proven that Mike Kelly was
an actual Chicago gangster, but his tenure as owner was short-lived.
He reported that someone had broken into the bar one night and stolen
$2,000, after which he filed an insurance claim. He never did
receive the insurance money, though, as police found the two grand
buried under the bar where Mike Kelly himself buried it an an attempt
to defraud his insurance company.
He then sold the bar right before he
started his jail sentence.
Now you have the answers to the
questions. And maybe, just maybe, a little insight into why I find
the seedy underbelly of Marquette history so interesting!
*****
Now, before I go for the weekend, I have some flowers for daily blog reader Betsy in downstate Reese--
She's getting out of the hospital
today, and both Loraine and I hope she's feeling super. We'll see
you soon!!
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