And a grand time was had by, I hope,
all.
Last night's trivia contest at the
Marquette Regional History Center was a blast. I actually learned a
few things, thanks to questions that other people came up with (for
instance, did you know that Colonel Sanders actually came to
Marquette for the opening of the franchise here?), and everyone
seemed to really enjoy the bar questions that I contributed. Maybe
that's not a surprise, though.
After all, they were drinking last
night!
One of the stories I told combined both
alcohol and crime, and is an example of just how much people think
they can get away with. In 1947, Kelly’s Slide, located between
Marquette and Negaunee, was one of the county’s hot spots. People
from all over the area would go there to listen to orchestras and to
dance the night away. The guy who owned it was a Chicago native
named Mike Kelly. While some locals really liked Mike, there were
always rumors that he was a Windy City gangster. I don’t know if
THAT was true, but I do know what happened one night in 1947 IS.
That night, Mike Kelly reported that
he’d been robbed of several thousand dollars. The police came out,
investigated, and after talking to everyone involved, said the case
was clear & shut. The money was missing, Kelly had been beat up,
and they told him to file the paperwork with the insurance company.
Then, one day a few weeks later ,
working on an anonymous tip, the police went back to Kelly’s Slide
to talk to Mike Kelly about the robbery. . .specifically, where HE
had buried the $2,000. You see, Mike Kelly had apparently cooked up
a scheme with another individual to fake a robbery, get the insurance
money from it, and then split the loot from both the robbery and the
insurance company. Only, it seems the accomplice hadn’t received
his share, and told police where the original loot was buried. So
Kelly, realizing the jig was up, showed them where he’d buried the
money under the bar. He was arrested, and convicted of attempted
swindling, among other charges. He spent some time in jail,
returning to run his bar when he was released.
There are a TON of stories like that
out there, which probably explains why people love their bar stories
so much. Remind me to someday tell you stories about a guy who was
murdered at one Marquette dance club, how Snuffy's got the nickname
“The Broken Jaw”, and just what vile nickname was given to
burgers you would get at The Elite, among others.
You know, for someone who was neither
of the age nor the inclination to be at any of those places, I sure
do seem to know more than my fair share. But think of it this
way—you have to give the audience what they want, right?
8-)
No comments:
Post a Comment