BILLY BELZ AND THE CENTURY CIGAR STORE

Companionship was one of the heavy reasons for meeting at the Century, card playing also was another. The cigar store provided the lights, table, cards and the other necessities and, in turn, charged the players for each game played or by the hour. For example, a game with a four-deal stake of 25 cents netted the store 10 cents, while a higher stake game cost 25 cents.

Never a high stake operation, the most popular game was rummy for 25 cents for a four-deal game and up to two cents a point. Other frequently played games were hearts, pinochle, fan tan, gin rummy, and occasionally bridge. There were no "house men" or "shills!'. The games were made up from the customers, usually four friends.

Billy Belz operated the store in its heyday. That was the period from when he acquired the old Benton Cigar Store at 115 Collinsville Avenue in 1917 until the Great Depression of the 1929-30s era. Before 1920 the name was changed to the "Century and the store was moved across the street into the old 111-Mo Hotel. Next door was Haun & Menges Florists. The Hotel and both stores were destroyed by fire in 1927. The Century was reopened at 226 Collinsville Avenue. Next it was forced to close by economic conditions in 1933 and reopened four months later at 343 Missouri Avenue in the Fowler Building.

The heyday period for the cigar store was a "natural." It came about during the prohibition years when the man's place to "hang out" -- the saloon -- was closed and men harkened to the place for fellowship. They found it in the cigar stores of that era. When prohibition ended, the men drifted back to the taverns and lounges.

There was another important factor in promotion of the cigar store. Tobacco goods - cigarettes, snuff, cigars, and chewing tobacco -- were primarily sold in cigar stores and saloons for many years. But-during the depression years, the chain drug stores and later almost every store sold the tobacco goods and in so doing took much of the popularity of the cigar store.

Another factor was the special services offered by BeIz. One of which was the baseball results. Before the widespread popularity of the radio, fans had only the newspapers to get the results of the games. The cigar store installed a sports "ticker tape" which kept subscribers abreast of the progress of baseball by innings. In addition two telephone lines were installed and young men were employed to give the results by phone. During the exciting periods of the baseball pennant races, the Century received as many as a thousand baseball queries a day.

Billy Belz and his brother Ferd Belz ran the store for many years but Billy also had a reservoir of available and "cheap" help ready to serve, including sons Bill, Ed, Vic, Bob, Jack, Jim, and in a pinch Dorothy Ann Belz Effinger.

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Ed, thanks a lot for such a beautiful story about the "Century" and "Father Billy."

I remember him from the old Knights of Columbus Picnics where he worked in the money wheel booth raffling tickets for the automobiles with my father (John English), Pat Griffin, Ed Cunningham, Dan McGlynn and others. We all have many happy memories of the old K. C. picnics.

Today, we have the "Touchdown Twins" Mel Louvier and Dick Helbig working just as hard for the K. C.

Ed Belz also gave me the picture taken in the Century in 1948 with his Dad, and Mel Price campaigning with a Panama hat on, and two Eastern reporters covering his re-election campaign.

Ed Belz worked for the journal for 32 years (1934-1966), leaving as city editor, and as Scott Field public affairs Chief with the Military Airlift Command and later as Executive Secretary of the. St. Clair County Medical Society.

Dorothy Belz Effinger is married to Rich Effinger (brother of Audrey Effinger Dietrich). Audrey is the wife of Carl "Bud" Dietrich, the famous magician and toastmaster, who has travelled the world in his profession.