Memories of East St. Louis

Here are some people, places and things that may help you write the book "The Good Things of East St. Louis" What I consider "Good Things" may not be in agreement with a lot of good citizens of old East St. Louis. You be the judge! I was 10 years old in 1930, so I will start there. Feel free to call me any time if there is any question I may be able to answer. Excuse my spelling and typing for I never was the most outstanding student at old Central High. (1934 to 1938).

Charles Keeney

The "Waverly" at 40th & Waverly. I was raised in the section of town called Lansdowne so almost all of the kids walked there. Admission was 5 cents in the 30's. Candy bars and popcorn also a nickel. Every Friday night was a continued serial, we wouldn't dare miss Friday night. We went almost every Sunday afternoon, but we Catholic kids had to attend afternoon church services first. We wouldn't dare miss the St. Clair a/k/a "Odeon" at 9th & St. Clair. Across the street was the "White Castle"; six burgers for a quarter.

State at 25th & State and Columbia at 16th & State was also visited occasionally by the neighborhood children.

Majestic on Collinsville Avenue. What a treat it was for us kids, when on Thanksgiving or Christmas week we got "streetcar," later on bus" money, 5 cents to go downtown to attend the Majestic Theater. The Avenue and Liberty shows were also downtown. It closed in the early 30's, but on the avenue, what was later to become the Pladium bowling alley and night club was a very ornate theater called "Orpheum". Ask someone in their late 70's about it.

In the 30's there was an annual affair and parade called the P.O.P. (Pageant of Progress). Expositions of the current inventions and household gadgets was held at the Shriners Temple on St. Louis Avenue. Later on there was the Lady of the Lakes Pageant. A pretty girl from East St. Louis was chosen to reign as hostess at the stage play presented on a stage erected on the banks of Pittsburg Lake (now known as Grand Marais) on Lake Drive. This event was attended by many people.

The annual K. of C. Picnic was another big affair for the citizens of East St. Louis.

Every first Monday of September the C.I.O. & A.F.L. Unions had their annual parades and picnic. One union had their picnic at Jones Park and the other at Lansdowne Park.

These Labor Day parades and picnics were seen and/or attended by at least 80% of the town's population. Lots of fun was had by all, but there were a goodly number of fights at both affairs. Too much good beer! Also every Catholic Church in town had their annual chicken supper and picnic. These also were heavily attended and enjoyed by many. Not to mention the Central High, later Assumption High picnic that was also a big event in town.

In the late 30's and the 40's if you didn't have a date for Saturday night all you had to do was go to the Century tavern or Seville, both side by side in the 200 block of Collinsville Avenue, on a Friday night or a Saturday afternoon. There were just as many girls looking for guys as visa versa. All the young ladies (most) that worked downtown visited these places. If you couldn't get a date you may as well join a monastery.

The Terrace and Pladium were two popular night spots for the young crowd. They didn't start going to them until later in the evening. After the 2 a. m. closing hour there were plenty of after-hour clubs outside the city limits. The Canadian Club, Gypsy Inn, Club Rendezvous, Dudley Brandt's, Wagon Wheel, Spaghetti House and Chick Inn, to name a few of the many after hour clubs.

Back in the 30's and 40's most of the neighborhood taverns and those close to our many factories or packing houses kept lots of cash on hand to cash pay checks on Friday evenings. It was the way of life then, they cashed more pay checks than the banks did. Of course the workers stayed and had one, two, three or more beers before going home. The standard saying of the bartender when the wife called was "He just left."

The Moose Club at 16th and Summit had a good deal, for us young folks that were short on cash, at their Saturday night dances. For 50 cents admission you got five tickets worth 10 cents each toward the purchase of beer (10 cents a glass), hot dogs (5 cents) or hamburgers (10 cents each). Most of the boys and girls came alone, so if you got lucky, you might get to walk a girl home. You could walk the streets at all hours of the night without being afraid. Most people never locked their doors.

Back in those days every one in town went shopping on Collinsville Avenue either Friday night or Saturday afternoon. You were sure to run into many people you knew on those shopping days.

It was said many times in the past, "If you can't find a job in East St. Louis, you won't find a job anywhere in the country." How true that was. I would have to say, when I was a kid, at least one of four men in the neighborhood, make that three of five worked on the railroad. At that time you could not drive out of town, in any direction, without getting stopped by a (long) train. Our town had four large packing houses, and the second largest livestock market in the nation.

Aluminum Ore, American Steel, Obear-Nester Glass Co., Lubrite Refinery, Frog Switch and Rail just south of downtown, Lemp, East Side and one or two other breweries, I can't recall the names, had a large payroll. We had several other plants on the edge of the city that contributed largely to our economy. They have all passed by the wayside, with the exception of Monsanto Chemical Co. There were other large factories in town, but I can't recall the names.

Short of robbing a bank or murder you never had to worry about being harassed by our police force. We had one cop Frank Cook, it was said, would arrest his own mother if he caught her speeding. I wouldn't be surprised Ed, if you didn't get a speeding ticket, in spite of your connections with city hall? I did.