Part 2 Havana, IL

Ed Long also owned the Lakewood Supper Club and adjacent hunting club which was located 7 miles south of Havana and just north of Bath, Illinois. Here’s a matchbook from Ed Hertel’s matchbook site:

aerial view from around 1950:

Below is a pic from 1947 taken at Lakewood. In the photo are Louis Becker, Ed Long and Scott Lucas. Lucas, a longtime friend and hunting partner of Long’s, was serving his second term representing Illinois in the United States Senate when the photo was taken; a year later he became the Senate Majority Leader (Lucas was also a childhood friend of Frank Shawgo).

My note: How many US Senators and Congressmen have we seen involved with the "Era Of The Illegals?" Our tax $ at work!

Lucas, although one of the most prominent and powerful men in the US Senate, lost his bid for a 3rd term in 1950. The Kefauver Commission and its investigation of gambling in Chicago--one month prior to the general election of 1950--is generally regarded as the reason for his loss. Lucas tried unsuccessfully to prevent Kefauver from taking his investigative committee to Chicago prior to the election and later blamed Kefauver’s activities for his defeat. Oddly enough, the guy who defeated Lucas in the election, Everett Dirksen, was from nearby Pekin, Illinois where the local government handled gambling in virtually the same manner as Havana. [see Illegal Of The Day Illinois 28: Posted on 11/9/12
http://www.thechipboard.com/archives/archives.pl/bid/399/md/read/id/1223792/sbj/illegal-of-the-day-illinois-28/

My note: Senator Lucas from Havana and Dirksen from Pekin both elected from wide open cities that was levying monthly taxes on the illegal operators.

Here’s an ad for Lakewood from 1948 (looks like they serve everything except duck.

Clarence “Kelly” Jackson mentioned in the ad above was the manager of Lakewood when Long owned it.

T-mold chip ordered by Jackson in 1948 (hot-stamp also on hourglass mold):

Ed Long and Kelly Jackson were visiting a private lodge owned by Long near Hayward, Wisconsin when on the night of March 5th 1949 the lodge caught fire—both men perished (there were rumors of foul-play). After his death at age 55, Long’s business interests were taken over by his 29 year old son Edward “Edo” Long, Jr.

pic of Edo:

Edo Long continued his father’s association with Louis Becker and in the spring of 1950 they moved
the “Victory Room” operation from N. Plum St. around the corner to 120 W. Market and re-named it
the “Town House.”

Ed Hertel lists this chip as being from the Town House:

Hertel also has this matchbook on his site:

The Town House is still doing business at the same location. Another business which Edo Long was involved with in Havana which is still around is the “Stag,” sometimes called “Stag Tap” or “Stag Bar”: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stag-Tap/136104264716

Also found with the Havana chips was a rectangle-heart mold and a rectangle mold chip hot-stamped “JR”.

This is a new ID.

There’s a good chance that “JR” are the initials of James Severns “Jim” Ritchie (1903-1986). Ritchie was the manager of Becker & Long’s Victory Room in the late 1940’s. In 1951 when the “Town House” obtained its Federal gambling tax stamp it was purchased in the name of Louis Becker, Edo Long and Jim Ritchie.

On Halloween night 1953 the Illinois State Police launched simultaneous gambling raids in three different counties including Mason County. Of the 14 places raided in Mason County, 6 were in Havana. The Illinois State Police Chief: “We thought it would be an opportune time to make the raids since it was Halloween and there was a great deal of holiday festivities.” One local operator thought the raid was a
Halloween prank. The raids not only ended the Halloween party that night but marked the beginning of the end of the wide-open era in Havana.

The following scan are part of the Rene find back in 1999. I spent hours on the phone with the Havana library and the source of the chips. There are several more that I have never been able to put Club names to. The source could only tell me they were from a group of illegals that was on S 4th ST in Havana.

One final item. Although not gambling related, it involves duck hunters near Havana, including a member of the Shawgo family. It happened on October 29th 1936 (might have to reconsider the old figure of speech about porcine aviation

My note: We now have solid proof that pigs fly!

My Note: The next time someone answers your question with "When pigs fly."
Tell them it was October 29th 1936 in Havana, IL.
The pig was shot down by Earl Shawgo and Harold Miller.

Disclaimer: I do not condone the shooting of an American Eagle.