Today's "Illegal Of the Day" is a last minute replacement for the scheduled one. I had put in several calls to the family of the man it was about. I had given up on a return call. Yesterday morning I got a call from the family. I emailed the info and decided to wait hoping for additional info. It will be showed to several family members for input.

The FE's came in a large lot of known Texas chips from a Texas seller, bought last October. That old tired saying, "they were found with a bunch Texas chips so they must be Texas chips" favored by sellers, is once again proven false.

To be honest, if they had not come with Texas chips, I would have taken the ID in Oregon and forgot about them. As we all know chips migrate and we would have loved a Texas connection. Sometimes the connection makes the "BIG" story.

Yesterday I got an ID request for a SB hub found in Cuba with a bunch of "known" Cuban chips. ID came back to a known Troost street, Kansas City illegal operator in 1933. If we can prove that migration, probably 25 years or so, we will have a heck of a story.

Enough of that:

FE
Fred’s Tavern
Fred Erisman
Richland, OR
10-19-1956
100 Yellow-200 Blue 250 Red 300 White
Diamond molds found in same lot.

My note: The SqinCir chips were made at the Burt Company in Maine. Several distributer's owned the mold over the years, including Penn Specialty and HE Robbins. I believe the last company that owned the mold was the Portland Card Company. PCC distributed the FE chips.

Enter our "Friend of The Hobby."

Thanks for the ID. I was hoping for Texas too. Sure makes that chip an odd ball out of the group of chips it was found with. Richland, Oregon is located in an isolated part of the state near the Idaho border and barely has 150 people in it. Fred Erisman orders the chips in 1956 and dies at Richland in 1985, without wife, children or siblings in the US or any connection to Texas that I know of. Not sure how they get into a group of chips from Texas & Louisiana.

FE

Erisman operated “Fred’s Tavern” in Richland in the early 1960’s, perhaps earlier. Here’s Fred’s obit from 1985. Says he owned and operated a restaurant called the “Grapevine” in Richland until 1973.

My note: I wonder if he had gambling at the Grapevine?

My note: Another immigrant success story from the early 1900's. Immigrant, US citizen, Logger, sheep herder, and finally a business owner and of course a gambling operator.

Says he moved to Richland “when the dams were built.” The Hells Canyon Project constructed three dams on the Snake River. The first, the Brownlee Dam, started construction in the mid 1950’s. His friend Hazel Lange died in 1988 at Richland.

pic of Fred from the 1940’s:

My note: Not all "Illegal Of The Day" posts are big stories. I love the "BIG" stories but love putting ID's to my chips more. UFC's irritate the crap out of me!

I am looking for these 2 chips.

Cough them up if you have a trader.
Both will make great "Illegal Of The Day" posts.