Like father like son… The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree… Tiger father begets tiger son…

Choose your saying, its all the same. A dad’s influence can be an important part of a child’s development, and today’s IOTD is a great example.

I recently found myself with some fresh material to research, this time from central Illinois into an area I don’t frequent much. I was given a chip from Taylor & Company marked “LC”.

It was sent to Coonhound Amusements in Lincoln, Illinois in November 1949.

At first I was a little concerned. Was Coonhound Amusements in the business of ordering chips for other gamblers? If so, this is probably a dead end. A couple flags helped ease my concerns, first off, there aren’t any other orders for Coonhound Amusements. If this was their business, you’d assume there would be numerous orders. Secondly, a little digging into the history of this company brings up a perfect match for an illegal gambler – Vince “Little Coonhound” Schwenoha.

But before we get to Vince, we find out where the young man got his influence. We look no further than the original “Coonhound” Vince’s father Johnny Schwenoha.

Johnny landed in Lincoln, Illinois in 1910 after emigrating from Austria-Hungary. Like so many hustlers around this time, he found great opportunity when the country shut down alcohol sales for Prohibition. He turned away from his passion for raising coonhound dogs and started putting all his energy into building a very profitable bootlegging business.

It has been rumored that Johnny “Coonhound” Schwenoha was the Lincoln-Logan county distributor for Al Capone’s booze empire and whenever Scarface was in town, the two would grab a couple of hounds and head out into the woods to hunt and carouse with the local women.

Whether these rumors are true, what is in evidence is that Schwenoha enjoyed many perks other bootleggers didn’t. Case in point, the 1920s were a trying time for Coonhound and his bootlegging enterprises. He was harassed and raided from various groups including IRS agents, local police and even the Ku Klux Klan. Each time however, he managed to skate through the proceedings without harm.

It looked like times were changing however in 1928 when the state raided his roadhouse and found $5,000 worth of illegal liquor (equivalent to around $75,000 today). This was a little too much and the courts had no choice but to find him guilty and sentence him to a light four month sentence. But with friends in high places, Coonhound sent out a howl and things suddenly changed. To the surprise of many, President Calvin Coolidge pardoned Schwenoha and he was released. It was the first time Coolidge had pardoned a bootlegger, citing poor health as the reason. Although its true Johnny died at a young age of 48 years old, it was 16 years after his deathbed pardon. It was obvious the Coonhound had some powerful friends.

When Johnny Schwenoha finally gave up the ghost, his son was ready to take the reins. Fresh off his World War II deployment in Hawaii, Vincent “Little Coonhound” Schwenoha found himself back home and looking for opportunities in Lincoln county. The end of Prohibition meant there wasn’t money to be made in booze, but one racket was still exploitable – gambling. He opened the Coonhound Amusement Company.

Despite the advertisement for “amusement” machines and other appliances, the real money was in loaning out slot machines to local businesses and splitting the profits with the owners (albeit splitting quite unevenly!) The secret scheme was certainly never secret and it didn’t take long for the state officials to clamp down. In November 1950, county officials raided 52 joints and seized 75 pinball and slot machines – most belonging to “Little Coonhound” Schwenoha. The county emptied the machines of $2177.95, deposited it into the treasury account (or so they said) and destroyed the machines. It was a financial blow, but luckily for Vince, it wasn’t his only revenue stream.

In early 1950, Vince opened a restaurant/club along Illinois’ busy Route 66 and called it “The Tropics”. Inspired by his time in Hawaii during the war, Vince offered patrons with a meal and entertainment amongst palm trees and sunsets. The timing of the “LC” (Little Coonhound) Taylor chips coincides nicely with his opening of the Tropics.

Vince Schwenoha didn’t last long in Lincoln after this. Within five years had had sold the Tropics to two employees named Lewis and Beverly Johnson and left town for California. Although gone from the area, his presence was still alive and well. Federal IRS agents were researching his Lincoln businesses looking for unpaid taxes and his poor mother was greeted by county police who found 175 of Vince’s illegal slot machines in her basement. Like a devoted mother she took the blame and was given a small fine, but the machines were seized and destroyed.

The days of Little Coonhound in Illinois were finished.

The story of the Tropics was far from over however. It became a famous stop along the storied Route 66 until it finally closed for good in 2004. It’s reputation earned it a place in the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame in 2016 and its iconic sign was restored and put back in place (unfortunately the building is gone, replaced by a McDonalds.)

The gambling and the Coonhounds may be gone, but the legend lives on!