Care For A Beer?

Lots of people in Chester who are my age or older (and fewer and fewer are older any more :)), often have said, "There used to be taverns on every corner in Chester!" Well, they're right. There were. And many of you who are Chester natives or who lived in Chester during the first OR second half of the last century, know that. Now, I'm not advocating for taverns on every corner. I'm just remembering that there was no shortage of that particular type of establishment when I was growing up and when I was a young(er) woman.

On the fringes of Chester, on Route 3, north - we had the El Capri Steakhouse and the Bal Tabarin, both restaurants with great food, but also bars. I remember Lindy and building Bob Schroeder (not to be confused with funeral Bob Schroeder who owned Schroeder Funeral Chapel) owned the El Capri -and in the days of my memory, Art and Marty Maes owned the Bal.

Coming in to Chester's business district was Eggemeyer's Tavern on the corner of West Holmes and Swanwick Street. I remember Grandpa Albert Hasemeyer was quite the fan of Eggemeyer's. :) In addition to the beer and an occasional whiskey that I am quite sure he consumed, he loved to play cards in the back area of the bar. I know he often ate soup there. I learned from an anonymous source in recent years that a trick to Eggemeyer's excellent soup was that they never washed the soup pot! Can't verify. I'm just saying.....

On up Swanwick, across from Frager's Clothing Store, were the Liquor Store and Dan Piosik's Tavern, side by side - two rather shot-gun buildings - which also had a regular following. Many would go from one to the other, though most had a favorite between the two, I believe.

Jogging on over to State Street - kind of across from P.N. Hirsch, sat a tiny little place called
The Colonial Tavern (now I'm really dating myself). I believe that a man named Lofink owned The Colonial. And just a parking lot away was The Royal Hotel. The Royal was an old hotel with a fine restaurant, lunch counter and, of course, a bar. Chester's upscale, I'll say. In later years, the establishment owned by Bill and Jo Koeneman by now, added a motor lodge. The Royal burned in the late 1980s.

Just up State Street at the three-way stop, sat Wittenbrink's Tavern. Chester's gazebo park now sits at that location. The building/bar had many owners - which could be a separate column someday. But suffice to say, it's history was rich and included our own Windy Bill Schuchert, owner of Chester's early opera house which sat next door. Windy Bill who was the pattern for Popeye's friend, Wimpy, loved the hamburgers from this establishment.

So, let's head downtown to the courthouse block and beyond. A very well known establishment was Buddy Buddy Lounge, owned by southern Illinois entrepreneur Buddy Harris. A little farther down on the same side of the street - I believe was a place called Liz's Bar. Someone may correct me on this one and I welcome that. At the corner across from the courthouse sat the Grandview Hotel. What a glorious history that building had. Built. Burned. Built again. Massive with great architecture. Much ado about everything took place here at what was sometimes called the Heartbreak Hotel. During the days of my memory it was owned and operated by Johnny Jungewaelter. What a great guy! The back of the building featured the old hotel, complete with a great old hotel desk and an open staircase. The front of the establishment housed a large bar area and attached cafe. The building was razed years ago and the location is now a parking lot for courthouse business.

If we jog to the left off of State Street, approaching Buena Vista Street, you would pass another downtown establishment, Ruth's Bar. It sat next to the old Bunny Bread store. Traveling on down toward the riverfront, you could jog to the Landmark, next to the railroad tracks overlooking the Mississippi River. I remember this place being owned by Noah and Marie Crowder during the 50s and 60s. It could get pretty raucous on a weekend night and it was sometimes referred to as the Peppermint Lounge. The Crowders were good people who lived on the premises.

Now, if you're willing, let's drive the river road toward Menard. On the right, just before you'd get to the prison, you would see The Wagon Wheel. I know it burned to the ground. Don't remember when.

Stay with me. We're not through. Let's take Opdyke Street as it becomes Route 3, south, past the historic swimming pool to the old Nite Hawk restaurant and bar. I believe that at an early time it was owned by Bill and Kitty Weber. Sometime after it was owned by Bill and Esther Knowles, Andy and Jirinda Cleiman, Art and Marty Maes and later Olie Misselhorn. No one ever eating home made pizza or fried chicken there will ever deny that it was the absolute best ever! One side had a bar where you could also eat and the other side featured more of a cafe. Many great people worked there over the years. It is well and fondly remembered by many.

If you were leaving Chester via State Street as it became Rte. 150, you would pass the New Moon bar and restaurant. My first memory of its owner was of Jimmy Durkee, though I know it had MANY owners before and after that. In early days a small gas station was attached. It had great bar food, a juke box and one of those long bowling machines - all geared to keep my sister Charmaine and me entertained while my dad was at the bar! I remember that she and I watched Elvis and The Beatles on Sunday nights as we watched the Ed Sullivan Show on the bar television. Great memories. Aw, come on! They are! In later years the establishment was called Molly's Moon and it has now been town down.

I'm sure I've missed some - or possibly don't even remember some, though we were pretty tuned in to these establishments when I was a kid. Meaning absolutely no disrespect - my dad, Bode Dungey, was a pretty "social" fellow, if you know what I mean. Charmaine and I knew the phone numbers by heart to most of the local watering holes. On lots of nights when dinner was almost ready, mother would say, "Girls, find your daddy." We'd get on the phone and when we found him, we'd say, "Daddy, dinner's ready!"

I remember several years ago when my son, Jamey, was living and performing in New York City, I would go to visit him. One day when we were exploring lower Manhatten, near the theatre district I believe, he directed me to cross a major intersection with him......to an 'out of place' little tavern that sat on a corner. He stepped up on the "stoop" of the tavern and I joined him. He opened the old screen door to the tavern and out wafted a very familiar smell........stale smoke and beer. Now, you may think that isn't a very inviting smell. But he looked at me and smiled and said, "That reminds of Grandpa Bode." And he was right, it did. He'd been walking by one day and the smells through the door had spoken to him. I know he also has other and different memories of his Grandpa Bode. But this memory was pretty sweet to me - and to him, I think.

Oh, well - just more memories of Chester. Some of you, after reading my blog, may have decided that I live in the past! :) Sometimes. But I'm also very rooted to the present and excited about the future. In fact, right now Bob is outside braving the heat as he rebuilds our side porch. I'm looking forward to getting on that swing again!