Difference between revisions of "Chapter 14"
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'''No Man's Land'''<br /> | '''No Man's Land'''<br /> | ||
When locals in the early 20th century talked about "No Man’s Land" on Lake Michigan, they meant a strip of undeveloped or lawless lakeshore north of the city limits, a sort of in-between zone that, during the 1920s–1930s, gained a reputation for bootlegging, roadhouses, gambling, and weekend vice. During Prohibition (1920–1933), the area’s ambiguous status made it a natural haven for: speakeasies and roadhouses serving liquor smuggled in from Chicago or across Lake Michigan; shore-landing points for rum-runners, who brought Canadian whiskey across by boat at night; dance halls and "blind pigs" — unlicensed taverns that often doubled as gambling rooms or brothels. Local newspapers described it as a "shack-studded strip of dance joints and shanty bars" where respectable Milwaukeeans went slumming on weekends. It was first called Spanish Court when it opened in 1928, and later renamed Plaza del Lago in 1960 after redevelopment. It was one of the first auto-oriented suburban shopping centers in the United States. | When locals in the early 20th century talked about "No Man’s Land" on Lake Michigan, they meant a strip of undeveloped or lawless lakeshore north of the city limits, a sort of in-between zone that, during the 1920s–1930s, gained a reputation for bootlegging, roadhouses, gambling, and weekend vice. During Prohibition (1920–1933), the area’s ambiguous status made it a natural haven for: speakeasies and roadhouses serving liquor smuggled in from Chicago or across Lake Michigan; shore-landing points for rum-runners, who brought Canadian whiskey across by boat at night; dance halls and "blind pigs" — unlicensed taverns that often doubled as gambling rooms or brothels. Local newspapers described it as a "shack-studded strip of dance joints and shanty bars" where respectable Milwaukeeans went slumming on weekends. It was first called Spanish Court when it opened in 1928, and later renamed Plaza del Lago in 1960 after redevelopment. It was one of the first auto-oriented suburban shopping centers in the United States. | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''Dopplinger's Chinese Amusements'''<br /> | ||
| + | In period sources, "Dopplinger’'s Chinese Amusements" refers to a traveling or semi-permanent carnival / vaudeville concession owned or managed by a man named Dopplinger – most likely Frank or Fred Dopplinger – who operated sideshows and novelty attractions in the Wisconsin–Illinois–Minnesota fair circuit between about 1915 and the early 1930s. | ||
| + | |||
| + | “Chinese Amusements” was a theme, not a nationality: | ||
| + | like “Hawaiian Village” or “Arabian Nights,” it evoked an exotic atmosphere—paper lanterns, lacquer screens, “Oriental” costumes—typical of midway showmanship at the time. | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''Old Log Cabin Presbyterian== | ||
| + | Old Log Cabin bourbon/whiskey + ginger ale + club soda, served over ice with a lime or lemon twist. It’s light, fizzy, and not too strong — hence the joke that it’s "the drink for a sober-minded churchgoer." The name was already in bar guides by the 1910s and common again after repeal. | ||
==Page 95== | ==Page 95== | ||
'''how jay it’s getting around this joint anymore'''<br /> | '''how jay it’s getting around this joint anymore'''<br /> | ||
Dull, unsophisticated, inferior. Beginning in the Midwest in the early 19th-century, “jay” was common slang for an empty-headed chatterbox, like a bluejay. A “jay” was a hick, a rube, or a downright dupe. A “jay town” was a fourth-rate or worthless place. [https://kinneybrothers.com/blog/blog/2021/01/29/fun-facts-91-jaywalker/ More…] | Dull, unsophisticated, inferior. Beginning in the Midwest in the early 19th-century, “jay” was common slang for an empty-headed chatterbox, like a bluejay. A “jay” was a hick, a rube, or a downright dupe. A “jay town” was a fourth-rate or worthless place. [https://kinneybrothers.com/blog/blog/2021/01/29/fun-facts-91-jaywalker/ More…] | ||
Revision as of 14:38, 9 October 2025
This chapter appears to take place some years before 1932, when Hicks first met Daphne, i.e., analepsis
Page 92
captured in local waters by the Drys
Federal agents (and their local counterparts) were the enforcers who carried out Prohibition law; they were sometimes called "drys”" by slang extension, but technically they were government employees, not activists.
No Man's Land
When locals in the early 20th century talked about "No Man’s Land" on Lake Michigan, they meant a strip of undeveloped or lawless lakeshore north of the city limits, a sort of in-between zone that, during the 1920s–1930s, gained a reputation for bootlegging, roadhouses, gambling, and weekend vice. During Prohibition (1920–1933), the area’s ambiguous status made it a natural haven for: speakeasies and roadhouses serving liquor smuggled in from Chicago or across Lake Michigan; shore-landing points for rum-runners, who brought Canadian whiskey across by boat at night; dance halls and "blind pigs" — unlicensed taverns that often doubled as gambling rooms or brothels. Local newspapers described it as a "shack-studded strip of dance joints and shanty bars" where respectable Milwaukeeans went slumming on weekends. It was first called Spanish Court when it opened in 1928, and later renamed Plaza del Lago in 1960 after redevelopment. It was one of the first auto-oriented suburban shopping centers in the United States.
Dopplinger's Chinese Amusements
In period sources, "Dopplinger’'s Chinese Amusements" refers to a traveling or semi-permanent carnival / vaudeville concession owned or managed by a man named Dopplinger – most likely Frank or Fred Dopplinger – who operated sideshows and novelty attractions in the Wisconsin–Illinois–Minnesota fair circuit between about 1915 and the early 1930s.
“Chinese Amusements” was a theme, not a nationality: like “Hawaiian Village” or “Arabian Nights,” it evoked an exotic atmosphere—paper lanterns, lacquer screens, “Oriental” costumes—typical of midway showmanship at the time.
Old Log Cabin Presbyterian== Old Log Cabin bourbon/whiskey + ginger ale + club soda, served over ice with a lime or lemon twist. It’s light, fizzy, and not too strong — hence the joke that it’s "the drink for a sober-minded churchgoer." The name was already in bar guides by the 1910s and common again after repeal.
Page 95
how jay it’s getting around this joint anymore
Dull, unsophisticated, inferior. Beginning in the Midwest in the early 19th-century, “jay” was common slang for an empty-headed chatterbox, like a bluejay. A “jay” was a hick, a rube, or a downright dupe. A “jay town” was a fourth-rate or worthless place. More…
