Difference between revisions of "Chapter 18"
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Rothstein financed operations that Legs Diamond worked on or later tried to take over, but viewed Diamond as unreliable — flashy, violent, too hot-headed for "The Brain’s" style. After Rothstein’s murder in 1928, Diamond tried to move into his rackets, which brought him into conflict with other New York mobsters like Dutch Schultz. | Rothstein financed operations that Legs Diamond worked on or later tried to take over, but viewed Diamond as unreliable — flashy, violent, too hot-headed for "The Brain’s" style. After Rothstein’s murder in 1928, Diamond tried to move into his rackets, which brought him into conflict with other New York mobsters like Dutch Schultz. | ||
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| + | ==Page 127== | ||
| + | '''Racine, where Danish pastries were invented'''<br /> | ||
| + | In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Danish immigrants settled heavily in the Midwest, especially in Chicago, Racine (Wisconsin), and Omaha. Chicago, already famous for its bakeries and food fairs, became the hub of Scandinavian baking traditions. Around the 1910s–1920s, Danish master bakers began opening neighborhood bakeries, adapting traditional wienerbrød recipes to American ingredients (sweeter doughs, more fillings, and icings). The American Danish pastry was born in Chicago, but its soul was preserved in Racine. Chicago made it fashionable; Racine made it traditional. | ||
Revision as of 12:13, 4 November 2025
Page 126
his enthusiasm with the dizzy-stick
1930s slang for a marijuana cigarette, a joint.
Arnold Rothstein and Legs Diamond
Rothstein (1882-1928) and Jack "Legs" Diamond (1887-1931) were real-life underworld figures whose stories set the template for the "gentleman gangster" and the "dapper killer" archetypes that later filled noir fiction. In November 1928, Rothstein was shot at the Park Central Hotel, reportedly over an unpaid poker debt of about $320,000. Legs Diamond was known for his daring personality, flashy clothes, and fondness for showgirls. Known as "the clay pigeon of the underworld" because of how many times he was shot and survived, in December 1931 he was shot in bed in an Albany boarding house, almost certainly a mob hit. He became a tabloid folk hero, the Irish dandy-gangster who defied bullets and lawmen until the end.
Rothstein financed operations that Legs Diamond worked on or later tried to take over, but viewed Diamond as unreliable — flashy, violent, too hot-headed for "The Brain’s" style. After Rothstein’s murder in 1928, Diamond tried to move into his rackets, which brought him into conflict with other New York mobsters like Dutch Schultz.
Page 127
Racine, where Danish pastries were invented
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Danish immigrants settled heavily in the Midwest, especially in Chicago, Racine (Wisconsin), and Omaha. Chicago, already famous for its bakeries and food fairs, became the hub of Scandinavian baking traditions. Around the 1910s–1920s, Danish master bakers began opening neighborhood bakeries, adapting traditional wienerbrød recipes to American ingredients (sweeter doughs, more fillings, and icings). The American Danish pastry was born in Chicago, but its soul was preserved in Racine. Chicago made it fashionable; Racine made it traditional.
