BLOOD & LIQUOR
Wild Times with Charlie Birger
“They’ve accused me of a lot of things I was never guilty of, but I was guilty of a lot of things which they never accused me of, so I guess we’re about even.” – Charlie Birger
Before he died, he looked at the hangman and said, “It’s a beautiful world.” They became his final words
On this date, January 9, 1927, the heavily fortified hideout (and BBQ stand) of gangster Charlie Birger was blown up outside of the Southern Illinois town of Harrisburg. During the Roaring 20s, when mobsters in Chicago were grabbing headlines with shootouts and machine-gunnings, there was an all-out war taking place among the bootleggers of Southern Illinois. Death tolls were just as high as those among their Windy City counterparts – and some of the characters involved were just as colorful as anyone you might find on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Charlie Birger and his men --- posing with their weapons (they were using Thompson machine-guns before mobsters in Chicago) outside of Shady Rest, his hideout, speakeasy and BBQ stand.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 10 Jan. 1927.
The ruins of Shady Rest after the final explosion. The Sheltons tried to destroy the roadhouse several times, including by dropping bombs on the place from an airplane.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...=&proxValue=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=45
More on this { Location of Shady Rest (williamson co.) } Older Posts
Wild Times with Charlie Birger
“They’ve accused me of a lot of things I was never guilty of, but I was guilty of a lot of things which they never accused me of, so I guess we’re about even.” – Charlie Birger
Before he died, he looked at the hangman and said, “It’s a beautiful world.” They became his final words
On this date, January 9, 1927, the heavily fortified hideout (and BBQ stand) of gangster Charlie Birger was blown up outside of the Southern Illinois town of Harrisburg. During the Roaring 20s, when mobsters in Chicago were grabbing headlines with shootouts and machine-gunnings, there was an all-out war taking place among the bootleggers of Southern Illinois. Death tolls were just as high as those among their Windy City counterparts – and some of the characters involved were just as colorful as anyone you might find on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Charlie Birger and his men --- posing with their weapons (they were using Thompson machine-guns before mobsters in Chicago) outside of Shady Rest, his hideout, speakeasy and BBQ stand.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.), 10 Jan. 1927.
The ruins of Shady Rest after the final explosion. The Sheltons tried to destroy the roadhouse several times, including by dropping bombs on the place from an airplane.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/...=&proxValue=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=45
More on this { Location of Shady Rest (williamson co.) } Older Posts
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