![]() According to their website, some people claim is the #1 volume bar in the world. On busy nights, it’s packed with hundreds of people. Today, Fast Eddie’s claims to be one of the largest bars in the midwest. That’s when a man named Eddie Sholar bought it and changed the name to “Fast Eddie’s Bon Air”. It was sold to two men who then operated the bar until 1981. However, after owning the bar for ten years, a new statute prohibited brewing companies from owning drinking establishments. Louisans may know this is how Bevo Mill in south St. In 1921, the brewery decided to open a drinking establishment in the river town of Alton, Illinois (some St. It was originally owned by Anheuser-Busch. With that, it’s a no-brainer to get a cold one at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air.įast Eddie’s has a good story of its own. And since it was 103 degrees outside, it wasn’t exactly martini drinking weather. Louis pals know there’s one place that won’t turn you away. Since I travelled to Alton to research this post on the 4th of July holiday, I couldn’t find a cocktail bar that was open. ![]() The drink section of this post was a bit difficult. He fought in the Mexican War, the Civil War, and is the only American to have served as a United States Senator for three different states (Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri). But Shields’ career didn’t turn out too shabby, either. Instead of slicing up a political opponent, Lincoln would obviously go on to become the greatest President this country has ever known. After tempers cooled, Lincoln took responsibility for the letters and issued an apology. The seconds for Lincoln and Shields stepped in and convinced the men to avoid bloodshed. Not only would he likely lose the duel, he’d look ridiculous while doing so.įortunately, memories of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton’s ill-fated duel in 1804 still lingered. Seeing this demonstration, Shields quickly realized he was outmatched. To emphasize his advantage, Lincoln demonstrated his skill on the day of the duel by hacking down a few tree branches down above Shields’ head. These large swords were commonly referred to at the time as “wrist-breakers”. Instead of choosing the standard pistol, he chose heavy cavalry sabers. Since the person challenged has the choice of weapon in a duel, Lincoln smartly exploited his wingspan advantage. But Lincoln towered over him at 6 feet 4 inches tall. James Shields was 5 feet 9 inches tall, which is tall man for 1842. Since dueling was illegal in Illinois at the time, the two men agreed to cross the river and duel on Missouri’s Sunflower Island on September 22, 1842. Thinking Lincoln would back down and apologize when confronted with such a decision, Lincoln surprisingly accepted. Demanding “satisfaction”, he then challenged Lincoln to a duel. Thinking Abraham Lincoln was behind everything, Shields publicly accused him of having his future wife Mary Todd write the letters. As a result, his reputation really began to suffer in political circles. Unbeknownst to Lincoln, Todd continued writing letters and articles to the paper under a phony name. But Mary Todd, Lincoln’s future wife, complicated matters. This wasn’t an uncommon practice in politics back then. In the letter, Lincoln criticized and poked fun at Shields. While living in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln crossed Shields by writing a letter to a Springfield newspaper called the Sagamon Journal. He was also a political rival of a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. At the time, a man by the name of James Shields was the Illinois State Auditor. The name changed when a hospital was built there to quarantine prisoners from the Alton Confederate Prison Camp who had become afflicted with communicable disease.īut in 1842, a very interesting event happened on this island. Louis.īefore the Civil War, it was called “Sunflower Island”. It’s located about nine miles north of the city of St. No longer an actual island, it’s now a recreation area on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. This is a view of the city of Alton, Illinois from “Smallpox Island”.
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