North Tonawanda Taverns and Working CLass Life (John S. Olszowka, Ph.D., 2017).htm

Article by John S. Olszowka, Ph.D. Subheads by NTHistory.com

Oliver Street and the legend of its saloons

Like most youngsters, growing up I was treated to a healthy diet of local, North Tonawanda folklore. I came of age hearing frequent stories of the days when an endless parade of barges trudged down the canal; of the freshly cut lumber that once piled up outside the mills; and of the steady stream of workers flowing in and out of the city's many factories. And then there were the stories of the local taverns that dotted the city’s landscape; one of which included Stan’s, a saloon established by my great grandfather and later operated by my grandfather, Stanley Olszowka, into the 1930s.

Perhaps the tavern tale that remains most vivid in my memory is the claim that Oliver Street was once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most saloons in the smallest area. I use the term “tale,” because in looking back I have no idea where I first heard it, or who told it to me. Nonetheless, it is a story I heard repeated so often that it has taken on a life of its own. Personally, I never really had any inclination to verify it one way or the other. Instead I prefer to accept the “legend” as it stands, finding a degree of comfort in the nostalgia of my youth. However, it wouldn't be surprising if true. For in North Tonawanda, like most working-class communities, taverns came to play an important and very visible role.

More customers and a low cost of entry

The presence of saloons and taverns grew enormously by the turn of the century. In Chicago in 1915 the city listed one “licensed” saloon for every 355 residents, while in San Francisco there was one tavern for every 218 persons. The famous photojournalist Jacob Riis, in his 1890 study How the Other Half Lives, calculated that in New York City below Fourteenth Street there were 4,065 saloons. In comparison, Riis found only 111 churches, chapels, or other places of worship. Meanwhile in Boston, a local police survey estimated of the more than half a million residents living in the city, approximately 227,000 entered a saloon on an average day.

Many reasons exist behind the dramatic surge of taverns in the 1900s. To a large degree it stemmed from a growing population. Just in terms of immigration alone, between 1880-1910, America’s population increased by 17 million people. Thus more people meant more “thirsty customers;” and more potential customers meant more taverns. Another contributing factor was that starting a saloon proved to be a relatively easy venture, financially speaking (although actually maintaining the operation was an entirely different matter). By most accounts it cost about $200 to start a bar; a very modest sum even by the standards of the time. Taverns, in fact, came to represent one of the easiest avenues to fulfilling the American dream. For a minimal economic investment, working-class Americans could put aside their work-aprons and overalls, and aspire to become the next budding, local entrepreneur—all for the equivalent of about three months’ wages.

Breweries helped finance the boom

Finally, even if one lacked the money to start a tavern, there existed an alternative source of revenue—the local brewing companies. Many brewers, seeking to get their product to the consumers, willingly underwrote the start-up costs of aspirant saloonkeepers. In return, the bar owner agreed to only sell the beer supplied by his “brewing patron.” This relationship was largely responsible for changing America’s drinking habits—which in the 1900s shifted from hard liquor to beer. It also, however, made it even easier to start a saloon; and no doubt contributed mightily to the upsurge in drinking establishments. Given the relative ease it took to start a tavern, it is little wonder that North Tonawanda had so many saloons in the early 1900s. In the process establishments such as Stan’s and Kelly’s, as well as later successors such as Litwin’s, East Avenue Tavern, Soos’ and the Clover Club, would serve a vital role in shaping the economic, social, and cultural development of North Tonawanda.

Food, lodging and a taste of home

By today’s standards the proliferation of taverns and gin mills in North Tonawanda during the early 1900s must in several respects seem an oddity. The sheer volume of watering holes that once dotted the city’s landscape on Oliver Street and beyond is simply staggering when compared to the number of drinking establishments still in existence today. In fact, many people today are probably shocked at the thought of so many bars; equating their existence with excessive alcohol consumption. Yet, while there is no question that the customers who frequented these establishments did drink—and many undoubtedly did so to excess—it would be historically wrong to judge these “watering holes” by today's standards. In the early-1900s a tavern was much more than a tavern; and it was certainly more than just about drinking. Saloons such as Kelly’s, Stan’s, and later Litwin’s, East Avenue Tavern and Soos’ took on America’s changing ethnic dimension, serving the local immigrant clientele that resided in their growing neighborhoods. In doing so they also began to take on additional functions that helped with the assimilation of new immigrants to America.

Beyond a draft of beer or a shot of whiskey, many saloons also maintained boarding rooms that they rented out to single workers or immigrants new to the community. The tavern also functioned as a restaurant, serving warm meals to exhausted customers who just completed a "long turn" in one of the neighboring factories. To the tavern-keeper the cost was minimal, simply a means of showing appreciation to his weary and dedicated customers. But to young workingmen the service was vitally important, supplying much needed nourishment at an affordable cost. It also provided a “taste of home,” giving these young men a sense of ethnic familiarity in the strange world of America. In this respect, taverns represented an important cultural institution helping new immigrants navigate the difficult terrain between Old and New World.

A refuge from the factory

Still, by far the most important function the tavern took on was to provide a friendly social atmosphere. In the 1900s workers toiled in a hostile world filled with long hours, horrid factory conditions, and excessively low wages. Taverns served as an important sanctuary or outlet where they could gather among friends and express their frustrations, fears, anxieties, and aspirations without the fear of retribution from their bosses. Here workers also found others with whom they could commiserate; the tavern operating as a "workingman’s country club" so to speak.

Worker solidarity made employers uneasy

Not surprisingly many taverns unwittingly served as a foundation for worker organization. In these smoke-filled bars (which people were allowed to do back then), workers often began the process of uniting—whether it was to form a labor organization, seek out “worker friendly” political candidates, or merely create social clubs and fraternal groups. For this reason alone many companies came to support calls for prohibition. The decision had nothing to do with the fact that their workers were drinking. Rather companies were upset that their employees were unifying; a process that potentially threatened to undermine their power in society. Prohibition, at least from a corporate perspective, served as nothing more than a form of social control—a way of keeping the workers divided.

Taverns helped shape North Tonawanda

So getting back to the original question, “Was Oliver Street once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records?” Again, personally I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that places like Kelly’s, Stan’s and later their successors such as Topolski’s, Beachy’s, Soos’, and Klimek’s, served an important role in shaping the history of North Tonawanda. Their contribution was every bit as important as Buffalo Bolt, Allan Herschell Carousel, and Rudolph Wurlitzer—although on a smaller, and less noticeable scale.

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[Ed. See Dr. Olszowka's further notes on Stan's Tavern.]