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From a Star-Progress newspaper article published in “Friday, October 27, 1939”

Broadview Once Called “Oklahoma”

Community was the Wild West of the Suburban Towns

Half a century ago, when Proviso was considered a part of the wild west and what is now Bellwood had a nicknamed “Manuretown”, the Village of Broadview had not yet been dreamed.

However, an unincorporated community extending from Thirteenth avenue to Seventeenth avenue and from Harrison street to Roosevelt road (part of the site now occupied by Broadview) was known as “Oklahoma”.

The community received its name from the historic Oklahoma saloon located at Fourteenth avenue and Lexington street.  The building still stands.  It was managed by the late Herman H. Krotz, father of Edward Krotz who is the proprietor of the Welcome Inn, at Twenty-fourth avenue and St. Charles road, Bellwood.  The elder Krotz died in 1925.

Later in the century, another saloon became part of the community.  This was the one owned by John Randecker, located a half block north of Fourteenth avenue.

Blind Pigs

Both of the saloons were existing outside of the law as they were situated in unincorporated territory.  Often the proprietors would be hailed before a Maywood Justice of the Peace and the fines they paid helped finance the then struggling Village of Maywood.  No effort was made to close the illegal saloons (known as ‘blind pigs’) as long as the fines were paid periodically.

Then, as now, slot machines were illegal.  However they were part of the regular equipment of all outlying saloons.  It was the custom for the sheriff of Cook County to serve warrants on the saloon keepers exactly twice a year and such time they would be fined $25 for having the one-armed bandits in their places.

Ed Krotz recalls when his father sold thousands of cases of beer (24 12-ounce bottles) a month at 90 cents a case.  Draft beer cost the retailers $6.00 a barrel which included the Federal tax of $1.00.  With a sign, Ed Krotz points out that now the Federal tax alone is nearly $6.00.  All whiskey and wine, in those days came in barrels.

In addition to running the saloon, Herman Krotz, did some farming in a small way and made a specialty of raising and breaking ponies.

Broadview Organized

When the Speedway race track was built in 1914, real estate operators and subdividers became active and the Village of Broadview was incorporated.  “Oklahoma” then lost its identity when it was included in the new village.

The first sidewalks began to appear in the village in 1915.  Prior to this time, the only thing that resembled a sidewalk, was the two-plank affair that ran along Thirteenth avenue from Madison street to Harrison street.

A one-room district school was located on Fourteenth street, just south of Lexington.  When children had graduated from the third grade in this school, they continued their education at Garfield school.  After finishing the fifth grade at Garfield, they completed their preparation for high school at Irving school.

From the Star-Progress newspaper of Friday, October 27, 1939

Added:  02/05/2006