Little Egypt Heritage Article Stories of Southern Illinois (c) Bill Oliver 28 September 2003 Vol 2 Issue: #34 ISBN: pending Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen of Little Egypt, During the year of my birth, 1932, Tony Packo's Hungarian eatery opened on the East Toledo side of the Maumee River. Tony Packo's has been a symbol of "hometown" long before it became world famous from its extolled virtues from M*A*S*H's Corporal Max Klinger, played by Jamie Farr. The Tony Packo's "dog" is a spicy, plump, grilled crispy experience topped with chili sauce and onions chopped finely. Their Hungarian meal [err, fare] also includes stuffed cabbage and a "cup" of chili. Those who can eat it all cap it with a dish of strudel a la mode. Celebrities, from entertainers to Presidents, are invited to autograph a hotdog bun, which are petrified and displayed. Hanging on the walls are pictures, which include the M*A*S*H cast eating Tony Packo's Hot Dogs <http://users/iGlide.net/gday/TonyPackoWallArt.jpg> Mr Farr, a local Toledo "boy" from Galena Street in north Toledo, also lends his name to a Lady Golf Tournament, the annual Jamie Farr Classic played in Sylvania, Ohio. Jamie Farr also extolled the virtues of the minor league baseball team, the Toledo Mud Hens. I hear you asking, "What exactly is a Mud Hen?" Well, it is marsh bird with short wings and long legs. Aren't all swamp birds long legged? Nebraska has the long legged Blue Heron to contrast, as do those from Cypress area in the Little Egypt area of southern Illinois. Well, anyway, these Mud Hens were common back in the 1880s where Toledo's first baseball park was built. The Mud Hens first played ball in 1883 and the roll of players included an Ed Andrews. I tried to find something about him ... some statistics, but I kept running into a James J Andrews or Wid Matthews. James J Andrews, really had nothing to do with baseball, but that is another story. However, Wid Matthews had a name in southern Illinois and St Louis. Wid Curry Matthews was a local Metropolis, Massac County, Illinois "boy". He had a long varied career in baseball and was honored as a "favorite son". According to the AP news service, Wid Matthews made it to the Major Leagues Baseball at the age of 27 years and was still in the Majors when he passed on at age 69. He started in the minors but was called up by the Athletics in 1923. Though his career as a player was really brief, only three seasons, he was very knowledgeable about the game and a good judge of talent. He became a "Scout" and helped make the Brooklyn Dodgers a "powerhouse". The cry "Play ball!!" is universal in the United States and is heard from "spring camp" through fall. In fact, it is heard in empty lots, school yards, and for the first half of the 20th century it was heard in the pastures of Nebraska. Out on the Plains of Nebraska, in the 1930s, when it hadn't rained for so long and spring came, many folks decided that it would be useless to plant because it wouldn't grow anyway. To take their minds off their troubles, the young would get together in someone's pasture and play baseball. Communities made up teams. There were church teams, club teams, lodge teams, community teams and even family teams. At that time three or four families were living on each section of land and most families were large. Thus, practically every family had a member or more to help make up the teams. Games were played every Sunday and on holidays. My cousin, Bob Reiman was one who played ball. The John Henry and Emma branch could sit out in front of their home and watch the game going on across the road in the field. Every boy and some girls played baseball in the little country schools and small towns. The farm boys, wearing bib overalls and the girls in their cotton dresses, Speaking of bib overalls, the uniforms were overalls or old dress pants. Shoes were heavy work shoes. The local cobbler would put cleats or spikes on them. Unless the teams were sponsored by some merchant, a catcher's mask and old chest pad, plus a couple of bats and balls were the only equipment they had. There was always a good crowd to watch and cheer. Folks would come and park their cars so that they could watch the game from the comfort of automobiles. Windshields would get cracked once in a while from foul hits. The games became so popular that eventually the constructed "bleachers" and made back stops with chicken wire. Oh, and some strung chicken wire down the sidelines to prevent broken windshields. With such support and interest in the game, is it any wonder that some young men turned to professional ball playing? e-la-di-e-das-di ha-wi nv-wa-do-hi-ya nv-wa-to-hi-ya-da. (May you walk in peace and harmony) Wado, Bill -=- P.S. Welcome back online, Cousin Frances. Other sites worth visiting: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/SOIL http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/ILMASSAC http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/state/BillsArticles/LittleEgypt/intro.html