Edgar S. Van Olinda was a long-lived journalist for the Times-Union in Albany, New York. His regular beat of arts and culture focused on music and film. From the 1940s, his city column increasingly looked to old-time Albany in diverse ways: its Dutch roots (his own), Limerick-Irish history, German heritage, notable architecture, and more.
Breweries and beer were a particular interest, and recurred in his columns. I have not been able to determine his birth year and date of passing, but he was still writing in 1970. He had to be about 85, judging also by archival photos.*
In his column on March 29, 1943 he chronicled the passing of the “free lunch” at a local hostelry, Kalkbrenner’s. The bar was founded by the owner’s father in about 1900. It was originally called Schlitz – perhaps financed by the famous brewer of that name, although this is uncertain.
The permit system to buy food, instituted after Pearl Harbor, put paid to a rare survival of the saloon free lunch.
Van Olinda offered nsight on the city’s German-American tavern culture:
Although the “free lunch” counter is now one of many cherished memories, there still is food to be had [at Kalkbrenner] even if a slight tariff is placed on the check; delicacies such as ham hockies and sauerkraut, roast fresh ham, corned and smoked beef, great big frankfurters, bologna, pickled lambs’ tongues, home baked beans, Liederkranz cheese and pickled limes. And for the piece de resistance a great, shining roast turkey for sandwiches, and the carcass for delicious turkey soup. Of course, if you insist, the waiter will take your order for some of the draught bock beer which is seasonable at this time of the year.
And:
Charlie’s place is one of the last of the old hotels with the real Bavarian atmosphere. Even the architecture on the front of the building—great spaces of stippled stucco, criss-crossed with solid, weather-beaten timbers, crowned by a peaked roof—carries out the simulation.
In the same issue this was published, inches from Van Olinda’s column was war news of great import. The topic was how to disarm Germany and end its militarism after an anticipated Allied victory.
A disjunction is notable: German militarism in a life-and-death struggle with Allied powers on the one hand, a benign German ethnicity that brought its food and beer culture to America, on the other.
Van Olinda makes no effort to reconcile these, in tune with American society generally by then. Maybe German-American culture had been long-enough implanted not to seem foreign anymore.
World War I was different. The German immigrations of the 19th century were still recent in national memory – a cultural divide still existed. This was exemplified in the writing of journalist and author H.L. Mencken, of German ancestry, who argued against American entry in the Great War.
In a famous jibe, Mencken called war proponents “Anglomaniacs”.
While there was a pro-Nazi element in German America in the 1930s, it was largely silenced or neutralized once the next war began.
Mencken was himself not pro-Nazi but was also against American involvement in a second war with Germany. He withdrew from active involvement in the Baltimore Sun and basically retired from public life.
We can conclude, or so I see it, that by 1943 Kalkbrenner’s and its like were American institutions. Their hallmarks of food, beer, and decor might suggest otherwise, but note Van Olinda’s term “simulation”.
In other words, it suggests Kalkbrenner’s saloon was an echo of Germanness in America, not the real thing. Hence the lack of animosity to the German-American fact in World War II.
Part II continues this series.
Note re image: source of image above is identified and linked in the text. All intellectual property in source belongs solely to the lawful owner, as applicable. Used for educational and research purposes. All feedback welcomed.
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*Note added December 1, 2021: I later determined Van Olinda was born in 1884, son a church organist. I elaborate in the Final Part.
I can’t help but wonder if this was a kind of gentle cultural propaganda–no attempt to reconcile the two but by juxtaposing the cozy German-American life with the militarism of the Nazis, he’s trying to portray a vision of German-Americans as part of the American tapestry and not an other to be reviled or disliked.
Pure speculation, of course, but I’ve always found the very swift end of German-American identity at the start of WW2 particularly fascinating and hard to parse. Of course the horrible way Japanese-Americans were treated at the same time has a much easier and sadder explanation: skin color.
On the juxtaposition point, if intentional I think it had to be from the editor, not Van Olinda. He likely wouldn’t have known the other content of the page, in advance I mean. I do believe finally, as stated in the text, that what Van Olinda called old Bavarian was something considered thoroughly American by then. Bock beer itself was, of course.
An annual bock beer celebration was held into the early war years as I discussed recently for a wine and food group in LA, kind of the same thing or another aspect of what I’m highlighting. Many restaurants with a German-American theme continued through the war as well, in Yorkville in New York, and elsewhere in the country.
I would be surprised if this general area hasn’t been examined by scholars in book-length form, there must be a study out there, or a few.
Gary,
The Schlitz Brewery built tied houses before prohibition. Several survive with exterior Schlitz insignias in Chicago. https://forgottenchicago.com/features/tied-houses/ The Albany building in the photo Pinto references doesn’t look related to those (and likely was outside Schlitz’s primary market).
In spite of there being a sizable pro-Nazi sentiment in the US prior to the US entry into WWII, German Americans weren’t segregated. However, large populations of American and Canadian citizens of Japanese descent were sent to camps during WWII. In Canada during WWI, some ethnic Germans including Austrians plus other non-German ethnic immigrants from Austria-Hungary were sent to camps. It’s not likely that those non-German ethnics were at all sympathetic to the German/Austrian cause.
Grist for the mill certainly, the post can suggest of course numerous directions to uncover further detail or for further examination. In general though, my sense is German-Americans fought the Second World War as loyally as their compatriots did. After all many American senior officers had German (or German cultural) background, the cases are too well-known to cite. It may have been similar during WW I at fighting man level – eg Eddie Rickenbacker presumably – but in society at large there was a split in public opinion. Some German-American opinion-makers argued against entry into the war in 1917. Henry Mencken was perhaps the best-known example. The problem is in WW II he had much less to argue in support than 25 years earlier, so his continued opposition was seen as tilting against windmills, or being simply the curmudgeon he was, or being (at least) incoherent. Even in WW I arguably he was at sea, but his stance during the Second War sunk permanently his reputation as a public intellectual (we would call it today), imo.
Open Pro-Nazi sentiment was common before the US entry into the WWII.
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2019/02/20/695941323/when-nazis-took-manhattan
We live on Long Island near Yaphank, which had a German oriented development, and activities on a smaller scale:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/nyregion/query-for-home-buyers-in-a-long-island-hamlet-are-you-german.html
I’m suppressing my opinions about some current US political trends.
On Edgar S. there may be more to be gleaned from these:
James E Van Olinda, 1854 – 1931
James E Van Olinda was born on month day 1854, at birth place , New York, to Abraham Van Olinda and Laura Van Olinda .
James married Emma Van Olinda on month day 1878, at age 24 at marriage place .
They had 4 children: Edgar S Van Olinda and 3 other children .
James lived at address .
He lived on month day 1865, at address , New York.
He lived on month day 1900, at address , New York.
He lived on month day 1905, at address , New York.
He lived on month day 1920, at address , New York.
He lived on month day 1930, at address , New York.
James passed away on month day 1931, at age 77 at death place , New York.
He was buried on month day 1931.
https://www.myheritage.com/names/james_van%20olinda
#99C Albany Scrapbook 1916-1928
Largely poetry and verse, includes writings
by Edgar A. Guest, news clippings, some
photographs and ephemeral items.
#99D Albany Scrapbook 1939-1947
Largely “Around the Town” and “Tattletales
of Old Albany,” columns by Edgar S. Van
Olinda.
https://www.albanyinstitute.org/tl_files/pdfs/library/SCRAPBOOK%20COLLECTION.pdf
And the Waterford Museum has an object, but the low res photo is of no help …
https://waterfordmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/archive/DD289B7A-42B3-44B8-80FD-157428563419
A further photo – this time highlighting Edgar’s music connections https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0320/28/1934-press-photo-mrs-vladimir_1_d77424b142c91fddb501ba34fb8f180c.jpg with Vladimir Horowitz and wife I believe.
Dominic, thanks, I did see some of this material earlier. Certainly adds to the picture.
Gary
https://www.flickr.com/photos/albanygroup/44142456511 – captioned ‘Schlitz Hotel 1890 Broadway albany ny’ and it would seem likely one of many https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlitz_Hotel – an early-ish example of vertical integration?
See also https://content.mpl.org/digital/collection/HstoricPho/id/3705 captioned The 4 story Schlitz Hotel opened in 1890. The hotel was best known for the adjacent Palm Garden built in 1895. The Palm Garden closed in 1919 as a result of Prohibition, and the hotel closed in 1921. It was razed in 1964.