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--> --> Sept. 4: Our contribution: The saloon By Jeff Cheek There is only a second "o" separating salon (SA-LAN), but there is a saloon (SA-LOON), but there is a world of difference. A salon is an assembly of leaders, especially artists and writers, who meet regularly to discuss artistic projects. It is European in origin. A saloon is a place where alcohol is sold and consumed and it is all American. No one knows where the saloon started, but many sources credit New Orleans with opening the first saloon about 1840. Drinking places were known as inns or taverns. Some unknown tavern keeper decided to add a bit of class to his grog shop by renaming his place a saloon, after the French salon. The new word, and the traditional bat wing doors, became part of American culture. The "free lunch" was conceived by Enrique Martinez, owner of the City Exchange Saloon in New Orleans. If a client left to eat somewhere else, he sold less whiskey. Martinez kept a table laden with smoked oysters, gumbo, cheese and bread for his customers. Buy one drink and you could help yourself to a plate of these delicacies. And spend your lunch money on another drink. So many new customers flocked to the City Exchange Saloon that other establishments in the Crescent City adopted the concept. The free lunch is an American contribution. Food costs have reduced it to bar popcorn or peanuts. From New Orleans the idea spread across the nation. There were many kinds of saloons, most associated with settling the west. Railroads had to be built to serve these homesteaders and the "hell on wheels" was born. The saloon was in a railroad car which followed the workers. Some saloons provided female companionship. These were called "Hog Ranches." The poor ladies who worked there were known by the gentle Victorian term of "soiled doves." A "Shebang" was a temporary saloon, built with green wood. In a year, the green lumber warped and buckled, turning the Shebang into a shack, but the owner has already made a profit. He would sell "the whole shebang" and move on. Saloon art was often pretty raw. The Teller House in Central City, Colorado had nude goddesses, but one had a single breast and two left feet. The artist, a wandering Englishman, was given room, board and whiskey for the job. So many customers came to see the painting that the owner decided to keep it as painted. Famed western artist Charles Russell began his career selling his painting to saloon keepers for food and drink, but the standard saloon art was "Custer's Last Stand." In 1880, Anheuser-Busch distributed thousands of copies of the painting to saloons as advertisement. Another accidental success was in a saloon in Georgetown, Colorado. An underpaid sign painter printed "We Serve The WORST Liquor," then left town. The illiterate owner noted that business picked up. He left the sign hanging, even after he learned its meaning. Prohibitionists hated saloons so much that they forced some state governments to pass laws banning the word. Prohibition started in 1920. Half a century later Governor Carey of New York signed a law allowing new York bars to call their establishments saloons. Why not serve shrimp at your next cocktail party? INGREDIENTS: 1 8 ounce package whipped cream cheese 6 cooked shrimp 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 drops Tabasco 1/2 teaspoon horseradish PREPARATION: Finely chop shrimp, mix with other ingredients. Chill and serve with raw vegetable tray. Jeff Cheek lives in Medford. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing