If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 428

Little Bohemia, in Northern Wisconsin, ca 1940

 The postcard for this week has a black & white photograph of the Conference Room at Little Bohemia in Northern Wisconsin.  The card is a “Northwoods Postal View” from Herman, the Printer, Minocqua, Wisconsin.

The blurb on the reverse says, “Like a bit of old Europe transplanted to Wisconsin’s Northwoods.  Little Bohemia has all the charm and advantages of the old world and the new.  Picturesque architecture, authentic Bohemian cuisine, and an indefinable spirit of convivial hospitality, combined with the most modern equipment and a variety of sport on land and water, indoors and out, attract 40,000 visitors annually.  And here, too, are to be found incomparable relics of that notorious 20th century Jesse James, the late John Dillinger.” 

The message from the sender reads:  “Sunday.  Well here is the place you’ve heard so much about.  The bullet holes (& there are plenty) are the real McCoy too.  . . . “

Little Bohemia Lodge was built in 1929 by Emil Wanatka and is a rural vacation lodge and restaurant.  It is still in operation today and remains much as it was at the time on 22 April 1934 when there was a hastily and poorly organized federal raid that attempted to capture the notorious outlaw, John Dillinger.  Dillinger and his gang had connections to the lodge through the attorney Louis Piquett who knew the owner.  Wanatka claimed he did not know who Dillinger was until he caught sight of Dillinger’s pistol and noticed that the others also had shoulder holsters.  The following day Wanatka’s wife notified a friend that Dillinger was at the lodge and the FBI was subsequently given the tip.  With little time for preparation and without notifying or obtaining help from local authorities a number of agents arrived by plane from Chicago and attacked the lodge quickly fearing that Dillinger was preparing to leave soon.  The raid took place on a Sunday when the lodge offered a one-dollar dinner special and there were about 75 people inside.  A group of three people were leaving and mistaken for gang members.  The agents opened fire killing one and injuring the others and also alerting Dillinger and the other gangsters of the raid.  Dillinger and 3 others escaped out the back door, which was not guarded, and one other gang member, who was in a cabin next door, engaged in gun fire with the agents before fleeing in the opposite direction from the others.  Three of the women who had accompanied the gang members were captured inside the lodge and later released on parole.  One agent and one innocent bystander were killed, and four other individuals were severely wounded.  The botched raid resulted in severe criticism of the FBI and calls for the resignation of J. Edgar Hoover.  In 2008 scenes from Michael Mann's movie, "Public Enemies," were filmed on location at Little Bohemia.

1940 Commemorative Stamp, American Poets Series,  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The lodge has a display of historical artifacts from the Dillinger gun battle available for public viewing.  The original bullet holes are still in the walls and windows.  The cancellation date on the card is March 1941 just seven years after the event occurred.  The stamp is a 1940 commemorative in the American Poets series and features Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.



For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Bohemia_Lodge
https://www.stamp-collecting-world.com/usstamps_1940c.html