Why Gilded Age tycoon will be honored with sculpture in St. Charles
Roughly, 42,000 days have transpired since the passing of barbed wire baron John Warne “Bet-A-Million” Gates at age 56 on Aug. 9, 1911.
To some, that means it’s long past time for St. Charles to give this steel and oil tycoon his deserved recognition for what his fortune meant in making the city what it has become.
St. Charles has basked in the generosity of philanthropists Lester and Dellora Norris for more than 100 years, with places like the Municipal Center, Delnor Hospital, Arcada Theatre, Norris Theater, Baker Memorial Methodist Church and St. Charles Country Club, being just a few of the gifts bestowed upon the city.
That should make everyone in the Tri-Cities area thankful that Gates, a prolific gambler, thus the “Bet-A-Million” moniker, was born in West Chicago and married the sister of Col. Edward Baker of St. Charles.
As the daughter of Laverne Baker and Robert Angell, and niece of Dellora Baker Gates and Col. Baker, Dellora A. Norris was the main beneficiary of Bet-A-Million’s fortune. It is estimated she inherited more than $38 million, plus some properties, upon Gates’ passing, with a share going to Col. Baker, as the only living descendants.
Not many people know Gates’ background, according to those at the St. Charles History Museum and longtime St. Charles residents who have pushed for more recognition — to the point that a bust of the industrial-age giant will be dedicated at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at the history museum.
St. Charles has Archie Bentz Jr. to thank for cheerleading on Gates’ behalf. Bentz took over his father’s Texaco Station at 215 E. Main St., the current site of the history museum, in 1977 and operated it until 1990.
He came to have a full understanding of the role Gates and his creation of U.S. Steel and Texaco had played in St. Charles. So much so, that he wrote a book about Gates published last year titled “Bet-a-Million Gates … The Man History Forgot.”
“If you ask 10 different people who Gates is, you might get eight different answers,” said Bentz, 77, who retired to Crossville, Tennessee, but comes back to St. Charles often.
Bentz sparked interest in the Gates bust idea when attending a Norris Foundation meeting last June, talking about his book. Grandchildren of Lester and Dellora Norris at the meeting donated toward the creation of a the bust. After a donation from Lynn and Jay Montgomery, the former Goldmine jewelry store owner, about $18,000 overall was raised for the project.
The momentum Bentz was building occurred just after Tom Anderson, a member of the history museum board, had reached out to him about adding an old Texaco sign and more information about Gates at the museum.
Anderson began asking the same question of residents regarding their knowledge of Gates.
“Some confused him with Bill Gates and Microsoft, or maybe they know about Gates and barbed wire,” Anderson noted. “But when I ask if they know about Baker and Norris, they say yes, and I tell them, where do you think they got their money?”
Feeling this story needs to be known, Bentz commissioned sculptor Lori Betz of Houston, Texas, to create the Gates bust, similar to one that stands in Port Arthur, Texas, a city Gates virtually built through his company’s major oil find there.
The St. Charles History Museum was already undergoing a bit of a makeover, with a statue created by Russ Riendeau depicting the city’s role in the Underground Railroad network for slaves seeking freedom being erected, possibly by May 17.
In addition, museum board member Todd Surta, president of Architectural Cast Stone, has donated the stonework for a new sign at the museum as well as pedestals for both the head-and-shoulders Gates bust and the Underground Railroad sculpture, which depicts rails going skyward, with broken chains at its base.
In addition, Surta is working on some bases for antique gas pumps that Anderson obtained through a refurbisher in Hampshire. Anderson is donating the pumps as a way to emphasis the historical value of the museum site being former McCornack Oil and Texaco gas stations.
“It’s been a really collaborative effort from a lot of people around the city and museum to recognize the man who most people don’t know about in St. Charles, but that the philanthropy from Col. Edward Baker and Dellora and Lester Norris was the result of his work and funding,” said Alex Cullum, executive director of the St. Charles History Museum.
“There was nothing really about John Gates (in the museum exhibit),” Cullum added. “We had the books about Gates, and it just snowballed from there for the bust presentation.”
The names of the 16 Norris grandchildren who donated to the bust project will be listed on the bust pedestal. One of those grandchildren is John Collins, who has since found more Gates antiques in his St. Charles home’s basement and brought them to the history museum.
“I have family members who don’t know about this stuff (in his basement) and it has no relevance in my basement,” Collins said. “Trying to sort this stuff out is like herding chickens. In looking around, I find stuff for the Hotel Baker, or the Arcada and I try to get it over to the history museum to file away for others to see.”
There is no doubt St. Charles is on a roll with its historic commemorations. On Friday, May 1, the Baker Community Center celebrates its 100th anniversary, and on Thursday, May 7, the Arcada Theatre does the same.
It’s only fitting that Bet-A-Million Gates gets his due 10 days later.
Nino’s Deli in the works
Nicholas Gaynor feels as if he sounds like a broken record when saying he hopes to open his New York style Italian Delicatessen at 17 N. Fourth St. in Geneva in a “few weeks.”
The main thing causing any delays at the moment center on Gaynor’s search for the perfect bread at what will be Nino’s Italian Deli.
“We are trying to get the right bread,” said Gaynor, who grew up in New York and has spent much of his life in the “deli world.”
“We were considering baking our own bread, but to have the equipment and three or four people around all of the time, it was not possible,” Gaynor added. “So, we have found a great bread from Crest Hill bakery in Maryland that we are going to be testing. It should be absolutely phenomenal.”
High-quality fresh bread and meats will make Nino’s stand out, Gaynor notes. Customers may notice higher prices for such meats, but his experience tells him people are willing to pay for quality.
Most of the sandwiches on the menu will be Italian, Gaynor said, with quality meat, cheese and homemade dressings. Customers can buy meat and other products by the pound.
After three years in Nashville, Gaynor moved to the Tri-Cities area to be around other family members. Right away, he knew he missed the Italian delis and saw the need for one here.
Tucked in the small retail strip and parking lot at that section of Fourth Street, the site has had a nice outdoor deck since the days of Firehouse Pizza.
“The site is tucked away and the parking is not the greatest,” Gaynor noted. “That is a small issue, and the site had a kitchen, and it is a good place to start a business. It will be different from most other delis, and that should be a draw.”
Gaynor understands some of the risks in the location and the cost of the high-end meats, but I sense that a deli in this part of town could do well.
A lot of neighborhood people and downtown workers live within walking distance of this site, and the idea of a good deli sandwich for lunch or dinner has a certain appeal.
Joey’s pizza legacy
The 53-year pizza saga of Pal Joey’s, with many of those years as a restaurant along the Fox River in Batavia, may be coming to and with the restaurant’s closing, but something tells me this pizza could resurface somewhere.
After all, Pal Joey’s has moved around from West Chicago, to the site at 31 N. River St. in Batavia and then out to Randall Road in taking over a spot vacated by the Golden Corral restaurant. And then it was back to what seemed like its most comfortable home along River Street. Owner John Hamel has been around for 25 of those years, 14 of them in Batavia.
Restaurants close for any number of reasons — a retiring owner, an owner with unexpected health challenges, a significant drop in the economy resulting in fewer customers, or the business plan just not working out due to rising costs in everything from products to payroll and rent.
The loss of Pal Joey’s means River Street is suffering a bit at the moment in Batavia. It needs a boost from a tenant that will draw folks into what is an interesting portion of downtown Batavia.
What that may mean in terms of needed renovations on buildings, or negotiated leases, is anybody’s guess.
With consumers struggling with inflation, restaurant operators have to make sure they are getting deals they need and buildings that hold promise.