Heinie Meine - Speakeasy Operator

Speakeasy Operator

Meine owned a speakeasy in the St. Louis area. Sportswriter Red Smith recalled spending a few hours there as a young reporter and later wrote: "Heinie's store was genteel in a knock-down-drag-out way, and the specialty of the house in those prohibition days was a brand of moose milk that would peel the paint off a battleship." He was known through his career "The Count of Luxemburg," because he lived and operated his tavern in the unincorporated area south of St. Louis that was known as Luxemburg. When Pittsburgh outfielder Paul Waner showed up smelling of liquor and with eyes squinting for a 1932 game at Sportsman's Park in St Louis, the Cardinals' manager asked if Waner had a rough night. Waner replied, "Rough night? What a host that Meine is." In 1930, with Prohibition still in effect, one newspaper account reported that Meine owned "a soft drink parlor" in St. Louis. St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg noted that Meine's tavern was known for its "gemütlichkeit."