By Roger Porter
One doesn't survive on the mean streets of Great Falls' lower south side by turning the other cheek and hiding in the shadows.
That is gospel today and was even more so when Bill Lindsey was growing up in the neighborhood during the 1940s and 50s. For many the environment dictated their future and they walked a very thin line between success and a trip to a state-run institution.
However, Bill and his brother Bobby had a singular advantage over their contemporaries and that was a father who instilled a work ethic in them early in life that has served them well over the years.
The boys also learned at an early age that not having all life' material goodies didn't have any bearing on the pride their father managed to instill in each of them.
Bill' eyes still light up when he recounts the excitement of heading downtown each Easter to purchase his new suit. The springtime rite became an eagerly anticipated yearly ritual.
Bill was also fortunate to have been endowed with some natural athletic ability which gave him an edge amongst his peers and served him well as he began life' journey.
He was especially talented in football and appeared in the Shrine East/West football game his senior year. That talent earned him an athletic scholarship to Northern Montana where a recurring knee injury finally proved his toughest opponent.
As an aside, an old teammate, retired schoolteacher Lefty Whigmore, recalls that when the school letters were awarded that first spring his fellow players inverted the M and instead presented Lindsey with a W which stood for whirlpool since he spent so much time soaking in the whirlpool bath.
After he concluded his brief college career Lindsey set about learning the commercial cleaning business and it wasn't too long before he started his own firm and became a tough competitor on the local scene.
However, he says, in the back of his mind he always yearned to own a bar and the time came when he approached a couple of friends about depositing some earnest money on what was to become Black Eagle' Little Chicago Club. His would-be partners passed so he alone ponied up the money and thus began a career that would consume the next three decades of his life.
Unfortunately he didn't initially set the bar business on fire and for a time he had to operate both the bar and cleaning service. The Black Eagle operation was alone a real challenge as the building per se was an owner's worst nightmare and rumor had it that the basement area where the backstock was kept was so rough the county contracted for it so they could house maximum security prisoners there.
But he had some ideas hatching in the back of his mind and he slowly but surely began to put them together.
To begin with he was fighting an uphill battle as the Little Chicago Club was in a marginal location on the down edge of the little ethnic community. To further complicate matters the bar had a pretty shady reputation and figured to find itself the center of attention whenever a shooting or stabbing made the local paper. Finally, the establishment had only a beer and wine license.
So, using what he had to work with, Lindsey set about making the Little Chicago Club a hub for indoor sports such as pool and, later, darts, both of which were and are today extremely popular in the Great Falls area.
It didn't take him long to discover the key to his and the establishment's success was a complete immersion in the business of building the league trade night after night and weekend after weekend. into this challenge he leapt headlong, not for an hour, not for a day but for years and years, almost totally forsaking a personal life.
With the building of the pool and darts league trade also came the gradual overall success of the Little Chicago Club. Another component was the addition of a short-order food menu.
He was one of the first to recognize that clean air meant a better customer environment, especially with the league crowds and the advent of video gaming. New carpeting, new coolers with oak facing, a new roof, paved parking lot, digital readerboard sign and finally the acquisition of an all-beverage liquor license combined to forge Bill Lindsey' hard earned success.
Looking back it is a human tendency to dwell on the good times and forget the bad, however Bill's memory isn't so selective. There is the memory of a time when he had to bunk in one of the booths. One of the many times when money was short he ended up paying one of the beer distributors in rolls of quarters to which the delivery man could only say, "You gotta be kiddin'" as he hefted his bag of coin on his shoulder and staggered out of the bar.
And, the customer themselves had to be a bit wary when cashing a check at the Little Chicago because the float was non-existent and often your check would hit the bank before you hit the curb due to Bill' many trips to the bank to keep money in the till and the account.
Now, after over 30 years and scores of his signature parties, Bill has finally decided to hang up his cue and take time to smell the roses. So it was on November 22 that he turned over his "baby" to new owner Darla Kelman.
Kelman then threw a farewell party for Lindsey and the place was bursting at the seams with the many people he'd touched over the years. As an added honor he was the subject of a roast by a number of friends at the recent Cascade County Tavern Association Charity Dinner.
In addition to running his own business, Lindsey was also active in both the local and state tavern associations having served as a director and president of the former.
A number of folks have asked, "Whatever is he going to do in his retirement?"
Possibly he'll become a "hustler" and travel those smoke filled rooms setting up the "pigeons" for a little extra pocket money.
Hopefully, he has improved his act since the night many years ago he and I happened onto one of his pool playing pals and he asked me if I had any money because he said he'd set this guy up and we'd be in fat city. I said I did have $100 but I needed it back at the end of the night. All I remember of that experience is handing him money all night and constantly inquiring if we were setting him up yet.
After my money disappeared we had to raid the cash register at the Little Chicago for my money and Lindsey spent the next three days raising cash to meet the next payroll. Oh, those were the days my friend.
In summing up the Bill Lindsey story we'll just pirate a bit of Sinatra and credit Bill for "doing it his way."
Best wishes to Bill and his wife, Vonda, for a well earned retirement and a pleasant Christmas vacation spent with his daughter and family in Oregon.
Let him especially enjoy 2007 for it will be the last spent in his 60'.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, Jan., 2007, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.