Hinky Dinks - the Midlothian (close to Chicago) connection?

I think most of us know that the name of Victor Bergeron's original restaurant was 'Hinky Dinks' - which he later named to Trader Vics - way back in 1937.

The following current article has nothing to do with tiki or Bergeron or Trader Vics - but it is about a man who has taken a job at a local Chicago dive bar named 'Hinky Dinks' to supplement his income. There is one photo, which shows a neon 'Hinky Dinks' sign in the window.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/07/unemployed-man-scrubs-toi_n_528636.html

So, this article got me thinking - why would a current Chicago bar name itself 'Hinky Dinks?' (and also, why why would an Oakland bar name itself Hinky Dinks?)

It turns out that 'Hinky Dink' was a nickname of a notorious Chicago alderman named Michael Kenna (1858-1946) - the nickname presented because of his diminutive size (5 foot, 1 inch). Here is a brief snippet of his wikipedia biography ....

*In addition to being an alderman, Kenna ran a saloon, The Workingman's Exchange, located on Clark Street. Kenna doled out meals to the indigent in exchange for votes.

Kenna and his partner, fellow First Ward alderman "Bathhouse" John Coughlin, were known as the "Lords of the Levee," a district included in their ward which provided them with the support of prostitutes, pimps, tavern-owners, and gamblers.

Coughlin and Kenna were also known for hosting the First Ward Ball, an annual fundraiser which brought together gangsters, safecrackers, prostitutes, politicians, businessmen, gamblers, and other types as well. The event raised more than $50,000 a year for the two men until it was closed down in 1909 by Mayor Fred Busse. By the time it was banned, the ball was so large that it had to be held in the Chicago Coliseum, the city's major convention center. Besides its notoriety in attracting many unsavory characters it often ended with the police having to curb disorderly conduct bordering on rioting. *

A more in-depth (and entertaining!) look at Hinky Dink and the low life Chicago of the First Ward in the early 1900's can be found here ..... http://www.prairieghosts.com/graft.html

When Hinky Dink passed away in 1946, both Time and Life magazine had significant articles about him (google 'Hinky Dink' and each magazine name to read them)

Obviously Hinky Dink was a well known personality in Chicago - could his fame/notoriety have reached the West Coast, and the name chosen to attract people to a new bar?? The original Hinky Dinks restaurant was built in 1932 with $700 and the help of his wife's brothers. Was his wife from the Chicago area? (Victor himself grew up in the San Francisco area) We may never know, but it is interesting to ponder on the possibilities.

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2010-04-07 19:27 ]

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2010-04-08 16:54 ]

interesting, i had always assumed that the term "hinky dinks" came from the term "hinky dinky parlay voo," which was a world war 1 song that i believe lived on in vaudville. http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/mademoisellefromarmentieres.htm

there was a grocery chain in nebrasky called hinky dinky's starting in 1925 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinky_Dinky

Vic said it was the song in his biography.

Thanks for the info - I wasn't familiar with that song. A quick search showed that it was the often improvised risque and bawdy lyrics to an originally legitimate song which may have been the real reason for the song's popularity.

Here are some examples ..... and take special notice of the lyrics in bold

Oh, Mademoiselle from Montparnasse, Parley-vous
Oh, Mademoiselle from Montparnasse, Parley-vous
You didn't have to know her long,
To know the reason men go wrong!
Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous?
.
.
She's the hardest working girl in town,
But she makes her living upside down!
Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous?
.
.
As soon as she'd spy a Colonel's brass,
She'd take off her skirt and roll in the grass!
Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous?
.
.
She'll do it for wine, **she'll do it for rum **,
And sometimes for chocolate or chewing gum!
Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous?
.
.
Where are the girls who used to swarm
About me in my uniform?
Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous?

So, it appears that Bergeron's first bar named 'Hinky Dinks' and the Chicago alderman nicknamed 'Hinky Dinks' both had ties - even if based in song lyrics only - to loose women of the era.

Vern

We decided that Hinky Dinks was a junky name

that brings more context to that statement by the man himself...

there is a world of difference between midlothian, illinois and chicago.....there is no chicago connection to trader vics/ himky dinks.......it's not uncommon for 2 bars with the same name to co exist in different states....regardless if they are both currently in operation or one is long gone....

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-04-08 16:15 ]

I knew I should have spent more time with the search function.

All those junkies hanging out with prostitutes - the Bergerons were correct in changing the name .... although I do think it would have been really cool to have sipped a ma-tai while being seated to William Burroughs at a Trader Vics.

I suspected from the start that the two Hinky Dinks had no relationship to each other at all, and now definitely believe that to be true. Sometimes its fun to explore possible connections though, in the 'Six degrees of Kevin Bacon' kind of way, just for kicks. My life is now much better for knowing more about the various 'Hinky Dink' connotations out there - obviously I set a low bar for achievement.

Midlothian is 23 miles from the Chicago Loop. With a fast car, you Chicagoans could be there in no time at all.

On 2010-04-08 16:53, ikitnrev wrote:
Midlothian is 23 miles from the Chicago Loop. With a fast car, you Chicagoans could be there in no time at all.

But there is no direct route from the Loop to Midlothian, only roundabout ways.

To muddy the waters even further, where was this Hinky-Dink Grill located? Hawaiian Music? Hmm. Did Victor Bergeron ever visit this place before opening his Hinky Dinks? The style of the matchbook looks 1920s or early 30s. Manufactured by the Maryland Match Co., but that doesn't mean anything necessarily.

I think the link to the song above is a Red Herring

There is a variation of the song where the word Hinky is replaced by Rinky...

Looking up "Rinky Dink" on the online Thesaurus brings up the following:

Main Entry: cheap
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: inferior, low in quality
Synonyms: bad, base, bogus, catchpenny, cheesy, common, commonplace, crappy*, cruddy, dud, flashy, garbage, garish, glitzy, junky, lousy, mangy, mean, mediocre, meretricious, no bargain, no good, ordinary, paltry, poor, ratty, raunchy, rinky-dink, rotten, rubbishy, scroungy, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, small-time, tatty, tawdry, terrible, trashy, trumpery, two-bit, valueless, white elephant, worthless

Which kind of fits with the sentiment of the song.

Here are a few more word derivations

hink - an old Scottish noun meaning 'doubt, hesitation, misgiving'

kink - nautical term, 1670's - a twist in a rope
kink - as used by Thomas Jefferson in 1803 ... "odd notion, a mental twist"

kinky - 1844 full of kinks
kinky - 1889 "odd, eccentic"

rinky dink - 1912 carnival slang - said to be imititative of the sound of a banjo in a parade

hinky - police/underground term for "suspicious/paranoid/nervous/jumpy" ; something, as yet undefinable, is wrong or not quite right

Given that carnivals had a reputation of temporarily bringing seedy characters into town it all kind of comes together. (The prizes given away in carnival games were often made of brightly painted, but cheap chalkware or other flimsy material - rinky dink prizes)

The 'sexually deviant' meaning of the word "kinky" did not arise until 1959 - perhaps 'hinky' informally stood in its place before 1959?

so a hinky dink might be a rinky dink honky tonk for hinkys.

For those who were under the belief that it was Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous, TV HQ agrees:

==========

From: v bergeron [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2010 6:23 PM
To: The Gnomon
Subject: RE: Erik Heggin and Hinky Dinks Question

Hello Gnomon,

Erik no longer works for Trader Vic's, but here is what I have found out on the Hinky Dinks question:

JVB Jr got the name from a World War 1 song Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous. He loved the song and took a version of the title as the name for his first joint! Some wiki info on the song for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mademoiselle_from_Armenti%C3%A8res

No progress as yet on a DC location.

Thank you for your inquiry and have a great weekend.

Mahalo!

Michelie

From: The Gnomon
Sent: Thu 4/15/2010 11:57 AM
To: v bergeron [[email protected]]
Subject: Erik Heggin and Hinky Dinks Question

Here’s an e-mail I sent to Erik Heggin a week ago, who used to keep me and Tiki Central posted on certain TV questions. So far I haven’t heard back at all. Is he still there? Meanwhile, is there someone else who can answer our Hinky Dinks question? Thanks.

The Gnomon

From: The Gnomon
Sent: Thursday, April 08, 2010 11:03 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: hinky dinks question

Hey Erik

Haven’t heard from you in a long time. Still hoping you’ve made some progress in getting a TV here in the greater Washington DC area.

Meanwhile, on the Tiki board that I frequent the question arose as to how JVB Jr came up with the name Hinky Dinks. Anybody there know?

The question started when it was learned that there is a Chicago bar called Hinky Dinks and we wondered if it was somehow related to The Trader. We then found out that there was an notorious, unscrupulous character (an alderman) back at the turn of the 20th Century by the name of Michael Kenna whose nickname was Kinky Dink. We can figure that any Chicago Hinky Dinks is associated with the infamous Michael Kenna. Is this person the namesake for the Hinky Dinks that became TV?
Please, ask around if you don’t already know. Thanks.

The Gnomon