In the dead of winter 1938, the tiny village of Bonfield, Illinois, made national news for a bizarre reason: it banned the card game Rhummy. On this episode of "This One Time in Kankakee," discover the strange and true story of the "Rhummy Rebellion."
Amid the Great Depression, Bonfield was known as a "sinless village" in Kankakee County, thanks to strict Blue Laws that forbade everything from liquor to dancing to playing baseball on Sundays. But when a group of housewives, calling themselves "rhummy widows," lodged a formal complaint, the town board added one more harmless pastime to the banned list.
This episode details the local standoff:
- The Law: Mayor Rubin Orwig and the village board impose a $10 fine (over $200 today) for playing a simple dime-a-hand game.
- The Rebels: Led by defiant barber William Brohm, the local men refuse to give up their only pastime.
- The "Speakeasy": When the ban becomes immediate, the rummy game doesn't stop—it just goes underground, forcing the players into secret hideaways.
Learn how this small-town dispute between morality and camaraderie escalated into a story picked up by the United Press and splashed across the front page of the Kankakee Republican News.
This episode features special voice performances from:
- Denny Case as the 1930s radio news narrator
- Mike Tomano as William Brougham
- Bill Dyche as Leo Reigel
- Rob West as Justice Yeates
- Chris Nickles as Mayor Orwig
- Greg Odeneal as the card player
(This story was researched and written by Jack Klasey. Check out his weekly history blog at kankakeecountymuseum.com.)
Want more from the WVLI Podcast Network? Listen to the WVLI News Update with Rob West every weekday morning! Get the days local news from the greater Kankakee County, IL area in 10 minutes or less.
Subscribe now on your preferred podcast platform: https://wvlinewsupdate.buzzsprout.com
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