WHAT DO YOU KNOW about the Maceos of Galveston?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW about the Galveston’s Maceo family? In the late 19th century Galveston was an important port rivaling Ellis Island. The Moodys, Kempners and Sealys controlled Galveston. Remnants of elegance still exist in the grand Galvez Hotel and old homes north of downtown. Ten years after the 1900 flood, Galveston began to rise as a gambling center. The Maceo brothers arrived in 1913, becoming friends with the Beach Gang while barbering the prominent citizens of the town. Prohibition (1919-1933) lead to moonshining and Sam in his barber shop at the Galvez and Rose in his shop downtown, offered samples of their wine. They became partners with illegal distillers by storing liquor in their beach house before it was shipped to Middle America. In the early 1920s Soda Stands on the streets were a front for liquor sales and these agreeable boys were becoming wealthy. They attended the First Baptist Church on Sundays and they were known, liked and respected. The Beach Gang and another, the Downtown Gang, were in the lucrative rum running business. They used prostitutes to tell them where the Coast Guard would be at certain times so they could meet the cargo ships beyond the three mile limit, load the liquor coming from Europe and South America into their speed boats and reach land to unload without harassment and costly fines. Other Maceo family members joined Sam the visionary and Rose the financially wise. The Turf Athletic Club was the umbrella for all their businesses, which now included elegant upscale restaurants with fine food and gambling. Sam became King of Nightlife, dressed in a tuxedo with a lapel carnation to introduce entertainers of the caliber of Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians. Frank Sinatra never entertained in the Maceo Clubs, but he visited frequently staying with Mama Maceo. In 1929, Sam pled guilty for the gambling at his Grotto and DeLux clubs. Later he was indicted for trafficking narcotics, along with 15 locals and 42 from New Orleans, Houston and New York. However in 1942 a Jury fully acquitted Sam and one other. The Maceo’s famous Balinese Room was raid-proof. By the time security at the entrance to the pier had alerted the casino far out on the tip of the pier, the law officers would have been impeded by a long walk and the crowded ballroom located in the middle of the pier. Getting around tables and dancers in time to reach the casino before it was purged was impossible. Casino operators would have folded the gambling tables into the wall and hidden the chips and wheels and money. Patrons would be sitting and smoking and looking innocent. My experience with the Balinese Room came in 1952 when the father of a high school friend took several of us, as a graduation gift, for a night to remember. Allowed only in the glitzy ballroom we dined and listened to the crooner Mel Torme known as the Velvet Frog. Sam Maceo had died a year earlier. Depending on to whom you are listening, he was a respected and beloved citizen who put Galveston on the entertainment map or he was a member of the Mafia. Carole Sikes Ref. The Maceos and the Free State of Galveston by Kimber Fountain published by History Press, S. C.