O’Shea’s Spicy Contribution to Springfield History

Springfield has had a romance with chili  - or “chilli” as the Dew Parlor misspelled it in 1909, forever confusing local writers and editors – since the late 1890s, according to the Sangamon County Historical Society’s Sangamon Link. “A number of roving vendors peddled chili and tamales on downtown streets about the same time.”  

By 1923, we had 11 chili parlors. Some sold the stuff in jars, bricks, or cans.  

Like our taste buds, our ego exploded in the 1960s when Springfield deemed itself the Chili Capital of the World, according to the April 14, 1969 Illinois State Register. It published a special, eight-page section on Springfield’s love affair with the concoction. Four local factories produced the tasty glop, or “luscious product,” as the paper called it. “Through modern methods of canning and freezing, chili lovers throughout the nation – even those who would dispute the Springfield claim – can enjoy the luscious product.”  

Woe to Terlingua, Texas, which had declared itself the chili capital of the world. “What can the Texans – the Terlinguan Texans, that is, do but stand there and sputter about trivialities – they haven’t got one leg, one fact, one chili bean to stand on,” the Register ranted. “They don’t even put beans in their chili…” 

But tragedy had hit Springfield’s chili scene. 

On May 28, 1965, Joe DeFrates’ factory at 121 E. Miller burned. “Burned chili cans and cardboard containers piled outside the Chili Man Chili plant,” reported the May 29, 1965 Illinois State Journal. (Note – it’s spelled Chilli Man Chilli – see what I mean about confusing writers and editors?) City health inspectors condemned the factory’s chili and closed the plant. 

O’Shea came to the rescue and repaired the fire damage, according to a June 2, 1965 Dodge report in the office history files. They got $10,000 for the job. Wonder if they got any free chili.