Hook ’em Cow

150 No. Concord St.

South St. Paul

The phrase “Hook ’em Cow!” shows up in the Minneapolis Journal as early as August 3, 1913, in conjunction with a stampede (a rodeo in Winnipeg). By 1916 there was a Hook ’em Cow Club in South St. Paul, although it appears to be an organization without a physical home. They had sports teams such as basketball and polo.

HOOK – EM – COW HOTEL

In 1918 there was an ad for the “famous Hook – Em – Cow Hotel of South St. Paul,” but there is no indication of where it was. It was owned and managed by F.E. Driscoll. (Minneapolis Tribune, August 22, 1918) A second ad is found in 1924, still with no address and with different proprietor and manager. Finally, in a news flash from 1947, we learn that the address of the hotel is 155 N. Congress St., South St. Paul.

In 1925 there was a Hook ’em Cow Quartet that broadcast on WCCO and from the St. Paul Coliseum.

SCANDAL

In 1945, F.E. Driscoll, who had been noted above as owning the Hook – Em – Hotel in 1918, was charged with carnal knowledge of a 15-yar-old girl he met in one of the many cafes he had interests in, including the Casablanca, the Happy Hour, and the Frolics. He operated Duke’s place and reportedly had an interest in the Manor House in Inver Grove Heights. It was also reported that he assisted his father and brother in the operation of the Hook-Em-Cow hotel and tavern in South St. Paul.

So all this time, the Hook ’em Cow Bar could have been attached to the hotel, location unknown, since 1918.

HOOK’EM COW BAR AND CAFE

An address for the bar is finally found for sure on February 17, 1962: 150 N. Concord St. Tavern operator Gerald Driscoll and his wife Delores were both burned by acid when she attempted to throw it at her husband’s girlfriend and he threw his arms up to protect her. Those Driscolls. (Minneapolis Star) In March 1965, Delores was found dead in her car with bottles containing 2,000 pills of barbiturates found in her home. She was estranged from Gerald, who was still the proprietor of the hotel and the tavern. (Minneapolis Tribune, March 5, 1965)

Will Jones paid a visit to the Hook ’em Cow in 1966 to explore its Champaign on Tap.

… drawn from a tap alongside a regular beer tap and delivered (so the bartender told us) in a tiny aluminum keg just like beer. It was 65 cents a glass.

It’s a long narrow place, and presently a country western band, two guitars and bass, appeared on a stage at the far back end of the room. (Minneapolis Tribune, June 5, 1966)

At the beginning of November 1973, co-owners Daniel French and John Schaefer decided to add lingerie shows, but in mid-December 1973 the St. Paul City Council voted that he must stop them or he would forfeit his liquor license in 1974. French protested that it was the only thing that was keeping the business afloat. Councilman Steve Alencich, who ran the Sportsman’s Inn, said it had actually hurt business at his place. He want to keep South St. Paul clean – “some big cities might be ready for that type of thing, but our town isn’t.” (Minneapolis Tribune, December 19, 1973)

Hook ’em Cow

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