dallashistory

you dig through these google searches for more about SJC

"Shanghai Jimmy"
http://tinyurl.com/ynmgp8

"Shanghai Jimmy" + "chili rice"
http://tinyurl.com/yv6h8x

"chili rice"
http://tinyurl.com/yuw7h8

dig in

If you GOOGLE "north china marines" one of the returns will be

http://www.northchinamarines.com

and if you open the above you will be on a page about the Marines, embassy guards and such, who were captured by the Japanese after Pearl Harbor. There is a menu on the left side of the page including REUNIONS. Select that and go to a page with a lot of photos and so on. Go well down on the page and find an unattributed newspaper clipping with a picture of Jimmy and another story about the Christmas Dinner which was for these captured Marines and others. Jimmy is called "Jimmy J. James" in the article. There is also a letter of thanks to Jimmy @ Jimmy's Kitchen in Shanghai.

If you select POLITICS OF SURRENDUR you will find an article about the reasons these Marines were left in a exposed position in China before the Second World War and the problems they had obtaining benefits since, including one MOH.

If you select CONTACT addresses are given. I have e-mailed a request for information about Jimmy that the group may have archived.

PETERK: This "north china marines" website may be in addition to those you found as listed above since the name "Shanghai Jimmy" does not seem to appear. I don't know how to quickly check the hundreds of hits your links furnish.

Clyde Howard: It will not surprise me to learn that you, of the people on this board, knew about the North China Marines in some detail, but this might be of interest.

Sharon Marsalis: I'll advise if I learn anything that helps establish Jimmy's age pr lefal name.

This information previously sent to Joe King.

There is still another Menu item named UNIT ROSTER. That page includes a list of all the people in the POW camps which eventually included Jimmy. Over half way down the page is the following paragraph:

"Jimmie James, his wife Mae, daughters Doris and Annie were held at the civilian camp at Chapei in Shanghai from Mar 43 to Aug 45. At one point he was in charge of the kitchen there. James had supplied the entire POW camp at Kiangwan with turkey dinners Christmas 1942. "

Based on the spelling of his wifes name it appears that Jimmy married a chinese woman, at least the women I have known named "Mae" were Chinese. Also, the stories I heard about Jimmy having a daughter are, well, at least possible.

Fabulous find, Bill!
We now know that Jimmy "J". James had a wife Mae and two daughters
Doris and Annie. We know the dates of 1943-46. Certainly a probably Chinese birth of a daughter will be noted on some records.

I spent hours searching yesterday and found several Jimmy James in Minnesota Census records in the late 1800s to very early 1900 but as of yet no way to verify our Jimmy.

Jimmy's Kitchen in Shanghai is still noted as a famed and original establishment. The first of its kind--American style food and the cook an American. There are stories of the heiress and actress Barbara Hutton partying there.

Then in 1928 an acquaintance of Jimmy James opened the Hong Kong Jimmy's Kitchen based on the original idea. It is today a famous and recommended place. One of the owners a Jimmy Pak changed the location.

From what I gathered both places serve/served a wide variety of dishes--chili chicken and a couple other "chili" types were mentioned.

A writer Tim Condon portrays Jimmy James as a small wizened American man in his mid 60s with a long gray beard that swept the floor as he baked! The novel Shanghai Venture (2002) tells the story of some of the Chapei Civilian Internment Camp in Shanghai in the early 40s. Jimmy is assigned to the bakery and becomes part of the plot by hiding and aiding a Captain.
As part of his conversation with 'David" he mentions the kitchen he had before the Japanese came.
The author introduces Jimmy James by saying:

Jimmy's Kitchen, the only restaurant in all of China to serve authentic American fare: hamburgers, hot dogs, apple pie and, best of all, fresh roasted coffee. Well known in the foreign community, this small, beared and patriotic American had become a celebrity. His spotless coffee shop had been a magnet for every foreign news reporter, business mogul and diplomat on the China coast.

More later, Sharon

Ah Ms. Marsalis,

Thank you for the flowers!

I will mention briefly how I got to the North China Marines website rationalizing that you never know how things might connect for another researcher.

I have always been interested in the pre-history of man as given by the paleontologists. Eighty plus years ago the discovery of Peking Man was a hot topic and I read about it as a child in the 1940's - 50's. The collection was housed in a college in Peking and there was an attempt to move the bones to the USA before our country entered WW 2.

The collection can be traced with some certainty to a US Marine post in North China and no further. A book, Search for Peking Man was written on this subject. That was some years back. The Marines in question were part of the group who went to a POW camp after Pearl Harbor and likely benefitted from Jimmy's Christmas Dinner for the prisoners as I realized more recently.

That possibility led to the North China Marines website.

Incidentally, the newspaper picture of Jimmy is much as I remember him. He was not a large man and I remember him being described as, "that little old guy."

Bill Crane

Bill Crane

That is really fascinating! One really knows how things will connect as below:

I just found Annie James!!

Name: Annie James
Arrival Date: 29 Nov 1945
Age: 16 years 10 months
Birth Date: 5 Jan 1929
Birthplace: Shanghai, China
Gender: Female

Ship Name: St Olaf
Port of Arrival: San Pedro, California
Port of Departure: Shanghai, China

On the original paper her home in the U.S. is given as JACKSON, MINNESOTA

There is a handwritten "pp lifted" Mar. 1941 (passport lifted)

The other James listed with her were Jenn and Janet James. Both 15 year 10 month old females. Both born 1-20-1930. Their birthplace was Shanghai also but were heading for a home in ST. Viscenti, Santa Barbara, Californis.

All three were issued naturalization papers March 26, 1941.



I also found a Doris James who left Shanghai in 1941. However she is listed as born in Boston, on the ship President Cleveland and is with her husband Clyde and their 9 mo. old daughter Leslie. They were going to a home in
Pasedena.

Oddly enough a Mae James who had been born in about 1889 in Tientsein, China but was listed as British/Canadian left Shanghai on 9/ 15/1930 with her daughter 4 year old Doris who had been born in Shanghai but was listed as English.. They had then sailed out of La Havre, France aboard the Lafayette bound for N.Y.
Handwritten over Mae's name it looks like "with husband in USA" Their destination just says USA. They were on a list of "Alien Passengers" for a temporary stay in the U.S.


There were many people with the surname James leaving (fleeing?) Shanghai in the 30s--both Americans and British coming to the US from Shanghai.

On one of my posts above is mention of the North China Marines and an internet address is given. The web site is a memorial to the Marines who served in China before World War Two, all or some of whom were at the Christmas Dinner prepared by the man we know as Shanghai Jimmmy. I e-mailed Mr. John Pewers who established and maintains the web site and asked if he had more information about Jimmy. O believe it was Mr. Powers father-in-law who was a North China Marine. There are photographs of him on the web site.

Basically, Mr. Power's response was that a NCM bulletin dated 1976 gave information about Jimmy, in addition to that found on the web site. He also said that Jimmy was recognized in the 1982 reunion at which time he was eighty years old according to the newspaper clipping, which I assume was about that gathering. He also said that he had no further information about Jimmy. Mr. Powers gave me permission to post the information about Jimmy on the Dallas History message Board. in a separate note

I am copying the information below, except the POW thank you letter to Jimmy which can be found on the NCM site as previously mentioned.

Bill,
The reunion Jimmy James was recognized by the NCM was in Chicago in 1982.
A 1976 bulletin gives this info on James:
1919 enlisted in US Army
1920 sailed for Siberia, rerouted to Manila and then Tientsin
1922 discharged, went to work for Asia Development Co
1923 named US Asst Deputy Marshal in Shanghai
1924 went to Chefoo and opened sandwich stand on dock for US fleet, opened popcorn stand in Shanghai
1925 opened first kitchen, Broadway Lunch, later changed to Jimmy's Kitchen
1927 opened second Jimm's Kitchen, plus a dine and dance place
1928 closed dine and dance hall and took over St George's
1929 opened dancing school and a summer cafe in Tsingtao
1930 took trip around the world
1931 set up radion station RUOK in Shanghai
1932 opened amusement park, exhibited 70 ton whale used in first Moby Dick movie
1933 opened physical culture academy
1934 moved St George's to Frenchtown
1938 opened another dine and dance
1939 opened Winter Garden
1940 opened Mandarin Club, ultra exclusive
1943 March interned in Chapei Camp on the outskirts of Shanghai
along with wife Mae Victoria (she was British),teen aged daughters Doris and Annie. At one point James was in charge of the kitchen in the camp. Released in Aug 1945
1946 visited the states
1948 while visiting states again lost everything in Shanghai to Communists
1949 opened hot dog stand in Tyler, Texas
1953 opened Shanghai Jimmy's in Dallas, operated at various locations until 1964
1975 reopened Shanghai Jimmy's in Dallas

I am attaching a copy of the letter signed by Col Ashurst.

I have no further info on James in my files. There may be a reunion in 2008. Some one volunteers each year to host a reunion. No one has done so yet. Every one is welcome at those reunions. There is a rumor it may be held in Georgia, but no official word yet.

John Powers
Please note that several points collaborate some of the things I remembered from the resume on the Chili Rice menu sheet and also things that Ms. Marsalis has already found and published on this boaed.

Best,

Bill Crane

All of these people were "Civilians" held by the Japanese at Chapei Civilian Assembly under WWII Prisoners of War

All had "reported dates" that were close or the same in 1944 and all had "late Reported dates" in 1946.

All were listed as : STATUS: Returned to Military Control, Liberated or Repatriated

Annie M. James
Doris James
F. James
Janet James
Jean James
Joseph J. Jones--last rep. date 14 Feb. 1946
May P.
Note that on the ship to the USA with Annie were Janet and Jean (Jenn)
Note the spelling of May versus Mae

Could Joseph J be our Jimmy James?

The only other Joseph J. I have found so far in Minnesota was in 1920:

James, Walter C Head of House age 29 b. Washington, parents born China, listed as Chinese. He was proprietor of a cafe.

Selma F. Sister age 26 bookkeeper-cafe same birth places etc
JOSEPH J Brother 23 cafe manager same etc
Frank Brother 16
Harry Y Brother 14

Probably no connection to our Jimmy but.......

I found two short write ups about Jimmy's Kitchen that mention Jimmy James, and that the Central location was moved from shanghai. If you do a Google for;

jimmy's kitchen french may kowloon central james

The first page has a link that starts "La Brasserie. Do the HTML version. This may not work for long but it does right now.
Joe

Thanks Bill and Joe. This is just tremendous to find out all the info on Jimmy's life AND WHAT A LIFE IT WAS!! Books and bios are written on such as he and his adventures. I cannot imagine what all that Asia experience must have been like and meant to his family. We are honoring all of them by keeping his memory alive.

I am thrilled to know he was born about 1902 and he did enlist in 1919 so I will relook for a registration. He was in "Tientsin" where Mae was born. She was British Canadian. Her husband was in the U.S. in 1930 as her ship papers say.

Finally, so sad to know he lost everything--especially his credibility and prestige. It is good to know he was still alive in 1975 and beginning a new Shanghai Jimmy's.

I am just in awe.

Joe, I meant to say that I read your French May site and about the Jimmy's Kitchens. I kind of got the impression from all my reading last night that our Jimmy only had the place in Shanghai--which was original and famous. The ones in Hong Kong were not his but copies of his re his friend. The Hong Kong location is a big seller in all the guide books.

Great Sharon! Thanks sooo much for your help! And so nice for what you said about Jimmy! My Mom was a great judge of people and she was a fan of Jimmy's. Hey, you never got to meet him but I know you would have been a fan. Oh, maybe you are now.

At least they mention Jimmy James in those write ups. It seams weird to me that the Chinese seized Jimmy's Restaurants and they are still going. And they are REAL popular.

Bill, I hope you can find them!
Joe

No mention of Shanghai Jimmy that I can recall in any of the tales, but John W. Thomason, Jr., wrote (and illustrated - he was a fine artist as well as a writer) a number of short stories set in China in the 20s and 30s, in both Peking and Shanghai, mainly centering around his character Sergeant Houston. Thomason was a contemporary of such Marines as Chesty Puller, and Thomas Holcomb and Clifton Cates (Cates and Holcomb were superior to JWT and a bit older - and both became Commandants of the USMC; Holcomb was Commandant during the first half of WWII, roughly, replaced by Vandergrift) and, along with Puller, was part of the Legation Guard in Peking (as they called it then). Thomason had command of a mounted unit (didn't know the Marines had cavalry, did ya?) and then the Machine Gun Company IIRC.

The stories in such books as SALT WINDS AND GOBI DUST offer picture of China (including Shanghai) during the period Shanghai Jimmy was flourishing. And are well worth reading for themselves. Actually - anything Thomason wrote is worth reading. He's one of the best writers Texas ever produced, and a visit to the Thomason Room where his papers and much if his art is collected in Sam Houston State's library is worth spending the time.

Shanghai Jimmy’s birth name?
CAUTION: LONG POST.
This is the same general subject as the recent discussion by Sharon Marsalis of Jimmy’s antecedents and relatives as displayed in travel records. It may well be that she, or others have discovered the following, but if so I have not seen a report on this message board.
In private correspondence, Mr. M. C. Toyer, who will be remembered as one of the most knowledgeable individuals on the “old” board, as well as a person with a Dallas heritage matched by few, suggested that newspaper archives be checked. He noted that there are a lot of references to be viewed. Prior to the communication with Mr. Toyer, Joe King who often posts on this message board, told me that “chili rice,” if not Shanghai Jimmy was a continuing interest in Tyler.
In the notes following I have tried to indicate sources but please forgive me for not following the standard I was taught long ago. I can report the following.

•There is probably as much interest in Shanghai Jimmy in Tyler as in Dallas.

Jimmy’s first food operation in the United States, a hot dog stand, was in Tyler. Later he opened his first chili rice stand in Tyler. After he left Tyler for Dallas, his brother George sold chili rice in Tyler. George is buried in Tyler.

Those few words are the barest bones about Jimmy and George. Go to the Tyler Morning Telegraph and check their archives. Use “chili rice” and so on to search. There are several articles. A form of chili rice has been sold at several chili competitions there. One article from the Tyler paper is discussed below.

•Shanghai Jimmy had a biographer.

The Shanghai Diary 1919 – 1945 was written by David Ellsworth and it was published by SACC (SAOO ?) Publishing in Tyler in 1983. Jimmy James and various members of his family are listed as contributors or sources and I believe it would meet a standard for reliability since it was published during the life time of Jimmy (1902 – 1990) and of his brother George (1912 – 1986). Curiously perhaps, the copyright was assigned to George, Jimmy’s brother who was a long time Tyler resident. I am not familiar with the author, Ellsworth, who seems to have written about other Texas subjects.
This book may be readily available in Texas libraries but in Georgia the copy I read came through a loan from a university library in Alabama. It was obtained from LOC surplus. Judging from the prices I see in abebooks.com, it is scarce, though published in HC and PB versions. Before anyone goes to a lot of trouble trying to find a copy let me say that it has considerable information about Jimmy’s personal history but nothing in the way of a recipe for chili or anything else. Most of the book is about the time he spent in China but there are sections about his early life as well as his business activities after he returned from China. This book is over seven hundred pages long. Though I am sure I could not have done nearly so well I feel it needed a strong. For example, Sam Rayburn is called a “Texas senator: at one point. On a personal level I have to say that reading this book was gratifying. It confirmed many stories I heard long ago and that I have reported on this or other message boards.

•Shanghai Jimmy’s birth or family name was “Skalicky,” not James.

Joseph James Skalicky was the second of six children born to Emil and Anna Matuska Skalicky in Jackson, Minnesota. The other children were John, Louis, Anna, George and Edward. (Ellsworth, pages 3-5) The “free “ part of Ancestry.com says that the family Skalicky is Bohemian in origin, so Czech or Czechian today. The name comes from the Czech or Slovak word for places called Skalice or Skalicka, from skala which means “rock” or “crag.” Also, Matuska is Czech or Slovak in origin and is a version of “Matthew.”

From quite a young age Jimmy displayed an independent if not a rebellious attitude. During his childhood he may have been closer to his grandfather, Frank Skalicky, than anyone else. (Ellsworth, page 115). Eventually he said, “My name is Jimmy James. I’m known by that name and I made something out of that name. I never want to be known by Skalicky.” Jimmy got along okay with at least some of his siblings but not his parents although he received his portion when they died. Neither Jimmy or any family member would offer an explanation for the distance he maintained from his parents. (Ellsworth pages 5-9).

•Shanghai Jimmy’s final military assignment was with the 15th Infantry in Tientsin China.

Jimmy had enlisted in the army expecting to see service in Siberia as part of the American Expeditionary Force, but his troop ship was diverted to Manila when the mission requirement changed. (Ellsworth, page 84).
NOTE: Mr. Clyde Howard made an interesting post about this little known episode of American military history. Mr. M. C. Toyer sent me interesting information about the US 27th and 31st Infantry regiments and their service in Siberia. An internet search will yield a lot of information about the AEF and the service of the regiments just named.
Later, Jimmy had an opportunity to volunteer for service in Tientsin with the 15th and took it because the climate was more to his liking. (Ellsworth, page 85).

NOTE: A very interesting book is THE OLD CHINA HANDS by Charles Finney published by Doubleday in 1961. This is another scarce book nowadays. It is a history of the 15th Infantry in China between World War I and World War II. I read this book a long time ago. Jimmy James is not mentioned, so far as I remember.

When his enlistment was up, Jimmy stayed in China hoping to find a working passage home as a deck hand on a eastbound ship because he had wanted to travel around the world, but that was not possible. He intentionally stayed in China rather than going home in a troop ship. (Ellsworth, page 134). He used the name “James” from the time he applied for a job with the Asian Development Company in Shanghai after separating from the army in 1922. (Ellsworth, page 135). I have not found anything that indicates a legal name change.

NOTE: That Jimmy worked for the Asian Development Company at one time was something we knew previously. I had tried to find out about it on the internet with out much luck. In CHINA DIARY, it is described as being involved with heavy engineering works, such as the flood control project on the Yellow River.

•Jimmy married Mae Parker, daughter of a Canadian Merchant Marine Captain, who had a daughter, Doris, from a previous relationship.

They had one daughter, Anne but the marriage was not successful and they divorced after World War II after many years of conflict. Eventually, all three women came to the United States. Doris was by then the wife of an American serviceman from whom she was later divorced. Doris remarried and was in California at the time CHINA DIARY was written. Anne was a citizen by birth although it had been in China. She married a David Premack and was living in Philadelphia when the book was written. Mae was sponsored by her daughter and Jimmy tried to block her entry. Eventually she remarried, was widowed, and was in California when the book was written. In this country Doris and Anne grew apart. (Ellsworth, pages 610-613). Whatever family dysfunction Jimmy experienced as a child evidently became, in some form, part of his life as an adult and was passed on to his children.
By the time CHINA DIARY was written Jimmy was “retired from all business activity” and living in a “small rented dwelling behind the home of his landlady.” He was said to keep “the treasures of his distant past in a pile of cardboard boxes , all neatly categorized.” Just what might have been in those boxes is a matter of some interest because it was also said that he never retrieved a single item from his once vast possessions in China. He was well known around Dallas for maintaining an active schedule of dancing and ice skating. (Ellsworth, pages 608- 609).
NOTE: I have been and am of the opinion that Jimmy’s chili recipe was lost when he died. Nothing I have found to date makes me believe otherwise. But in the interest of disclosure I have mentioned the “pile of card board boxes” above.

•The recent posts about Ribshack BBQ concern events in Jimmy’s life after the published biography.

Ellsworth covers Jimmy’s life to some point in 1983. He says that Jimmy had retired from all business activity at that time and was seen thereafter often seen by an admiring crowd who watched him ice skating. If retirement was the proper word for that, it seems not to have lasted or else was narrowly defined. Joe King found a D Magazine article in the December issue stating that the Jimmy arranged for a group DBA as Ribshack BBQ on Lovers Lane to sell Chili Rice. A John Anders piece dated 28 December 1984 Dallas Morning News says that Jimmy “pulled“ Chili Rice from Ribshack and that he was hoping to find “shared space” in an existing eatery. The D Magazine piece went so far as to say that Jimmy had sold the rights to Chili Rice, but I do not see how that could be if he was able end the relationship. Until someone produces a recipe and the CSI team tells us it is in Jimmy’s hand I will not give credence to a “lost” recipe.

•CHINA DIARY has a lot more about Jimmy’s business ventures in China and the celebrated POW dinner.

I can’t spend more time on the book at present but will comment that several historic figures are mentioned. They include Col. “Wild” Bill Morrow who was CO of the 15th when Jimmy arrived in Tientsin, Sir Edgar Snow, American journalist Hal Mills, showman Earl Carroll, and John Birch. However the vignettes and conversations involving them seem imagined except for Carroll. Jimmy seems to have had contact only with Col. Morrow (to the extent a Corporal who was on the pistol team and an orderly had contact with his CO) and with Carroll. Also, business ventures including Jimmy’s Kitchen, Jimmy’s, Luna Park, the fitness center, and the Mandarin are described. One of the most interesting stories is about Jimmy’s clandestine trip to take his daughters out of boarding school in Tsingtao and return them to Shanghai after the Japanese took over. Had he not done so, he and Mae might have been permanently separated from the girls. The events around the POW dinner, including Jimmy’s negotiations with the Japanese are detailed. There are appendices listing the American and British civilian and military people interned with Jimmy or fed by him. A separate appendix lists the American civilians used as forced labor on Wake who were executed by the Japanese in 1943 which today is an incident as little known as the record of the AEF in Siberia in 1918.

One thing that is NOT mentioned are the Hong Kong locations of Jimmy’s Kitchen established by a partner of Jimmy named Landau and in business to this day, as seen in the internet references reported by Joe King.

Finally, mention is made of the North China Marines and their role in the attempted movement of the Peking Man fossils just before Pearl Harbor. Some of the people involved ate the Christmas dinner that Jimmy gave. I think I have previous mentioned SEARCH FOR PEKING MAN by Janus, published by Macmillan in 1975 which is about a recovery effort.

•Shanghai Jimmy’s obituary appeared in the Dallas Morning News which gave an alternate spelling for his family name, or at any rate said he born a “Skalisky.”

The DMN archives for this period are divided into two parts. There is a preview section that is readily available and then you pay to see the full article. The preview, for an article dated 16 June 1990 is copied below.

`Shanghai Jimmy' Skalisky, restaurateur, dies
Author: Denise McVea Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News THE
Publish Date: June 16, 1990
Word Count: 318
Document ID: 0ED3D10B1A786634
Joseph J. Skalisky, a restaurant owner and ice skater who was known throughout the city as "Shanghai Jimmy,' died Wednesday at the Veterans Medical Center in Dallas. He was 88. His body will be cremated and his remains sent to Jackson, Minn. No memorial services are planned.
Mr. Skalisky, who went by the name Jimmy James, was best-known in Dallas for his Shanghai Jimmy Chili Rice emporiums. In all, he sold his famous chili rice in Dallas for more than 30 years. Elvis
I am at a loss to explain the different spelling. It seems well established that his birth name was “Skalicky.” However, since Jimmy died in a veteran’s hospital I have to wonder if that was his “official” name when he entered the army. If so, the army made a typo. On the other hand, maybe the typo was made in the newspaper office.


•An East Texas Historian named James Wilkins has researched Jimmy's lfe and lectured on Shanghai Jimmy.

Mr. Wilkins is not otherwise known to me but he is a former teacher and past president of the Smith County Historical Society. In an article in the Tyler Morning Telegraph dated 4/02/02 he spoke about Chili Rice, Shanghai Jimmy and George Skalicky. He related many facts that we have seen on the message boards about Jimmy’s Chinese business ventures. He talked about Jimmy in Dallas. He cited CHINA DIARY and I went and got that book. What will be new to some or all who have read the Dallas History message boards is the detail about Jimmy and his brother in Tyler and the “recreation” of a version of chili rice. Unlike the DMN. The Morning Telegraph archive is “no charge.” It is not very user friendly, at least not for me, but the entire article can be read there. I have copied only part of it below.

ENJOYING A TYLER FAVORITE
The stories behind Shanghai Jimmy's restaurants and its chili rice were relived in Tyler Tuesday night at a Smith County Historical Society meeting at the West Erwin Church of Christ.
Jimmy and George Skalicky were responsible for managing and owning about 12 restaurants in Tyler, independently or jointly.
The restaurants were opened at different times and locations from 1949 to the '70s, according to historian James Wilkins, who has researched the lives of Skalicky brothers, based on interviews, historical accounts and a book written about Jimmy's life called the "Shanghai Diary, 1918 to 1945" by author David Ellsworth, Wilkins said.
~~~
Dr. Bill and Lenora Clyde cooked up a recreation of what has been called legendary chili for those at the meeting to sample.
~~~
Many in attendance Tuesday said the recipe tasted very familiar.
~~~
Editor's Note: Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice recipe will appear in next week's Food section of the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

The concluding remark is very exciting to those who want to believe that “the recipe” is only waiting to be discovered and published. However, it is not in the archive and you have to go to the microfilm.

NOTE: In the article quoted, please read again that Dr. Clyde is credited with “recreating” Shanghai Jimmy’s Chili Rice and not with serving chili made from the original recipe. The only place it is called Shanghai Jimmy’s Chili Rice is in the Editor’s Note.

Also, If you go to the micro film you will find an article dated 4/10/02, titled “Recreating the Legend of Chili Rice,” which includes a recipe for chili rice. In the article, Dr. Bill Clyde is quoted as saying that, “Through trial and error I believe I have stumbled upon it.” Dr. Clyde also said he had never seen a recipe by Jimmy or by brother George Skalicky who took over the Tyler operation when Jimmy moved to Dallas. Further comment was made that the toppings or condiments, similar to those on a hot dog, butter (sic), onion, powdered cheddar cheese, sweet relish, played a big part in making the dish so good, and that this seemed to be explained by the fact that Jimmy had originally run a hot dog stand.

Dr. Clyde also stated that George Skalicky used bulk Chef Mate chili and added a “secret Super Sauce.” It is the “Super Sauce” recipe that is the new thing given in the article. He also noted that the order of adding ingredients was part of the overall experience: rice, butter (sic), chili, and toppings such as relish, cheese, and onions.

In addition, the article states that “…some say that (brother George) Skalicky’s chili rice was different than Shanghai Jimmy’s. But finding someone who has the same memories about the restaurants of the two brothers is impossible.”

Before giving the Super Sauce recipe, I would comment as follows:
•Butter? All I ever got was margarine and that was part of the distinctive taste. In fact I personally liked margarine better on chili rice than on any other food I tasted in the fifties or since. But maybe the service changed over the years or maybe it was the difference between Jimmy and George.
•I was told early on that George’s chili, which I never had, was different than Jimmy’s. It is easy for me to believe that the chili made by the two brothers was different and that memories of their restaurants are different. As I have stated in previous posts I do think that the flavor of Jimmy’s chili was consistent over time.
•No brand or source for the sweet relish or powdered cheddar is given. I have never seen a similar powdered cheese product except in packaged macaroni and cheese.
•The order of adding ingredients may differ from my memory, previously posted, but I don’t think that change would have resulted in much change of flavor.
•I will always believe that Jimmy made his own chili rather than doctor a canned product. Once I heard him say, “I could make a cheaper chili.” In the context I took it to mean he could use cheaper cuts of meat with more fat. In my memory Jimmy’s chili was very dry. That was why he could add margarine. Having said that, I would say that the Chef Mate chili I have been served on chili dogs at fund raisers the last few years was okay, but with no distinctive seasoning whatsoever, and in my opinion, nothing a Texan would claim for his own.
•At the edge of my microfilm copy is an copy of what must have been a menu published as an advertisement for Jimmy’s Tyler operation and it lists the different combinations. It evidently cost more to get onions. That is contrary to my memory but in line with what Clyde Howard remembered.
•“Super Sauce?” I am certain that what the Dallas menus sometimes referred to as “tasty mild Jimmy’s sauce” was the only sauce of any variety that Jimmy added. Again, George may have done something different. In my memory Jimmy’s sauce was similar to the mild Pace’s Picante that is marketed today, but the vegetables were chopped into smaller pieces. Also, I believe Jimmy’s chili was superior by itself, with no embellishment.

Dr. Bill Cylde’s Super Sauce for Chili
Four (4) parts ketchup (or sweeten to taste)
One (1) part mustard
Hot cayenne pepper to taste

Make as required to add a spoonful to each serving of chili rice on top of all other ingredients. The article calls that - the addition of Super Sauce - the most important step. No recipe is given for the chili, but George Skalicky evidently used Chef Mate as noted. No recipe is given for the rice, but I believe Jimmy used more or less the standard procedure found in most Oriental cookbooks, and never a Minute Rice type product.
As a parting comment I would say, again, that if this will produce something close to Jimmy’s product it bears out the comments that I’ve made from the beginning that Jimmy had found an uncommonly good combination of ordinary ingredients and did not use anything very exotic.

And that is it! Experiment as you want. I think that was in the Tyler paper also.

Wow, I'm speachless Bill. Great work!
Joe

I echo Joe, thanks and wow! As I mentioned to you the different surname and divorce solves a lot of mystery.

Thanks to all.

I just received this email:

Shanghai Jimmy was my uncle, I have just found an interest in him with your name connected. I can provide quite a bit of historical info on him, as well as a book that my father had published in the early 80's. Let me know the best way to communicate, and with whom, I will be more than happy to fill in the blanks--Jim Skalicky,

I have encouraged him to come here.
He gave his email which I do not want to post without permission but if anyone would like to contact him, then p.m. me and I will give you the email address.

For those interested in Shanghai Jimmy, I am his nephew and have considerable information on him, as well as a number of copies of a book written about him, commissioned by my father. James Wilkins of the Tyler TX historical society did a fairly detailed research several years ago which I believe included his recipies--feel free to contact me directly. James (Jim) Skalicky

James,

I am so glad that you have announced your presence on this message board. I have sent you a private message and questions, but really hope you will respond on this board because so many are interested.

Sincerely,

Bill crane

Welcome,Jim. The Forum has been running like frozen molasses today but I am sure you will hear from some of the others when they can get back on.
Please post away--on any topic.

Welcome indeed. If the book does have the true recipe for Shanghai Jimmy's chili as served over rice - we would all be eternally grateful (and that is not hyperbole) if you could supply it. We are mostly ancient enough to remember eating Shanghai Jimmy's Chili Rice at the Fair or his downtown emporium, and since we all recall it as both memorable and good - it must have been.

Bill, re your long article about Jimmy's chili. Since you had emailed me much info I, as usual, somehow skimmed over this quote:

Dr. Clyde also stated that George Skalicky used bulk Chef Mate chili and added a “secret Super Sauce.” It is the “Super Sauce” recipe that is the new thing given in the article. He also noted that the order of adding ingredients was part of the overall experience: rice, butter (sic), chili, and toppings such as relish, cheese, and onions.

One can still buy Chili-mate so maybe those who remember the taste should do some experimenting?? BTW, wonder where Joe has gone?

For some reason--maybe because of his "mobile" business and knowing what a chopping, searing, seasoning process chili is I had thought he might use a "homemade" (store bought) product and enhance it. Guess that is a sacra religious thought but Dr. Clyde also seems to suggest it.

Also Jim, do you know where your uncle is buried?

I'm here Sharon but have not been near my PC much in the past few weeks.

Welcome James! Much thanks to Sharon that you found us.

Great that so much new info is coming to light!
Joe

Well, I'm up to my old tricks. If you go to ask.com and do their search for;

"shanghai jimmy" chili

You will find an article that starts "Thank God" from the Dallas Observer on the 2nd page of the search. It mentions Empress Chili and Shanghai Jimmy's famous chili rice... $3.95. Hmmm???

Maybe someone smarter than me can put the link here?
Joe