Like many other small breweries ot the time, the company was plagued by old debts, lack of capital, and lagging sales it was unable to regain the prominence it had enjoyed before Prohibition. Brewing operations were suspended in late 1937, and no beer was brewed in the first two months of 1938. On February 1st, unable to make payments, the brewery got the Froedrert Grain & Malting Company of Milwaukee to extend the $55,000 balance of a mortgage for several years.

This accomplished, in late February it was announced that the brewery would reopen with a familiar name included among the three local businessmen taking over management. Albert Schott, who had stepped down as brewmaster in 1911, was returning as assistant manager at the plant where four generations of his family had worked. Albert, who had become vice-president of Highland's First National Bank, was joined by Leo M. Stoecklin as general manager, and A. J. Katt as sales manager of the brewery. Stoecklin had been in the saloon business and was Highland Postmaster for over a decade. Katt had been with the local Wicks Pipe Organ Company. Richard Kneedler, meanwhile, had left for the Falstaff brewery in Omaha, and later became a vice-president and general manager of Kansas City's George Muehlebach Brewing Company.

Local subscribers put up over $20,000 to service debts, but unfortunately the new management team had no better luck at reviving the business than the old. Creditors filed a petition in Federal Court on January 18, 1939, to push the brewery into involuntary bankruptcy. The company owed $5,000 to the State Bank of Collinsville, $8,000 to the First National Bank of Collinsville, and $500 to George Baechtold of that city. In addition to being critical of the current management, the petitioners noted that Froedrert Grain & Malting Company had filed a foreclosure suit on the mortgage it held on the brewery, a claim which may have been false.

At a stockholder's meeting on January 31, in an effort to save the business, those present voted overwhelmingly to reorganize however the Court would see fit. The Court granted the bankruptcy request the next day, allowing the brewery a chance to reorganize under section 77-B of the Federal bankruptcy code. Robert G. Moore acted as the head trustee during the initial stages of the financial reorganization. He was given until June to file a reorganization plan.

Henry Eberhardt and George Lochmann, directors of the Collinsville banks which were owed money by the brewery, were selected as additional trustees, and subsequently hired H. A. Wagner, formerly of the Falstaff Brewing Company, as plant manager at a salary of $300 per month. Wagner expressed confidence that he could get the company's finances hack in order and secure additional outlets necessary to sell more beer.

Unfortunately, in the months that followed, the brewery's financial health did not heal, but took a turn for the worse. The Court replaced Moore as head trustee with Frank Aurelius of Springfield, Illinois. The trustees during the bankruptcy period were sued several times by parties not satisfied with their management, or "lack of management" of the business. One suit, brought by 48 brewery employees and other creditors, sought to hold the trustees personally liable for allowing the brewery to continue to operate with an average loss of $3,000 per month. Also involved in this suit was an objection to the ruling of the bankruptcy referee, Evan Howell, which allowed payment of attorney fees in preference to brewery workers' wages and other "more important debts."

By court order in March 1940, the brewery was for sale to liquidate assets to satisfy creditors. The brewery was officially bankrupt and closed once more, with orders to he filled only until stock on hand was exhausted. Its indebtedness was $220000, of which $45,000 had been incurred since the reorganization.

New Ownership

Later in March, the Schott Brewing Company was purchased by Charles Dorries of nearby Breese, Illinois The price was a paltry $20,000 for property said to be worth around $300,000. The brewery had changed ownership in a private sale in a court-approved transaction. Mr. Dorries knew the beverage business and owned a soda-bottling house in Breese. He announced plans to revive brewing within a week and to call back all 65 brewery employees. At the time of the sale, incorporation papers were also filed, changing the name of the business to Schott Breweries, Inc. The incorporators were Charles Dorries, as President; Saul E. Cohn, an attorney from East St. Louis, as vice-president; and Max W. Kramer, an attorney also from East St. Louis, as secretary-treasurer. The new company hoped to begin life on a sound financial footing, by issuing 2,500 shares of stock, which would hopefully provide a capitalization of $250,000. The new owners set about selling 1,000 of the shares with a par value of $100, which it was hoped would provide a working capital pool of $100,000.

Brewing resumed and management team sought to regain market share lost to other breweries. In October 1940, a suit was filed in Federal Court to enjoin the Carondelet Brewing Company in St. Louis from using the title "Bohemian Beer" or any label calculated to "deceive the public into believing that its beer is manufactured by the Schott Breweries, Inc. of Highland, Illinois." Schott claimed that Carondelet had used a bottle label that was "deceptively similar to its own.

The brewery repositioned Schott's Lager as a discount brand to increase sales. Ads throughout 1940-1941 for a liquor store in the nearby town of Granite City touted "ice-cold 5%" Schott's for only $1.15 a case, while other "popularly priced" brands were going for $1.65. Such efforts resulted in the production of 26,000 barrels in 1941. In April, brewery workers were rewarded with substantial raises and paid vacations. The newspaper story announcing this also said that the new management was spending a considerable amount of money in improvements and new equipment.

Soon joining Dorries as primary company owners were Dave and Gordon Matusofsky of the Independent Beer Distributors, Inc., of St. Louis, and Arkansan D. M. Moore. Selmar Bleisch of Edwardsville was hired as corporate attorney and Richard Schlessinger was brought in as brewmaster.

With capital behind it, the brewery appeared poised once more to become a viable business. In addition to the Missouri connections of the Matusofskys. Moore had business contacts in several southern states that aided in product distribution. Whatever further plans the new owners had, they and much of the rest of the brewing industry were hindered by the shortages and wartime measures of the next several years. While whatever beer could be made was sold, it was impossible to increase production.

Attorney Bleisch had bought out Charles Dorries in 1944, but by March, 1947, he and D. M. Moore were also ready to exit the business, and sold out to the Matusofsky family. While Richard Schlessinger continued as brewmaster and Dave and Cordon Matusofsky as president and vice-president, Rose Hoffman became second vice-president and Leon Hoffman secretary-treasurer. The company continued making and marketing Highland Bohemian Beer, but soon brewing was cut back, despite the fact that the facility had been put back in the best operating condition in years.

Rumors began to abound that the brewery was once more in financial trouble. At one point, workmen were laid off and loaned to the two breweries in Belleville, and the stock on hand was poured down the drain.

Last Gast Efforts

Rumor became reality in November 1947 when it was announced that the now dormant brewery had reached an agreement with the Gast St. Louis Brewing Company. Gast got a five-year lease with an option to buy and planned to be in operation by February. Gast chairman J. W. Brady and president Walter Fox said that papers would soon be filed making the change official. The brewery's name was changed to Gast Plant #2. Gast Beer would be brewed using the Gast formula, and none of the old Highland names would be retained.

The first year of the lease agreement called for payments of $1,250 per month, plus fifty cents per barrel for every barrel produced over 30,000. Also included in the agreement was the balance of a 99-year lease for parts of the Schott caves which extended under the three nearby houses that homeowners Lina Schott, Alice Schott, an the State Bank of Collinsville had granted to the Schott Brewing Company in 1932. Gast assistant brewmaster. William Schachtner, was sent to join brewmaster Schlessinger, and corporate secretary treasurer Freeman J. Lowery was named on-site manager. The new management said it was anticipating a long and pleasant relationship with the Highland community.

In an attempt to improve efficiency, Gast made several capital improvements in the Highland plant. The most important was the erection of a new cinderblock stockhouse close to the brewhouse.

But even such optimism and last minute improvements could not change the fact that brewing in Highland was doomed. Selling the brewery to Gast was not a popular move with many Highland residents. Members of this close-knit community, descended from German and Swiss pioneers, resented the fact that their hometown brewery had been taken over by "outsiders," particularly ones who were so bold as to change the name of the brewery and drop the old brand names. Also draining away local support was the fact that Gast halted the long-standing tradition of providing free beer to the townspeople every Friday at the plant's sternewirth (hospitality house).

In 1948, combined sales of beer from both Gast breweries had plummeted to 38,000 barrels from 60,000 the year before. The same year, Gast St. Louis closed its brewery at 851 Hornsby street in St. Louis after an autumn fire caused $25,000 worth of damage. All company operations, including brewing, moved to Highland. Ironically, the Highland branch had outlived its parent.

Albert Schott, meanwhile, had outlived his family's namesake brewery as well, but only barely, as the last living son of longtime master brewer Martin Schott was killed in a tragic traffic accident on April 13, 1948, on the Highland Trenton road. Just the previous month Guy Kneedler, who headed the company that reopened the brewery in 1933, had died as well.

Gast Brewing was soon to expire too, as it was in serious financial trouble. This was confirmed for skeptics by May, 1949, when newspaper ads announced "Gast Beer Is Here To Stay" and urged beer drinkers to protect local jobs by drinking Gast. Finally, the last beer barrel of "the best beer brewed", and "a good beer always," as Gast advertised its beer, was bunged in Highland on October 8, 1949. Ten days later the company announced that it was petitioning the circuit court in St. Louis to liquidate its assets as it was unable to pay debts. The company listed assets of $53,530 and liabilities of just over $200,000.

Dave Matusofsky, spokesman for the company that still controlled the Highland brewery building, machinery and real estate, told the Highland News-Leader that future plans for the site were uncertain, but that any offers for sale, rent or lease would be considered. The newspaper correctly predicted that it looked like the plant would be closing for good this time.

Post-Brewing Revival

The highland brewery building sat idle for years, much of the equipment was salvaged, and the eaves became a children's playground It later passed into the hands of Harold Hosto of nearby Troy. He sold the buildings to Milton Ohringer of Pittsburgh in 1957 who, two weeks later, sold them to the Highland Supply Corporation, a company founded in 1937 by the Weder family to manufacture corsage containers. Along with its sister company the Highland Products Corporation, the business used the main brewery building to conduct cellophane experiments and as a warehouse.

Highland Supply retains control of most of the property to this day, though the only part being used is a woodworking shop in the lower level. Still owned by the Weder family, Highland produces floral supplies, cellophane, and film and packaging materials. The adjacent former Gast stock house was used by the Jet Lite Corporation, a manufacturer of fluorescent lights, for many years. It also has housed ConChem, a producer of industrial floor and wall coatings. Today it is being used by Midwestern as a pizza distribution center. (Ironically, the only building still standing of the old Gast brewery in St. Louis, the former bottling house, is a pizza manufacturing plant).

In December 1991, it was announced that the main building of the former Schott brewery was being given to the Deck's Prairie Foundation to become a local history museum. An extensive renovation is underway to turn the former Schott brewhouse into a museum. As a start, several vintage horse drawn vehicles once used in the Highland area have been restored and placed on display in the nearly refinished area beneath where the brew kettle once stood. The entire complex has had all of its brickwork tuckpointed, including the giant smokestack. Roofs have been replaced and water damage is being repaired.

ABA Journal staff writers, Kevin Kious, ABA #5291, and Donald Roussin, ABA #4174, would like to thank the following for assistance with this article: Bob Kay, Don Seifried, and Robert Thebean. Also, a special thanks to Don and David Weder for their extensive help.