IN MONGO WE TRUST
“THE GOAL WASN’T TO KILL COMMIES. IT WAS TO BRING THE BOYS HOME.”
Mongo served in Vietnam 1969-1971.
“I found out we, the consumer, were paying for their ads. So I wore an afro and put on a t-shirt with Mickey Mouse on it that said ‘Protest Iowa Power Rate Hikes’ and I walked all over the city with petitions.”
-Mongo on his successful 1979 Iowa Power rate hike protest
“Opening day, it was so dead that I wanted to go out and get some mannequins to sit at the bar so it would look busy.”
-Mongo on opening The Blazing Saddle in 1983
“Part of being a bar owner is being a showman. It’s kind of like running Ringling Brothers or something. Because you get so many different types of people and attitudes and everything else. You got to adapt and figure out where they’re coming from.”
-Mongo
