The following history of the Horseshoe Sandwich are personal remembrances of Tom McGee of Springfield, IL.

Tom says, "What knowledge I have of the Horseshoe Sandwich, I have from my deceased brother-in-law, Joseph E. Schweska Jr., and to a lesser degree from personally knowing Chef Joe Schweska. My brother-in-law often helped his father after school or when special events or parties were being held at the Leland Hotel. I knew the dad, Chef Joe Schweska, before I ever knew my brother-in law."

How did the "Horseshoe Sandwich actually originate?

The actual idea for the Horseshoe Sandwich came from Elizabeth Schweska, Chef Joe Schweska's wife. Chef Schweska came home one day and remarked to his wife that he needed a new lunch item for the Leland Hotel's restaurant's menu. She had seen a recipe using a Welsh Rarebit Sauce and suggested the possibility of an open-faced sandwich using this sauce. Joe Schweska liked the idea and developed his own sauce and sandwich and named this sandwich creation "The Horseshoe."

The first Horseshoe sandwich was originally made from ham cut from the bone in the shape of a horseshoe. The first potato (the nails) were wedges of potato (not the frozen French fires you see used today). Also, if I remember correctly, the sauce was poured over the meat and bread and the potato was on top instead of sauce being poured over the whole works. Originally, it was a potato cut in eight wedges. I did eat the horseshoe at the Leland while Joe was still there but that was a long time ago.

Joe Schweska was Chef and Chief of Staff at the Leland Hotel from the late 1920s until the beginning of World War II. During the war, he left the Leland Hotel and moved his family to Decatur, Illinois and worked in a defense facility cafeteria. After the war, he returned to Springfield and became head chef at an upscale Springfield restaurant known as "The Mill". It was located in Springfield close to a Pillsbury mill and was owned by two men, Louie and Herman Cohen. Around 1952, Chef Joe Schweska's wife was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and the medical advice was to change climate. At this point, Joe Schweska Sr. and most of his family moved west - first to Arizona and ultimately to California. He became chef at a country club in Temple City, CA. and he and Elizabeth spent the remainder of their lives there.

FICTION:  Most historians falsely give credit to Steve Tomko, a then dishwasher at the Leland Hotel in Springfield, Illinois, as the inventor along with the Leland Hotel's chef Joe Schweska.

FACT:  Steve Tomko did work in the kitchen at the Leland Hotel, but he started as a dishwasher and learned his culinary skills from Chef Joe Schweska. At the time of the creation of the Horseshoe Sandwich, Steve Tomko was only 17 years old and was a dishwasher, not a chef. Steve Tomko had nothing to do with originating the sandwich. He only began to claim that he did after Chef Joe Schweska had died.

Steve Tomko worked at various Springfield restaurants including NorbAndy's and Wayne's Red Coach Inn. Every restaurant Steve Tomko worked, he served the Horseshoe Sandwich. At one point, around 1986, a local food writer did a feature on Wayne's Red Coach, and in the article Steve Tomko boldly claimed that he had originated the Horseshoe Sandwich. 

By this time Chef Joe Schweska was deceased, his widow was seriously ill, and most of the Schweska family had left Springfield. At one point my brother-in-law, Joseph E. Schweska Jr., called his mother and told her of Steve Tomko's claims.  She was seriously ill an simply replied, "Oh, let it go". That ended any resistance to claims being made by Steve Tomko.

The Schweska family were simple, humble people. It was not their nature to seek fame or the limelight. To Chef Joe Schweska, his sandwich creation was no big deal, and he freely gave the recipe to anyone who asked for it.

Tom McGee
Springfield, Illinois
December 28, 2008

The following history of the Horseshoe Sandwich are personal remembrances of Verney Blackburn.