Cohen's Beer Republic - Saskatoon

Story of Morris Cohen:

The legendary Morris Cohen accumulated many titles over his lifetime: Adventurer, Gangster, Protector, Soldier of fortune, Card Shark, Con man, General, and "Charlatan-with-a-heart". Born in England in 1887, a youthful Cohen was constantly making trouble on the streets of East End London (the same years and in the same neighbourhood that Jack the Ripper was terrorizing London). At 18, in 1905, he was sent to Western Canada by his family for a fresh start and hopefully reform. For a short time, he settled in Riversdale. Here, he frequented "The Alberta Café", a Chinese restaurant located at the corner of our property.

One day he came to the aid of the owner, Mah Sam, who was being robbed. Cohen's training in the alleyways of London came in handy, and he knocked out the thief and tossed him out into the street. Such an act was unheard of at the time, as few white men ever came to the aid of the Chinese. As a result, the Chinese welcomed Cohen into their fold and eventually invited him to China where he joined Sun Yat-sen's anti-Manchu organization. As Sun Yat-sen's bodyguard, Cohen helped establish the first Republic of China, upsetting almost 300 years of rule by the Qing Dynasty.

After being nicked by a bullet on his shooting arm during a battle in China, Cohen started carrying two guns and became proficient shooting with both hands, eventually earning the nickname, "Two-Gun Cohen". He used his training as a soldier with the "Canadian Railway Troops" in WWI to train Sun's army, and rose to the rank of General. He went on to fight for the Chinese against Japan in WWII. Later in life he became an ambassador between China and the UK, Canada, and United States. He died in 1970.