Intriguing. I've never heard of such a thing and doubt that it is anything more than an unenforceable "legend" that's intended to make people believe it cannot be cashed at those places. Why the drawer might want that is beyond me, but I'm pretty cynical so maybe I'll figure it out later.
I did find a sort of a personal blog from an individual, apparently unbankable, who was railing against the problems it caused him, so I don't think yours was a unique experience. His check was from a mutual fund.