VACATIONS FROM HOME: January 2020

…THE WHOLE WORLD SMILES AT YOU

On January 17, 1920 the United States entered into the dark ages. On this sad day the 18^th Amendment went into effect and Prohibition began. Enforced by the Volstead Act, the amendment prevented the manufacture and sale of alcohol throughout the U.S. and it lasted 13 sorrowful years until its repeal by the 21st Amendment. Nationwide the law proved difficult to enforce and the party never really stopped, it just had different hosts.

Think of bootleggers Lucky Luciano and Al Capone and think of that army of Federal Prohibition agents or Prohis like Elliot Ness trying to crash the party. They called them there days the Roaring 20’s for good reason.

ABSTINENCE, BUBBLERS AND CAPONE

The question needs to be asked.
Now, why on God’s good earth would anyone want to ruin a good time by prohibiting alcohol? Don’t they realize that’s the best they will feel all day if they don’t drink? Sobriety, I’ll drink to that.

Well, the temperance movement was churning along for decades before the Prohibition Act was finally ratified. Teetotalers strongly felt there was a direct correlation between alcohol consumption and the loss of self-control, disease, death, suicide and crime and that abstinence was the only way to combat this affliction.

Also, because of the industrial revolution there was a need to have people operate the machinery of the day safely, and, during WWI there were scattered worldwide prohibitions in several countries. Grain was in short supply and needed for food and not distilling into alcohol.

ALCOHOL… THE CAUSE OF AND SOLUTION TO … ALL LIFE’S PROBLEMS!

During this time much of continental Europe, the UK, Finland, Canada and even Russia had some sort of restriction on alcohol, although this all eventually melted away after the war. Still, the U.S. stuck to their guns and carried on with prohibition until it was finally repealed in 1933.

WHEN I READ ABOUT THE EVILS OF ALCOHOL, I STOPPED READING

One “refreshing” attempt to keep people sober can still be found today in Portland Oregon. In 1912 Simon Benson, a local entrepreneur, gave the city $10,000 to install bronze drinking fountains in the downtown area hoping this would encourage his workers to drink water in the middle of the day and not alcohol. If you needed a drink have water instead. The fountains were affectionately nicknamed Benson “Bubblers” and Portland Oregon even has a walking tour of the fountains that still run 365 days a year, except when there is an extreme cold snap.

PORTLAND OREGON BENSON BUBBLERS

A Benson Bubbler

BENSON BUBBLER BROCHURE MAP

24 HOURS IN A DAY … 24 BEERS IN A CASE? NOT A COINCIDENCE!

Well, despite the best efforts by teetotalers and our government to save us from demon drink, Prohibition was very unpopular through much of the country and bootleggers cashed in and fought vicious turf wars to maintain profits.

Think St. Valentine's Day Massacre...

Although the Volstead Act stipulated that individual states should help enforce Prohibition, compliance varied from state to state. Some state governors would not appropriate money to this cause and Maryland never enacted an enforcement code and became staunchly anti-prohibition. It is estimated that in New York City there were 30,000 illicit Speak-easies, or illegal bars, but by 1923 the Empire State had repealed its measures. By the late 1920’s Americans were spending a lot on black-market booze. For example, the booze “industry” in Detroit was second only to the auto industry. When the Great Depression hit, anti-prohibitionist argued for repeal because the lost tax revenues to the government were too costly to ignore. Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned on a promise to repeal the 18^th Amendment and he won the election in a landslide.

I DRINK TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE MORE INTERESTING

Though Prohibition ended at the federal level some states still banned alcohol within their borders. Kansas was a dry state until 1948 and Oklahoma until 1959 and Mississippi was dry until, gasp, 1966! To this day there are still 10 states that have dry counties.

Even New Jersey, that great corridor state has over 30 towns that are dry to this day. Many of these dry NJ towns are in the southern half of the state and have strong ties with various religious groups like Quakers and Methodists, but there are a few in the northern sections as well, like Saddle River and Pennington and Far Hills. Though you can’t purchase alcohol in these towns, you can still drink, although you obviously can never drink and drive. Incidentally, DWI arrests are higher in dry towns, because you can’t walk home, but have to drive.

Some have BYOB restaurants and some dry towns, oddly enough, have breweries and wineries within their borders. This may not make sense, but licenses to manufacture alcohol are issued by the state and not the municipalities.

For example, Kings Road Brewing Company is located in the dry town of Haddonfield and their tasting room is open every day except Monday.

KINGS ROAD BREWING

DRIVE ME TO DRINK

Another lasting reminder of the Prohibition era and today a very popular sport is NASCAR or National Association for Stock Car Racing. Bootleggers and rumrunners relied on cars that could pass the eye test for looking normal on the street, but with modified engines that made them faster than the ones driven by Prohibition agents and police chasing them. Drivers with daredevil abilities at negotiating sharp turns at reckless speeds while maneuvering along dirt, gravel and blacktop roads were busy from Washington to North Carolina throughout Prohibition. On weekends “runners” throughout the south would race each other for fun in their modified cars on makeshift dirt tracks, which eventually evolved into NASCAR in 1947. Today races like Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 are just a few of the well-attended races on the yearly schedule.

NASCAR

LLOYD THE BARTENDER

YOU’RE NOT DRUNK IF YOU CAN LIE ON THE FLOOR WITHOUT HOLDING ON

So, the great Prohibition movement to keep us sober started on January 17, 1920. Now, there’s no law that says you can’t drink, or get drunk. It’s not illegal to be drunk in public, but you can’t drive. Please remember that! You can be drunk, but you can’t be a nuisance and disorderly and give your bartender a hard time. He has a difficult job as it is trying to figure out if someone is drunk or just stupid.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY....SERIOUSLY

All kidding aside... don't drink and drive...

MOVE CLOSER TO YOUR WORLD MY FRIEND

Vacations From Home was born in 2009 amid an extreme lull in my work. Faced with dwindling money reserves but still having that itch to see the world, the approach behind this blog was as necessary as it was functional. Sure, we wrote about the far corners of the world, but we learned the importance of destinations just around the corner. We’ve had fun making light of mooching, but depended at times on the generosity of friends. In our ten years we’ve seen a lot, but there is so much more to see.

So, here’s my yearly advice to you, be nice to everyone you meet and not just the people you like. This will get the new year off to a fine start, but it may also reveal a new destination opportunity that you may otherwise have missed, or at least an invitation to a pool party.

Those in the Philadelphia television market will know this tune. Let it guide you through your days. AND, be nice... you'll never know when that will pay off!