Sunday, June 26, 2011

From 1926: Middletown Raids Disclose Only Beer

The following article is from 90 years ago today, published in the Hartford Courant on June 26, 1921.
Prohibition, the 1920 to 1933 national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, was eagerly embraced in puritanical Connecticut. It's vestiges remain, as Connecticut is one of only 3 states to ban sales of beer, wine, and spirits on Sundays.
The photo of the cartoon is the from the Wesleyan archives, which has extensive material on the Middletown efforts against alcohol. Churches, including the A.M.E. Zion church, played a very large role in promoting the temperance movement.

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Neither Barber Shop Nor Saloon Is An Oasis.
The police yesterday afternoon raided two places on Main Street, one a barber shop and the other a saloon. Nothing was found in the barber shop and a small quantity of beer was found in the saloon.

The place formerly run by T. English at No. 720 Main Street, which recently changed hands, was the first to be visited by the police. Policeman Schilling, Ward, and Ghent in plain clothes search the place but found only bottles of what is supposed to be "beer". Samples were taken and the beer will be analyzed to ascertain the percentage of alcohol.The place was raided some weeks ago and nothing was found. Several complaints had been lodged against the saloon since that time.

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