05/16/08 EAGLE ARCHIVE by Kevin Dayhoff
Prohibition became the law of the land after the 18th Amendment went into effect on Jan. 16, 1920, but Carroll Countians had already voted to outlaw the sale of alcohol six years earlier in 1914.
Throughout the roaring '20s, until prohibition was repealed on Dec. 5, 1933, by the 21st Amendment, many legendary accounts of stills, moonshiners, speakeasies and enforcement raids became a part of a folklore and story-telling tradition in the county.
If only half of the stories are true, Carroll County must have been an interesting place back then.
A May 18, 1923, newspaper account stirred the kettle about one such event -- a May 5 raid on the North Branch Hotel by prohibition agents.
As a result, the paper reported: "More than 300 signatures were attached to a petition filed Tuesday in the office of Amos W. W. Woodcock, United States District Attorney, asking for the closing of the North Branch Hotel, at North Branch, on the border of Baltimore and Carroll counties."
Even before that, on Dec. 15, 1922, the old Democratic Advocate railed about the "law of unintended consequences" in an editorial titled, "Does Prohibition Prohibit?"
It says, "The United States has now been subject to constitutional prohibition for nearly three years. During that time there has been more drunkenness, more deaths from alcoholism, more theft, more robbery, more murders and other heinous crimes, than ever transposed in the history of the United States during a similar period prior to the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment.
"Young men and boys who were never seen at a saloon during the old wet regime now get gloriously hilarious on home brew home-made wines and last, but not least, hard cider.' "
Certainly Carroll Countians did not find these events "gloriously hilarious" and they were in such an uproar over concerns about lawlessness, crime and enforcement of prohibition that a "Law and Order League for Carroll County" formed in August 1926.
An Aug. 6, 1926, newspaper account reported the "executive committee of the Law and Order League for Carroll County met in the Community Room, 3rd floor, Wantz Building, Monday evening, August 2nd. In attendance was a list of who's who in the county, including a representative of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
"Mr. George Mather, president of the organization, presided. Rev. E. R. Spencer, pastor of the M. E. Church, in Mt. Airy, led in prayer."
High spirits, indeed
From prayer and booze we get to bravery and last week's Sunday Carroll Eagle trivia question, which asked: Who was the Confederate cavalry commander who was delayed on his way to the Battle of Gettysburg by "Corbit's Charge" as his unit came through Westminster on June 29, 1863?
Many folks got it right.
Elaine and Bob Breeding, Herb Howard, Matt Candland, Robbie Foster, Ruth Anderson and Mike Devine all knew that it was Major General, CSA, James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, who died at the age of 31 on May 12, 1864.
His wife, Flora, "wore the black of mourning for the remaining 49 years of her life," according to Civil War historian Derek Smith.
This week's winner of the coveted Sunday Carroll Eagle mug is none other than Matt Candland, who also happens to be town administrator for Sykesville.
He may very well be one of the few folks in Carroll County who are aware that on April 17, 1931, the portion of Sykesville located in Howard County since 1904, seceded from the town and "unincorporated." But that's another story.
For this week's trivia question, let's stick with storytelling and booze.
Who was the Baltimore writer who earned fame for his detective novels written between 1923 and 1934? Here's a hint: Alcohol, prohibition, and mysterious women played a prominent role in his classics, which included "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Thin Man."
I have often wondered just how much the newspaper accounts of the distillery raids, bootleggers, robberies, and mayhem in Carroll County influenced his work.
Just imagine Sam Spade roaming around Carroll County looking for the black figurine in "The Maltese Falcon." Perhaps the hotel that the character, Joel Cairo, was staying was really the North Branch Hotel in Carroll County.
At any rate, this author maintained a torrid romance with Lillian Hellman for 30 years until his death in 1961.
Can one imagine this writer and Ms. Hellman sitting at the counter at Baugher's for lunch as they visited for a day in the country? I certainly can.
If you know who this famous author is, drop me a line at kdayhoff@carr.org, and I might just pull your name for the coffee mug. And please put Sunday Carroll Eagle in the subject line. Thanks.
When not reading old detective novels, Kevin Dayhoff can be reached at kdayhoff@carr.org.
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20080516 The Sunday Carroll Eagle: Alcohol, prohibition, mysterious women and the roaring '20s by Kevin Dayhoff
