Category: Misc.

Posted on

Beer Is Back They Shouted as They Raised a Glass to Prohibition’s Death Knell

Valley Forge Beer by John N. Sentman, distributor
Valley Forge Special Beer was available from John M. Sentman Co., Inc. From the Cecil Star in 1936.

Back in 1933, Cecil County was in the grips of the darkest days of the Great Depression. In those uncertain times, as a new president rushed to launch programs to alleviate unemployment, hunger, foreclosures, and the collapse of banks, there was one bright spot and it centered on prohibition.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided it was time to bring about the end of prohibition, the “noble experiment” that banned the sale of alcoholic beverages. That April the death knell of prohibition sounded as beer sales became legal for the first time in some 13 years. On December 5 prohibition completely passed away as the 21st amendment was ratified and all types of alcohol sales became legal. “I think this would be a good time for a beer,” he remarked as he signed the amendment to the Volstead Act, which allowed bartenders to push suds across the bar to eager customers.

In Maryland the legislature took up the business of creating regulations for dispensing the golden suds, working late into the night during 10 days of a special session. After attaching over 300 amendments to the bill, it sailed through both houses. Many people celebrated as the foaming beverages flowed freely on April 14th in Cecil.

The Cecil County Commissioners were named as the Liquor Control Board. When their clerk opened the office for business the day after being handed this responsibility, the local officials had their hand’s full considering applications. Businesses that closed doors or reoriented hospitality services to tea and coffee rooms after Congress proclaimed the dry-era, were anxious to pick up where they left off. The cost of a license ranged from about $25 to $60 depending on the classification.

In days 49 people appeared before the liquor control board. Three were held up because of complaints, but in most dispensaries patrons celebrated. In Rising Sun, Thomas Riale’s pool room and Martin Keplinger’s Rising Sun Hotel opened to serve customers. Along the heavily traveled Route 1, leading to the Susquehanna River, the Blue and White Lunch Room, the Lafayette Inn, and Dicks Place joined in too. Others outlets were scattered around the county.

With many people raising a cold one to Roosevelt’s effort to alleviate the suffering, the people had another reason to celebrate in December. At the end of that miserable, miserable year, the passage of the 21st amendment to the Constitution brought an end to prohibition.

But on a spring day in Cecil County legal beer had returned. Soon harder liquors would be available.

After prohibition Manayunk Beer was distributed by John N. Sentman Co.., Elkton, MD
John M. Sentman Co., Inc advertises one of its products, the “famous Manayunk Beer” in 1936. The ad was placed in the Cecil Star in the mid-1930s.
Arrow Beer by Empire Supply Co. in Havre de Grace.
An ad for Arrow Beer distributed by Empire Supply Co.  From the Havre de Grace Record in the mid-1930s
For more on Prohibition & Temperance in Cecil County see

Chesapeake City Dry

Posted on

As Dark Clouds From Hurricane Sandy Slowly Clear Out, Old Fixtures in Elkton’s Skyline Stand Tall After Storm

A fixutre in the western Elkton skyline, the old water tower stands out as Hurricane Sandy’s remaining dark clouds clear out of the area.

The day after we escaped most of the destructive fury of Sandy, the massive Hurricane some called the Frankenstorm, thick, grey clouds from the back side of the storm continue to blanket Cecil.  But signs of clearing showed up this Wednesday afternoon as a few rays of sun peeked through the lighter formations.  That provided a backdrop for grabbing a few shots of Elkton’s generally inconspicuous water towers.  The tower on West High Street reminds us of town’s industrial past, an era when the county seat hummed with manufacturing operations.   The Plasticoid property was the site of the first fireworks production facility in Elkton, a company having established operations here soon after World War I.

The Platicoid tower rises above turn of the 20th century homes on W. High Street.

The municipal water tower nearby welcomes people to Elkton. The town escaped most of the destructive damage that had been in the forecast as the Hurricane took a direct swipe at Cecil County.