Looking back to the the days of Prohibition

How many of you reading this have sworn to take part in “Dry January?”

It is one of the popular measures many people use to start the new year in a healthy fashion.

Choosing not to drink is one thing, but what about being told that no drinking is allowed? Did you know Prohibition started a bit more than a 100 years ago in January?

Prohibition in Canada was not much of a thing—it was repealed in the early 1920s in most provinces. But in America, Prohibition became big business, not just for the alcohol sales but also for the drivers who delivered the product.

Did you know their skillful driving, whether distracting authorities or dashing down country roads to make many deliveries, was the beginning of what became NASCAR?

Stock car racing – done on dirt country tracks with cars that looked like the family car – was attended by local folk, with racers who learned their skills as rumrunners. There was no money in it, drivers raced because they loved it. It was a grass roots effort that created a national association to support a new racing form for the middle class.

Alcohol wasn’t just smuggled around America during Prohibition, it was carried across the border too. Using trucks, the rail system and even the international waters, alcohol was brought in from Canada and the Caribbean.

There was a rampant rumour of a German submarine being sighted off the East Coast in 1922 which was never verified at the time, but Coast Guard files do contain a photo of two underwater vessels that were confirmed as not being American. Nothing has ever been declared or proven either way.

Canadian authorities did discover a “submarine without motors” that developed a leak and sunk. They surmised it was used for towing up to 5,000 bottles of beer across Lake Champlain to New York and Vermont.

Prohibition had some interesting side effects as well. I’m not sure who got the grant to discover these facts but check this out:

• Consumption of ice cream went up 55% during the height of Prohibition (were people looking for another vice?)

• The number of registered U.S. patents decreased by 15% (perhaps all those inspirational ideas developed over a pint were stymied?)

• The habit of prescribing alcohol for all kinds of ailments became a lucrative loophole for pharmacies—doctors, dentists, even veterinarians could write notes for people.

One campaign that gained popularity even towards the end of Prohibition may sound familiar – have you heard of mocktails?

Roxana Doran, a prominent member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union wrote a book titled “Prohibition Punches” in 1930, touting their health benefits along with their fresh flavours and elegant presentation. She encouraged housewives to host parties with these alternatives and embrace a lifestyle without alcohol. Was it a coincidence her husband was the commissioner of Prohibition?

Doran may have endured some criticism for being so zealous about her promotion of fruit juices and other non-alcoholic drinks along with her husband’s campaign views, but the women’s group of which she was part was instrumental in demonstrating how public health could be shaped through encouraging certain lifestyle habits.

So, cheers to the efforts of the innovators who created things like NASCAR and speakeasy’s amidst the conflict that Prohibition caused. Or maybe we should all enjoy a nice glass of a vegetable cocktail instead and consider a healthier approach.

Perhaps we can simply celebrate having a choice.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.