This Job's for the Birds-- Part 2: The Beefeaters

Michael "Barney" Chandler took over the post of Ravenmaster on March 1, 2024.  As such, he leads a group called Yeoman Warders, which goes back to the 15th century.  You may know them better as Beefeaters who dress in the very distinctive black and scarlet Tudor-style uniforms.  If you've ever seen a bottle of Beefeaters Gin, that's them.

They perform a hybrid role at the Tower of London.  They not only provide security, but also lead tours of the tower and perform ceremonial duties.

He leads a group of 4 former military men looking after the tower's seven ravens-- the six decreed by Charles II and a spare.  In case you're wondering, their names are Jubilee, Harris, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar, Branwen and the latest addition, Rex, who was named in honor of King Charles III last year when he had his coronation.

--Cooter

Shotgun Raid at Annie's Woods in DeKalb in March 1922

From the March 8, 2022, MidWeek "Looking Back. 100 Years Ago.

Annie's Woods is a park named after Annie Glidden in DeKalb, Illinois, by NIU.

"As a result of a shotgun raid conducted here yesterday by Sheriff W.H. Decker, Deputy William Berry, Chief of Police  Frank Riddell and Officer  Rowe, 24 gallons of  moonshine was seized  as it was being transferred from one automobile to another in Annie's Woods.

"Christ P. and Henry L. were arrested on charges of transporting liquor.

"Later in the day, a raid was conducted on the house of Hugh V. on Market Street.  Here a  still and several gallons of mash  was confiscated and V. placed under arrest."

--Cooter

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 7: The Economics and Politics

One notorious example of the Klan's involvement with Prohibition occurred in 1923-24 in southern Illinois' Williamson County, where the Klan mobilized hundreds of volunteers to raid saloons and roadhouses.  Hundreds of people were arrested and more than a dozen killed.

That kind of social friction helped spur efforts to repeal Prohibition.

Economics also played a role.

While some Prohibition supporters predicted it would boost the economy, instead it proved harmful.  Thousands of jobs were lost die to closures of distilleries, breweries and saloons.   Federal, state and local governments lost billions of dollars in revenue as liquor taxes disappeared.  One major consequence:  Increasing reliance on income taxes to sustain government spending.

The onset of the Great Depression hastened Prohibition's demise, as the need for more jobs and tax revenue became acute.  The Democratic Party called for the repeal of Prohibition in  its 1932 platform; its presidential nominee, Franklin D. Roosevelt, embraced that cause as he rolled to a landslide victory over incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover.

--CootPro

Prohibition Hangover- Part 6: Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Michael Lerner, in his book "Dry Manhattan:  Prohibition in New York City," says courtrooms and jails were so overcrowded that judges began accepting plea bargains, "making it a common practice in American jurisprudence for the first time."

Anti-immigrant sentiment was a factor behind Prohibition, partly because of record-high immigration in the preceding decades.

Saloons in immigrant neighborhoods were prime targets because middle-class white Protestants viewed them as political and social danger zones.

"Often the political machines run by the bosses were based in these saloons, or used them for extending favors," Aaron Cowan said.  "So there was a concern about political corruption, changing social values, immigrants learning radical politics."

Prohibition's start in 1920 coincided with a major expansion of the Ku Klux Klan, which supported the ban on alcohol as it waged its anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic and racist activities.

The Volstead Act "provided a way for the Klan to legitimize its 100% Americanist mission -- it could target the drinking of those they perceived to be their enemies," McGirr said.

--CootDrinking

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 5: About Organized Crime and Capone

"Newly hired and poorly trained Prohibition agents, along with local and state police, targeted violators at the margins," McGirr wrote.  "But, they lacked the capacity, and at times the will to go after powerful crime kingpins."

It's simplistic to say Prohibition created organized crime in America, but it fueled a huge expansion as local crime gangs collaborated with those from other regions to establish shipping systems and set prices for boothegged alcohol.  Beneficiaries included Chicago-based Al Capone, who earned tens of millions of dollars annually from bootlegging and speakeasies.  

In the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, gunmen disguised as polive officers killed seven men from a gang that sought to compete with Capone's empire.

Beyond the ranks of gangsters, legions of Americans were committing or abetting crime.

--CootGang

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 4: Getting Around It at McSorley's and Other Ways

What the statistics don't measure is how extensively Prohibition was flouted.  Bootleggers established vast distribution networks. Makers of moonshine and "bathtub gin" proliferated, sometimes producing fatally tainted liquor.  Determined drinkers concealed their contraband in hip flasks or hollowed out canes.  Maryland refused to pass a law enforcing the Volstead Act.

McSorley's Old Ale House, established in New York in 1854 and still flourishing as one of the city's oldest bars, bever closed during Prohibition.  Ostensibly, it served "bear beer" with permissibly low alcohol content, but in fact produced a strong ale from a makeshift brewery erected in the basement.

 "It wasn't a near beer.  It was McSorley's ale," said the pub's manager, Gregory de la Haba.  "At least once a week, people ask, 'What did we do during Prohibition?'  And my reply, 'We made a ton of money.' "

The federal government, as well as the state and local authorities, spent huge sums on enforcement yet never allocated sufficient resources to do the job effectively.  Bootleggers awash in cash bribed judges, politicians and law enforcement officers to let their operations continue.

--CootDrinkItUp

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 3: No 'Intoxicating Liquor' Over 0.5% and Some Successes

By the time the constitutional amendment was ratified in January 1919, many states had enacted their own prohibition laws.  That October, Congress passed a law detailing how the federal government would enforce Prohibition.  

It was known as the Volstead Act in recognition of its foremost champion, Representative Andrew Volstead of Minnesota.  The law banned the manufacture, sale and transport of any "Intoxicating liquor" -- beverages with an alcohol content of more than 0.5%, including beer and wine.

Statistically, Prohibition was not an utter failure.  Deaths from alcohol-related cirrhosis declined as did arrests for public drunkenness.

--CootDrink

Prohibition Hangover: 100th Anniversary of It in 2020

From the January 19, 2020, Chicago Tribune by David Crary, AP.

LESSONS LINGER A CENTURY AFTER ILL-FATED DRY ERA BEGAN.

In this era of bottomless mimosas, craft beers and liquors, ever-present happy hours, it's hard to think that 100 years ago the United States imposed a nationwide ban on the production and sale of all types of alcohol.

The Prohibition Era, which lasted from January 17, 1920, until December 1933, is now viewed as a failed experiment that glamorized illegal drinking, but there are several intriguing parallels in current times.

Americans are consuming more alcohol per capita now than at any time leading up to Prohibition, when alcohol opponents successfully made the case that excessive drinking was ruining family life.

But, today, more states are moving toward decriminalizing marijuana (and even selling it in stores with high taxes)

And, in this time of heightened racial division of today, Prohibition offers a poignant history lesson on how restrictions targeted Blacks and recent immigrants more harshly than in white communities.  That treatment eventually caused many of these people to join the Democratic Party, which engineered Prohibition's Repeal.

--CootDrink

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 2: 'Popcorn Dan'?

On the evening before roughly 1,500 people would lose their lives in one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century, the first-class passengers aboard the Titanic sat down for an elaborate meal that included oysters, consomme Olga (a veal stock soup flavored with sturgeon marrow), filet mignon, poached salmon, chicken Lyonnaise, roast squab with cress, foie gras, roasted pigeon, lamb with mint sauce and punch romaine, a palate-cleansing granita flavored with oranges and drenched in Champagne.

If you've been wondering what they ate on the ship, author Veronica Hinke recreates the decadent meals, cocktails and dining protocol of history's most tragic voyage in "The Last Night on the Titanic: Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style."

Hinke's passion for the Titanic began back when she was a little girl growing up in the central Wisconsin town of Merrill.

She says she was haunted  by the local legend behind what turned out to be a real-life man, the so-called "Popcorn Dan."

--CooterDan

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 1: Lots and Lots of Booze

From the October 16, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Amy Bizzarri.

Before it sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912, the "Floating Mansion" that was the Titanic set the bar for luxurious dining.  

Four city blocks long and as tall as an 11-story building, this mega ship spoiled its first-class passengers with exquisite 10-plus course meals prepared by top chefs using state-of-the-art cooking equipment, including the toaster and the electric sorbet maker,  served in airy cafes and lavish dining halls that rivaled the finest restaurants in Paris.

More than 1,000 bottles of wine, 850 bottles of spirits and 20,000 bottles of beer were stocked in its hold, and the bartenders were well-versed in the hottest cocktails of the era-- the stirred, strained, bracing Manhattan and the gin and sparkling lemonade Tom Collins.

Enough Alcohol?  --Cooter

Eight Things About the Titanic That You Might Not Know

From the April 15, 2022 Buzz "These 8 Titanic secrets surfaced 110 years after the wreck."

The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, 110 years ago.  It wasn't until 36 years ago that the wreck was discovered.

**  The 700+ third class passengers had to share just two bathtubs.

**  One of the ship's musicians wasn't officially declared dead until 2000.  As a matter of fact, the French Army declared him a deserter when he failed up to serve during World War I.

**  The ship's lookouts relied on their eyesight alone as the ship's second officer was replaced at the last minute and forgot to hand over the key to unlock the locker where the binoculars were stored.  In 2010, that key was auctioned for $130,000.

**  One of the richest men in the world, if not the richest, died in the wreck.  John Jacob Astor's worth was $3.5 billion in today's dollars.  His body was one of the ones recovered and had $60,000 on his pocket.

**  One of the ship's cooks survived at least two hours in the frigid North Atlantic waters thanks to copious amounts of whiskey he had drunk.

**  Most people died of hypothermia within 15 minutes.

**  The 1997 movie cost more to produce than what it cost to build the Titanic.

**  Despite what eyewitnesses said, it wasn't until the wreck was found that it was officially confirmed that the ship had split in two pieces.

**  The wreck could vanish by 2030.  Scientists believe bacteria will eat it away by then.

And, Who Says Drinking Is Bad for You?  --Cooter

Already Had the Spanish Flu and Survived By 1920? No Worry Mon

From the December 2, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1920. 100 Years Ago.

"If you had the real Spanish flu back in 1918 and 1919, and didn't die of it you won't have it again.

"You can start in the winter with a perfectly light heart and no worry whatsoever as how to treat yourself in the case of a fresh attack, now that the time-honored whiskey and  quinine cure is no longer integrally available."

Prohibition started in January 1920.

It is too bad that these days in 2020 that if you get the virus and survive you only get a temporary immunity from it.

No Whiskey for You.  --Cooter

10 Lesser-Known Facts About Revolutionary-Era America-- Part 1: We're Taller, and We Can Read Better and Make Babies Better. Then There Is That Drinking Thing

From the July 4, 2018, ListVerse by Kevin Klatman.

Go to the site for pictures and a lot more information.

*************************************

10.  AMERICANS WERE TALLER THAN THE BRITISH

On average, the British stood at 5-foot, five inches, and Americans were three inches taller.

9.  AMERICANS HAD A HIGHER LITERACY RATE THAN THE BRITISH

Much of this because the Puritans in New England valued education for religious purposes.

**************************************

8  ONE IN THREE WOMEN  WHO WALKED DOWN THE AISLE WAS PREGNANT

Perhaps because of the practice of bundling.

7.  AMERICANS DRANK ... A LOT

Alcohol safer than water.  Go figure.

6.  SOUTH CAROLINA: ONE OF THE MOST TOLERANT AND CULTURED OF THE COLONIES

New England colonies were too Puritan to go much for the arts.

--CooterGiveMeABeer

Wondering What the Police Did in 1945? Did You have a 'Double-D' Charge?

From the May 6, 2020, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"Police department report for the month of April, as prepared by Chief of Police Horace Fothergill shows thirteen arrested during the thirty day period.  The arrests included ten on the "double-D" charge, drunk and disorderly, three on disorderly  conduct, and one person was arrested for not having a drivers license.

"Other activities of the department during the month included six autos stopped for defective lights, eleven complaints answered, two attempted burglaries, three stolen bicycles recovered, three minor auto mishaps, nine funeral and three bank escorts, five fires attended and five dogs disposed of  on the order of the department by the veterinarian."

"Defund the Police?"   Yea, Right.   Idiots.   --Cooter

The "Wets" Have It In Shabbona, Illinois, in 1945: Still A Drinking Town

From the April 22, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1945, 75 Years Ago.

"The 'wets'  were victorious in the local option election in the village of Shabbona by the slim margin of seventeen votes.

"On the question of whether the sale of alcoholic beverages should be prohibited, 174 voted no and 157 voted yes."

How Wet I Am.  --CootDrunk

What They Ate (and Drank) on Titanic's Last Night

From the October 16, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Amy Bizzarri.

Before it sank to the bottom of the ocean in the wee hours of the morning on April 15, 1912, the "floating mansion" that was the Titanic set the bar for luxurious dining.

Four city blocks long and as tall as an 11-story building, the mega-ship spoiled its first-class passengers with exquisite 10-plus course meals prepared by top chefs using state-of-the-art cooking equipment, including toaster and the electric sorbet maker, served in airy cafes and lavish dining halls that rivaled the finest restaurants in Paris.

More than 1,000 bottles of wine, 850 bottles of spirits and 20,000 bottles of beer were stocked in the ship's hold and the bartenders knew the latest and fanciest drinks.  That included the stirred, strained and bracing Manhattan and the gun and sparkling lemonade Tom Collins.

If you've always wanted to know what they ate and drank, author Veronica Hinke has a book to tell you just that, titles "The Last Night on the Titanic:  Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style."

--CootDrinker

Judge Orders Wine Barrels To be Poured Into Kishwaukee River in 1919

From the Nov. 27, 2019, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

1919, 100 Years Ago.

"Groans from both court attaches and spectators were audible in the county court room on Monday when Judge Pond rendered his decision in the case against an Italian resident of Kirkland, accused of selling intoxication liquor against the law , and who was the first person arrested in DeKalb County under the state search and seizure act.

"The groans came  when the judge ordered two whole barrels of perfectly good wine, seized from the defendant to be pored into the Kishwaukee river."

--CootWiner

The Drunken Tots in 1919: "Let 'Em Sleep It Off"

From the January 23, 2019, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1919, 100 Years Ago.

"A local physician had an interesting  telephone call last night from the country, when he was informed that two little children, one of two years, the other not yet four had put away a pint of whiskey, which had been doctored with herbs to make it bitter.

"The little tots after drinking the whiskey became intoxicated and laid about the house on the floor in a stupor.    Finally, when it was found what caused the kids apparent sickness, the parents thought they would be  along all right if they slept it off."

--CootDrunk

A Real Tootful in 1918

From the December 19, 2018, MidWeek  (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"A Chicago man accompanied by 'a friend'  came out here last evening, and having been employed by the government 'hadn't touched a drop' for some time, and when released from work immediately began to tank up.

"When the couple arrived here both were well soused and the young man, rather talkative, started something in Bell's restaurant and the proprietor and police had to finish."

Making Up For Lost Time I Reckon.  --Cooter

Drunks Coming From Maple Park to DeKalb in 1918

From the November 21, 2018, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"Saturday and Sunday seemed to be busy ones for the police as there were several drunks arrested Saturday night and early Sunday morning, many coming back on the last car from the nearby oasis, Maple Park.

"The fellows given a chance to sober up at the city bastille and Monday morning were before the police court and assessed the usual fine for such misdemeanors.

Maple Park Was A Major Destination for NIU Students in the 1970s for the Same Reason.  --DaDrunk