Detroit Prohibition Laws

[terryh]

Read an article in a local mag about scandalous criminal cases in Detroit in the twenties and thirties and learned that up until the late twenties Tommy [[machine) guns could be purchased in hardware stores until the public got fed up with the gangland violence during prohibition....also I believe the Oakland Sugar House on Oakland and Holbrook legally sold the ingredients to make liquor for private at home consumption....

[kibitzerkin]

Terry, I'll have to check it out. I recently commented on your post about Leiter's Lounge. My friends became the next owners of the place, and had a good run as The Tandem.

[Fury13]

Read an article in a local mag about scandalous criminal cases in Detroit in the twenties and thirties and learned that up until the late twenties Tommy [[machine) guns could be purchased in hardware stores until the public got fed up with the gangland violence during prohibition....also I believe the Oakland Sugar House on Oakland and Holbrook legally sold the ingredients to make liquor for private at home consumption....

Although the Oakland Sugar House is commonly believed to have been at the corner of Oakland and Holbrook, old Polk city directories don't bear that out. I believe it was actually at Oakland and Hague. There is an old building there [[storefront) that dates from the '20s... could that be the same building?

[Fury13]

Also, note that Prohibition in Michigan began three years before the Volstead Act took effect in the rest of the nation. So we were dry from 1917 to 1933.

[Retroit]

During prohibition, people could get a permit to make their own liquor for private consumption. [[I only know this because I have my grandfather's. )

[terryh]

Terry, I'll have to check it out. I recently commented on your post about Leiter's Lounge. My friends became the next owners of the place, and had a good run as The Tandem.

cool Ill check it out

[terryh]

Although the Oakland Sugar House is commonly believed to have been at the corner of Oakland and Holbrook, old Polk city directories don't bear that out. I believe it was actually at Oakland and Hague. There is an old building there [[storefront) that dates from the '20s... could that be the same building?

Il have to check it out .....I have tons of pics of buildings along oakland ave taken with a film camera...I wrote the addresses down and look at phonebooks from twenties and thirties to see what businesses and residents occupied the individual spots...I had the pics put on a disc but cant figure out how to download them into my laptop...perhaps I should scan them? also Ive talked to longtime residents of the North end and they tell me they recall some type of small restaurant-stand at the corner...I have yet to locate a photo of the actual sugarhouse...

[terryh]

During prohibition, people could get a permit to make their own liquor for private consumption. [[I only know this because I have my grandfather's. )

interesting Retroit..what part of the city did youre grandfather reside in and did he ever share any prohibition stories?

[Retroit]

Grand River and Livernois. Both of my grandfathers made their own wine before, during and after Prohibition, as did many other people. It was actually not considered a risky or daring endeavor. My grandparents were Italian immigrants and drank a bottle of wine with dinner every night. They would have made wine even if it were illegal. As long as you had a permit and didn't sell it, the government left you alone.

On the other hand, my other grandfather was one of the first people in his neighborhood [[Mack and Gratiot) at the time to own a car and was solicited by the Mafia [[which he was not part of) to illegally import booze from Canada by driving across the frozen Detroit river. Fortunately, due to threat of worse punishment than prison time, my grandmother was able to convince him otherwise.

[ndavies]

also I believe the Oakland Sugar House on Oakland and Holbrook legally sold the ingredients to make liquor for private at home consumption....

There's no rocket science in making alcohol. The ingredients are available in every supermarket in the country. It's pretty hard to make yeast and sugar illegal. You just need the correct yeast to ferment the sugar in the absence of oxygen. The only trick is keeping the yeast alive. Different yeasts and sugar bases are used to make different alcohols.

[Hermod]

Also, note that Prohibition in Michigan began three years before the Volstead Act took effect in the rest of the nation. So we were dry from 1917 to 1933.

They sent the soldiers to France to die, parlez-vous
They sent the soldiers to France to die, parlez-vous
They sent the soldiers to France to die,
Then they voted the US dry,
Hinky-dinky, parlez-vous.

[Retroit]

Was that really a song or are you making this shit up?

[Hermod]

Was that really a song or are you making this shit up?

Hinky-dinky, parlez vous was THE song of the American Expeditionary Force [[AEF) in WWI. It has many many verses of which that is just one. Most of the verses are clean, but there are a lot of sexual inuendo verses, and some outright "dirty" verses.


That is one of the real verses from the song.

You may remember the first verse

"Mademoiselle from Armentieres, parlez vous"

[Sstashmoo]

Call me crazy, but one of the smartest things Detroit could do within the city limits right now is go dry for a period of time. Except the Casinos

[DanFromDetroit]

Call me crazy, but one of the smartest things Detroit could do within the city limits right now is go dry for a period of time. Except the Casinos

OK - you're crazy

I'm sure Corktown/Foxtown/Greektown etc agree

/oh noes - the booze is the Satan!!!!111!!!

[Sstashmoo]

Think bigger...

[Hermod]

Think bigger...

Ummm, set up loudspeakers in all the neighborhoods that play classical music at all hours of the day and night at high volume??

[bartock]

Call me crazy, but one of the smartest things Detroit could do within the city limits right now is go dry for a period of time. Except the Casinos

They should also lock up the loose women, lungers, and people of low moral character.