Prohibition Days in Hicksville

 

It was in the midst of Prohibition, 1925, and the WCTU and law enforcement were on a mission to rid Defiance County of its alcoholic beverages. This story is from the Bryan Press, July 23, 1925, and would have been a great movie scene.

"1,600 BOTTLES OF CANADA BEER
IN HICKSVILLE HAUL

Truck Carried High Priced Load
But Driver Got Away

"Friday afternoon, a man drove into the Mastin garage in Hicksville to leave in storage a new Reo truck with sixteen barrels labeled 'Bicarbonate of soda."  After he left, one of the garage men got curious and soon discovered that the barrels were filled with bottled Canadian beer.

He summoned the marshal who swore in deputies and set an ambuscade (i.e. ambush) in the garage to capture the owner of the truck when he came back. The man did not return until about three o'clock the next morning. 

                                          1925 Reo truck

Then he walked up to the garage and at that moment the village nightwatchman came along in uniform, which seemed to alarm the bootlegger who jumped into a passing touring car and made off.

The armed marshal and his deputies kept watch for another 24 hours, but the man did not come back again and had apparently become suspicious of the trap laid for him. So the truck and its contents were confiscated.

Breaking open the barrels, they were found to hold 1,600 bottles of Canadian nine percent, worth at current prices about $4,000. The booze will be emptied into the sewer. The truck was a new one and worth $1,000."

Shall Defiance County be Wet or Dry?

 In 1908, one of the biggest controversies in Defiance County revolved around the sale and intake of liquor. Should saloons exist in the villages of the county?  A big vote would be taken in October, 1908, to decide.

Long ago, the Hicksville folks had voted for "Personal Liberty," meaning that it was for each individual to decide whether to drink or not. It was well known that on Watson Richardson's lawn on the drive into town, a large maple tree drew men each day who stood under the cool shade to drink. Some thought that men could not resist the temptation to drink, so saloons were thriving, but many families were affected by this choice. Wages were bring drunk away and families suffered. 

By 1908, the Women's Christian Temperance Union was thriving, using their influence to convince men to stay away from strong drink.  According to one man's opinion, saloons cannot be reformed nor the habits of men changed, so it was best to take the temptation of drink away totally. But will it hurt the businesses in town and will the loss of the saloon tax have an effect on the economy of the towns?

In Farmer township, saloons were voted out by a huge majority and now no one wanted  them back.  Business was good!  Currently, a petition to oust the saloons was circulating in Hicksville, with a majority thought to support a dry county.  The problem was Mark Township...many went there to drink after it was banned in other areas of the county.  Many citizens of Mark Center apparently did not appreciate being the center of drink in Defiance County.

The Bryan Democrat, Bryan, Ohio, reported on 20 November 1908:

"DEFIANCE COUNTY SALOONS MAY SOON BE IN ONE TOWN, MORE DRY

On Dec 15, two saloons will pass out of existence in Mark Center, Defiance County, as the result of the decision of voters of Mark Township Saturday when at a Beal law local option election, the township voted dry by a majority of 87.  The unofficial figures are: dry 216, wets 129.

Two saloons both located at Mark Center villages are affected.  The saloons are conducted by Chas. Kisabeth and L. E. Ritterman.  They will pass out of existence thirty days from the day of the election.

Because of the result in Mark township, it is now said that a petition for a Beal law election in Sherwood village will be started.  There are two saloons in the village. Sherwood is an incorporated village and, for this reason, the election will simply be a municipal affair and will not include the township.  The drys also assert if Sherwood village votes dry, a petition will be started in Ney village.  If both Sherwood and Ney village vote dry, the saloon business of Defiance county will have been centered in Defiance city.

The voting out of the saloons in Mark township will make a change in the Hicksville situation.  Mark Center is located but a few miles from Hicksville and it has been the custom for many from the dry towns to visit Mark Center at different times during the week.  Hicksville drys assisted the Mark Center drys in the fight to oust the saloons in Mark township."

But it was not to be...