On Jan. 17, 1920, the taps were wrenched closed on legal alcohol sales and manufacture across America. That’s the day the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect, establishing Prohibition and closing, by one account, 286 distilleries, 992 breweries, and more than 300,000 saloons.
Westerville was at the center of that tremendous American social churn. As home of the Anti-Saloon League and its printing presses, workers here produced enough Temperance literature to wrap the earth more than 80 times in newsprint, and printed hundreds of millions more posters, placards, fliers and tracts to convince the nation to vote itself Dry.
A hundred years ago, Westerville was the War Machine of Prohibition.
Upon this historic milestone, a new book commissioned by Uptown Westerville Inc. explores the city’s role in this extraordinary American story. Written and curated by local journalist Joe Meyer, the hardback coffee table book traces Westerville’s Dry roots, through its seminal role in the Prohibition movement, to today’s reinvigorated Uptown, where just 15 years ago alcohol sales were approved by voters, leading to a redevelopment boom.
Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition also profiles some of the powerful leaders and colorful characters who made this history, and details the extensive local resources available for residents and visitors to explore, to form their own opinions of what Herbert Hoover called “The Noble Experiment.”
Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition is available for presale now, for delivery prior to the 100th anniversary of enactment of Prohibition on Jan. 17, 2020.
Proceeds will benefit Uptown Westerville Inc. to further its mission to strengthen and beautify our unique Uptown while fostering revitalization, historic preservation and a sense of community. Special thanks to the Westerville Fund, City of Westerville, Local History Center, Westerville Public Library and the Westerville Historical Society for help and support in the production and funding of this publication.
Westerville was at the center of that tremendous American social churn. As home of the Anti-Saloon League and its printing presses, workers here produced enough Temperance literature to wrap the earth more than 80 times in newsprint, and printed hundreds of millions more posters, placards, fliers and tracts to convince the nation to vote itself Dry.
A hundred years ago, Westerville was the War Machine of Prohibition.
Upon this historic milestone, a new book commissioned by Uptown Westerville Inc. explores the city’s role in this extraordinary American story. Written and curated by local journalist Joe Meyer, the hardback coffee table book traces Westerville’s Dry roots, through its seminal role in the Prohibition movement, to today’s reinvigorated Uptown, where just 15 years ago alcohol sales were approved by voters, leading to a redevelopment boom.
Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition also profiles some of the powerful leaders and colorful characters who made this history, and details the extensive local resources available for residents and visitors to explore, to form their own opinions of what Herbert Hoover called “The Noble Experiment.”
Westerville: The War Machine of Prohibition is available for presale now, for delivery prior to the 100th anniversary of enactment of Prohibition on Jan. 17, 2020.
Proceeds will benefit Uptown Westerville Inc. to further its mission to strengthen and beautify our unique Uptown while fostering revitalization, historic preservation and a sense of community. Special thanks to the Westerville Fund, City of Westerville, Local History Center, Westerville Public Library and the Westerville Historical Society for help and support in the production and funding of this publication.
Some previews from the book (order below):
Mailing Room 1916
Women and men workers at the American Issue Printing Co in Westerville staff the mailing room at the printing plant, circa 1916, when an average of 40 tons of reformer publications were produced each month.
|
Pressmen at AIPC
Workers man the presses at the Anti-Saloon League’s the American Issue Printing Co. presses in Westerville, in 1916, when the League employed about 10 percent of the Village of Westerville’s population.
|
AIPC printing plant
Exterior photo of the Anti-Saloon League’s the American Issue Printing Co. printing plant in Westerville, 110 S. State St., circa 1910. The plant was demolished in 1982 to make room for a Westerville Public Library parking lot.
|
ASL stars Pussyfoot and Cherrington
William E. “Pussyfoot” Johnson (left) and his friend and longtime employer, Ernest Cherrington. Johnson moved to Westerville in 1912 to edit Anti-
|
Advertising Department 1916
Workers man the Advertising Department of the Anti-Saloon League’s the American Issue Printing Co. in Westerville in 1916.
|
Side view of printing press 1916
Additional view of the presses running at the Anti-Saloon League’s the American Issue Printing Co. in Westerville in 1916.
|
ASL Leaders_Wheeler_White_Baker-Russell
Powerful leaders of the Anti-Saloon League pose for a photo circa 1920 (from left): ALS Legal Department Director Wayne B. Wheeler, the League’s powerful lobbyist who operated principally from Washington, D.C.; James A. White, superintendent of Ohio Chapter of the Anti-Saloon League; the Rev. Purely A. Baker, General Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of America from 1903 to 1924; and the Rev. Howard Hyde Russell, founder of the Anti-Saloon League. The former homes of both Baker and Russell are in Westerville Temperance Row Historic District, on the National Register of Historic Places.
|
Linotype Operators at AIPC
Linotype machine operators the American Issue Printing Co. presses in Westerville set the type for Temperance publications, circa 1916..
|