What did Anchorage residents drink during Prohibition? Alaska historian David Reamer examines how Prohibition played out in 1920s Anchorage, and how some of its impacts have carried through to the present day.
New York City Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach, right, watches agents pour liquor into sewer following a raid during the height of Prohibition. on Alaska history by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.
Even when and where Prohibition was strictly enforced, there were ways to legally imbibe. Churches that included wine in their sacrament still dispensed their samples on Sundays. Residents with pre-existing beer, liquor and wine collections could drain those bottles without fear. Again, the Bone Dry and Volstead Acts prohibited the creation and sale of alcohol, not the consumption of already purchased party supplies.
Alcohol was easy to come by in early Anchorage, even after the Bone Dry and Volstead Acts. Across the country, bar owners lightly transformed their establishments into supposed cigar shops, card rooms, soda shops or pool halls. In many if not most cases, little changed other than the facade.
Still, while variably enforced and of questionable at best design, Prohibition was the law of the land. Some people followed the rules, even if many neighbors did not. Others saw their drinking curtailed by more practical issues, such as limited options and an unreliable supply chain.
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