Whalechaser's Musings

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Monday, November 1, 2010

The Prohibition and More

During my trip on the Katy Trail we were fortunate enough to stop in Augusta, Missouri and listen to a presentation by Anita Mallinckrodt, Ph.D, the town's Historian (among many other things!).



We listened to a delightful presentation about the Prohibition and how it affected the little town of Augusta; how the Revenuers ascended on the town and discovered alcohol being sold in several establishments!!! She then told the story of how all the townspeople rose to the occasion, modified their ways and managed to survive this most interesting period of American History. She has written a book entitled: According to the Law and it has been released this week. I am sure it will be very interesting and enjoyable. Anyone who may be interested in obtaining a copy, please email me.

Then we toured the building and discovered a old wooden box with drawers and a functional lid (see below) It was the record keeping system for the local General Store during the early years of the 1900's







Since I spent the majority of my life in accounting, I find this fascinating because, if one were to look closely at these little slips of paper, you would find everything, every little thing that they purchased...which would indicate the kind of life they lived back then. There was a system for credit as well, which showed the struggle a lot of people went through and how the merchants helped them to make it through the hard times. All very interesting stuff! I think Anita may be working on yet another book!

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