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Show PAGE 21 THE ZEPHYRNOVEMBER 1990 After the political frenzy of the 1909 Legislature, Grand Countys commissioners finally responded to Aunt Lottie's petitions. The county attorney advised against the Increase "since It would appear that the commissioners were exceeding their authority, but In face of the decision by Moab's town board, county commissioners were afraid that saloons would spring up Just outside the town limits. They raised the county tax to $2500. Lottie had won, or at least so It would have appeared. Saloons did keep their doors closed In Grand County, but the traffic In liquor did not go away. Henry Crouse, a local grape grower, was one of the first to be charged with selling liquor without a license after the new Increases had taken effect At his trial he testified that he had never sold any wine -- - only vinegar to be used for the "conservation of health. He was found guilty as charged and fined $25.00, an extremely light penalty according to prohibition supporters. Something more had to be done. A letter from Thompson, Utah, dated October 3, 1910 reads: "Dear Mrs. Larsen, Knowing of the fight you are making against the liquor traffic and being acquainted with some new facts which will Interest you, and wanting to be of service to the cause of the right, I write this letter. The past two days have seen our little town drowned In boose and disgust This morning Phil Crout leaves for Moab with five cases of whiskey. Our efforts here to see any money change hands were futile. Yet we were well aware the liquor was being handled. For Phil Crout, former proprietor of the Moab Saloon, a $2000 liquor license made It virtually Impossible to sell liquor legally. It did not however, make It Impossible to sell liquor. Despite Lotties petition, Amasa Larsen and his friends found little trouble upholding the saloon tradition. Amasa's drinking lisp remained In fine order. In the 1910 election year prohibition activists rallied to make prohibition one of the main campaign Issues, calling for both state-wid- e prohibition and new laws that would make the selling of liquor a penitentiary offense. As the election approached, Democrats held firmly In favor of state-wi- de prohibition, while Republicans favored "local option, a compromise which opponents called hypocritical, even though It helped protect some of the economic gains of legalized liquor. Generally prohibitionists suspected that government officials had been bought by liquor concerns. The letter from Thompson continues: "Also you might find out from someone that Is better posted If our Government has a right to come Into our dry county and accept a bribe from bootleggers, hush money as It were. The Republicans won the legislative seat In Grand County In 1910. The prohibition battle continued for several years. In 1917 Utah finally passed a state-wi- de prohibition bill, Just two years before all saloons In the U.S. were closed by Congress. Even with the eighteenth amendment, liquor continued to be available In Grand was pretty easy to bootleg In this country, says Essie. From the blackened "It County. gorge of Westwater Canyon to the hidden springs along the plnyonJunlper mesas of the La Sals, moonshine ran like spring rains. During prohibition, my own family history tells me that my grandfather, Owen Knight, spent a little time In the Salt Lake City Jail over what we call the "beer In the bathtub Incident And yes, both Owen and his wife Olivia signed Lottie Larsen's petition when they lived In Moab In 1908. And what of Amasa and Lottie? In 1913, Amasa bought the Fisher Valley Ranch where he built a successful ranching operation. Lottie continued to maintain their home In Moab. "They began to live separate lives, says Essie. "She eventually divorced him, but they were separate long before that Amasa lived a long and rich life. He died on his 81st birthday on January 14, 1947. "What worries me," Amasa used to say, "Is that when I die at 83, people will say that It was whiskey that killed old Amasle. As he predicted, It was his affection for drinking, and not old age, that people blamed for his death. Lottie died January 5, 1951. She Is remembered as a hardworking homemaker, an excellent cook, and a fine gardener whose yard burst with flowers from spring to fall. She never changed her mind about the evils of drinking. During prohibition, she encouraged prosecution of the Individuals who contributed to the flourishing moonshine Industry In Grand County. After the repeal of the prohibition amendment, she continued to support strong liquor control measures. She kept the original copies of the 1908 petition, along with correspondence from her supporters. She also kept a poem written In 1916 by her daughter, Ida: PETRA 59 S. Main Western Plaza .COMPUTER SERVICES Service "THE Sales Supplies Upgrades TTRA cmj Throws (gaspH LANUPim CAW ow.Ufc coJCnv OF IT ML CAW y& iwt ru$r cowTfyj: CO-A- V X, -- NOVELL C0tfFlt al mcleod electrical contractor 259-709- 0 po box 1423 moab 3?ARK A TttSilWfr HOP 1?0MiHe NEGATE To'KCE-l- . b AL$ 6l0V. PON O' THE Mount 16-year- The Saloon Bar A Bar to heaven, a door to hell. Whoever named It, named It well. A Bar to Manliness and wealth, A Door to want and broken health, A Bar to honor, pride and fame, A Door to sorrow, sin and shame, A Bar to hope, a bar to prayer, A Door to darkness and despair. Bar to honored useful life, A Door to brawling, senseless strife, A Bar to all that's true and brave, A Door to every drunkard's grave, A Bar to Joy that home Imparts, A Door to tears and broken hearts, A Bar to heaven, a door to hell, Whoever named It named It well. A own parents were at The poem Is a touching comment from a young girl whose to odds In a national dispute. "I never took sides," says Essie, who learned I knew with her dad. they weren't going to garden with her mother, to ride and run cattle 1' In and Som. things, though, havs changod. Hi. sals ot Hquor I. lagal again a Utah, matter of Is the custodian of liquor licenses. Uquor Is, once again, now Its the State that can bring a economics. And, once again, Moab welcomes the economic boost that winery to southeastern Utah. tATA CO AH' m vi 259-625- 2J .CANYONLANDS FIELD INSTITUTE P.o. Box 68 Moab, Utah 84532 CANYONS EDGE HITS THE ROAD December 3 Logan Salt Lake City December 5 Snowbird January 20 Well also be traveling to o Colorado New Mexico o Arizona o Nevada |
