Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Lucy Thurman and the black temperance movement

Lucinda "Lucy" (Smith) Thurman, 1849-1918, best known as a civil rights activist, began her work on behalf of the African American community as a temperance reformer.  Born in Canada, she moved to Michigan, and worked among black women in nearby Toledo, Ohio, during the Women's Temperance Crusade in 1874.   After a ten-year campaign, she persuaded the WCTU to open a National Department of Colored Work.  She was appointed its superintendent in 1893 and served in the office for seventeen years.  For more, see http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-living/2010/10/moss_point_womans_study_leads_to_noted_ancestor_-_sampling_our_history.html

In California, marijuana possession no more serious than a speeding ticket

In California, marijuana possession has been reduced from a misdemeanor to an infraction that does not require arrest or create a criminal record.  It is the equivalent of a speeding ticket that require paying a fine.  For details, see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/02/us/politics/02pot.html?hp

Family-owned Madeira wine company (book)

Marcus Binney, The Blandys of Madeira, 1811-2011 (Frances Lincoln, forthcoming 2011).

Opportunities for alcohol control in England (article)

John R. Greenaway, "Agendas, Venues and Alliances: New Opportunities for the Alcohol Movement in England," Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy 15/5 (2008): 487-501.

Beer advertising, 1933-1960 (article)

Nathan Michael Corzine, "Right at Home: Freedom and Domesticity in the Language and Imagery of Beer Advertising 1933-1960," Journal of Social History 43/4 (2010): 843-866.  Purdue graduate student who is writing a dissertation on baseball and drug abuse in the post-World War II era.

Wine and drunkenness in ancient Rome (dissertation)

Damien Martin, "When to Say When--Wine and Drunkenness in Roman Society," (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, 2010).

Munich Oktoberfest's bland lagers

Greg Kitsock in the Washington Post complains that the beers at Munich Oktoberfest (from just six breweries) are bland lagers.  There is more variety at an American beer festival (and American craft brewers look to Belgium and not to Germany for ideas). Kitsock does complain the joint effort of Jim Koch (Boston Beer) and the German firm of Weihenstephen for creating a new beer called Infinium within the Reinheitsgebot or beer purity law.  For more, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/27/AR2010092706272.html

English pubs that serve breakfast and good coffee

The Economist, 18-24 September 2010, reports on J.D.Wetherspoon, a chain of 775 pubs that opens in the morning to serve breakfast and coffee.  Wetherspoon serves more breakfasts than any other chain except McDonalds and more coffee than any other chain than Starbucks and Costa.    By opening in morning to serve non-alcoholic food and drink, Wetherspoon hopes to avoid the fate of other pubs that are disappearing at the rate of 39 per week. 

Canada's (mostly Mohawk) underground tobacco industry

The first in a five-part series is available at http://news.nationalpost.com/2010/09/18/post-preview-inside-canadas-underground-tobacco-industry-a-five-part-series/

Temperance Row Dedicated

One of the most unusually successful political movements in U.S. history, the drive for Constitutional Prohibition, was ultimately led by the Anti-Saloon League of America. From 1909 to 1924 ASLA headquarters was in Westerville, Ohio, and its leaders lived in homes built during that time on an 11 acre tract originally purchased by Purley Baker, the League's Superintendent in 1909.

That 11 acre tract developed into what became Temperance Row and was placed (this link is a large pdf file with photos) on the National Register of Historic Places two years ago, and last weekend it was dedicated following the recent placement of a plaque at the site.