Obscure ordinances – Fruit punch
Fruit punch is a favorite sweet drink for many, so why would its sale and production be heavily controlled by a Savannah City Ordinance? As part of the Municipal Archives’ Obscure Ordinances series, we look at this 1922 local law prohibiting the sale, handling, and production of fruit punch not containing dairy without first obtaining a permit from the city health officer.
A subsequent ordinance required anyone with a fruit punch permit to also submit to inspections of their facility. The ordinance makes a point to prohibit any punch-related activity from occurring in a private dwelling. This seems strange to those of us accustomed to the Hi-C and Hawaiian Punch varieties, but the 1920s were smack dab in the middle of Prohibition and many creative laws were enacted to try to limit the sale and distribution of illegal alcohol.
Remembering Bishop Henry McNeal Turner
Henry McNeal Turner (1834-May 8, 1915) was one of the most influential Black leaders of late 19th century Georgia. Turner was an influential pastor, one of the earliest Black legislators, a prolific writer, and a profound orator.
Born in South Carolina, he was never enslaved and received an education through the assistance of the law firm at which he was a janitor. After traveling the South as an itinerant evangelist, he was accepted as a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1858 and then pastored in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. In his churchyard in 1863, he helped organize the First Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops for which he mustered into service as their chaplain, serving in several battles in Virginia.