2020 marked the 100th anniversary of Prohibition â a wild time when New England became a hotbed of illegal liquor
By Emily Sweeney Globe Staff,Updated December 30, 2020, 3:04 p.m.
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Gangsters Ed Diamond, Jack Diamond, Fatty Walsh and Charles Lucky Luciano appear in this file photo that was taken in New York in the 1930s. During Prohibition criminals collaborated with gangs from other regions to establish shipping systems and set prices for bootlegged alcohol.Associated Press/file
As 2020 thankfully comes to a close, itâs hard to imagine packing more news into a single year. But buried beneath the dreaded COVID headlines was an anniversary that in any other year might have prompted some raucous reflection. Thatâs because 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of Prohibition, a wild time in history when New England suddenly became a hotbed for illegal liquor.
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Samuel Adams
EASTHAM A document found in the archive room at Eastham Historical Society’s Schoolhouse Museum appears to contain the signature of Samuel Adams.
The piece of paper was an official recognition of the appointment of Elijah Knowles as Justice of the Peace in Barnstable County. It is dated June 7, 1785.
An article about the discovery was published earlier this week in the Cape Cod Times and noted that Adams was a pivotal figure in both Massachusetts and national history.
A delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774, he signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. In 1781, he was appointed lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, and became governor in 1789.
EASTHAM Joseph Mistretta was dusting off some framed documents in the corner of the archive room at Eastham Historical Society when he found what could be a priceless document.
The piece of paper was an official recognition of the appointment of Elijah Knowles as Justice of the Peace in Barnstable County. Dated June 7, 1785, the document was signed by the Governor of Massachusetts, Samuel Adams.
Society President Eileen Seaboldt recalled the moment Mistretta, the society s director, showed her the document.
“He asked, Do you think this could be real? ” She remembers chills going up and down her spine when she looked at it.