Column: ‘Drys’ dampened holiday for ‘wets’ in Christmas 1903 Johnny Vardeman
Christmas 1903 was dry for Hall County holiday celebrants. Those reveling joyfully were supporters of Prohibition.
They had won in a referendum 1,766 to 247 “wet” votes. Five precincts, including Oakwood and New Holland, cast nary a vote to allow sales of alcoholic beverages.
It was the largest margin of victory for dry supporters in years. During that era, voters cast ballots on Prohibition about every four years. In 1891, the “drys” won by 181 votes; in 1895 it was by 370.
Hall churches naturally were the principal supporters of Prohibition. Most of them had conducted rallies to get out the vote against alcohol sales. The Sunday before the vote, congregations met together to be sure the “dry” message had been heard loud and clear throughout the county.