Lulu Agard's Buffalo Avenue establishment was raided in July of 1929. Gin was found on the premises. Nineteen patrons were fined $5 each, and Agard was arrested and charged with maintaining a public nuisance.
Source:
"19 Fined, Woman Jailed On Nuisance Charge After Freeport Raid." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 8, 1929, 14. Accessed December 8, 2017. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/59854318/?terms=%22freeport%2Braid%22~10.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 8, 2017.
The use of airplanes by smugglers was addressed in 1925 by the person in charge of Mitchel Field, Major William Hensley. Hensley called for the creation of an aviation force to combat smuggling by air.
Source:
"Air Cops to Come with Air Flivvers [sic], According to Mitchel Field Head." The Daily Review. April 16, 1925, 6. Accessed December 26, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071431/1925-04-16/ed-1/seq-6/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, December 26, 2019.
The per capita consumption of alcohol in the United States has declined significantly since early settlers first arrived. Europeans brought to America their heavy drinking habits. In 1630, a ship from England that was making its way to the Massachusetts Bay Colony had 10,000 gallons of wine and carried three times as much beer as water. By 1825, Americans drank about seven gallons of alcohol annually. Consumption of alcohol dropped during the Civil War due to the fact that alcohol was heavily taxed. During Prohibition, annual consumption fell to less than one gallon of alcohol. By 1980, consumption rose to 2.8 gallons. Alcohol consumption fell to 2.2 gallons per capita in 1998.
Source:
Rorabaugh, W. J. "Alcohol, Consumption of, per Capita (United States)." Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: An International Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2003, 23-24.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, August 22, 2019.
Alpine Hotel was located on the southeast corner of West Merrick Road and South Bayview Avenue. It was incorporated in 1912 as the Alpine Hotel Corporation of Freeport. The directors included William F. Jones, Henry G. Lober, and Frida Harman. J. J. Frielingdorf was the proprietor of the hotel in 1913. In 1921, Jack Morisse of Rockville Centre purchased the hotel. Under his tenure, Morisse hired a French chef and arranged for musical performances to be held every day.
Its motto in 1915 was "the home of good cheer."
In February 1922, the hotel was raided and bottles of Scotch, rye whiskey, Gordon's gin and wine were found hidden in old clothing and in the nooks and crannies in the attic in the hotel. The proprietor, William G. Schultz, was arrested. In May, a few months later, the Alpine was raided again. Police found people being served whiskey and seized liquor once again hidden in the attic. The new owners of the hotel, Cosme D'Ambrioso and Sidney Greenwald, were arrested.
The hotel burned down around 1923.
Sources:
"Alpine Hotel" [advertisement]. The Nassau Post. June 25, 1915, 5. Accessed January 26, 2017. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071434/1915-06-25/ed-1/seq-5/.
"Alpine Hotel Take by Morrisse, Who Plans Improvements." The Daily Review. March 10, 1921, 1. Accessed September 29, 2016. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071431/1921-03-10/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Freeport Had Many Hotels in Olden Days." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 24, 1938, 11. Accessed September 29, 2016. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52615908/?terms=%22alpine%2Bhotel%22%2Bfreeport.
"Freeport News." Nassau County Review. December 6, 1912, 1. Accessed September 29, 2016. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071433/1912-12-06/ed-1/seq-1/.
"Hotel Alpine Raided, Police Seized 'Booze.'" The Daily Review. May 15, 1922, 1. Accessed September 30, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071431/1922-05-15/ed-1/seq-1/.
The Montauk Business Directory of Long Island: Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties. New York: Mort F. Levy Publishing Co., Inc., 1913.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, September 29, 2019.
Ernest Ault, the proprietor of Chubbuck's Drugstore, was arrested by Federal agent George Lederer for violation of the Volstead Act in 1926. The arrest was most likely related to the sale of medicinal alcohol.
Source:
"Held on Liquor Charge." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 1, 1926, 11. Accessed January 9, 2020. https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/57480099/?terms=%22Ernest%2BAult%22.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, January 9, 2020.
Sylvester Azzato managed one of the first liquor stores in Freeport to receive a license from the Nassau County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board after the repeal of Prohibition. His store was located at 35 Railroad Avenue.
Sources:
"80 Permits Given to Sell In Nassau." The Nassau Daily Review. December 6, 1933, 1. Accessed August 21, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071428/1933-12-06/ed-1/seq-1/.
S. Azzato Wines and Liquors [advertisement]. The Nassau Daily Review. December 15, 1933, 12. Accessed August 22, 2019. http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn95071428/1933-12-15/ed-1/seq-12/.
Researched by Regina G. Feeney, August 22, 2019.