If you are an old time Yankee fan, you may remember the jingle “hey get your cold beer get your ice cold Ballantine beer”. Met fans may think fondly hearing “My beer is Rheingold the dry beer, think of Rheingold whenever you buy beer, It’s not bitter, not sweet It’s the extra dry treat won’t you try extra dry Rheingold beer?
The East Bronx History Forum will be visiting the time when there was no beer for sale at Yankee Stadium, Ebbets Field or the Polo Grounds. In fact, on January 17, 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution banned the sale and consumption of alcohol throughout the entire United States. Unless, Shhhhhh, I know a place in the Bronx.
The East Bronx History Forum will hold its 101st meeting on Wednesday May 20th at the Huntington Free Library at 7:30pm. Know the password and you are in, but remember, mum’s the word.
The East Bronx History Forum is pleased to have two of the most renowned Bronx bootleggers, I mean urban archaeologist and investigators to lead a presentation “Bronx Bootleggers, Road Houses and Speakeasies.”
Robert Apuzzo has written a few books on local archaeological finds and guide books on early bottles. This led Bob to research the Brewers that made the beer, their disappearance from the Bronx during probation and the bootleggers that filled the void. He will be joined by East Bronx History Forum Vice President and retired NYPD officer Tom Vasti still tracking down the gangsters that ran the Bronx and the places that sold the illegal beer and liquor. It is estimated that over 100,000 speakeasies operated in NYC from 1920 to 1933, but the focus will be on the most prominent and luxurious joints in the East Bronx.
Please do not B.Y.O.B. because the Huntington Free Library is still a dry house, but join us at 7:30 pm, Wednesday May 20, 2015 at 9 Westchester Square, Bronx NY. The Library is next to the Apple Bank and parking is free after 7 pm. All meetings are free and open to the public and please view the East Bronx History Forum web page at BronxNYC.com, or follow us on Facebook
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