Shoes and Booze ~ 1918 Prohibition Rally in Lima Ohio ~ Newark Shoe Store RPPC

Let's look closer at this dramatic RPPC, as seen on ebay Feb. 2015 :

What we're seeing is an Anti-Saloon League rally being held in Lima, Ohio in January 1918. 

The crowd ''of over 500 people'' have gathered on the Public Square, in front of the Newark Shoe Store, which is flanked by The Lima House Hotel's bar on the right, and yet another saloon on the left.

The scene features a sign that reads: ''What BOOZE did for Father'', and a man in prison stripes. The back tells us this ''prisoner'' is actually noted evangelist-lecturer Rev. M.J. Duryea ''giving old booze a kick for the nation-wide Dry Vote.''

One of the testimonials from the above-pictured advertisement for Duryea's Prison Lecture says:

"The Prison Stripes are an awful warning says Rev. J. C. Dorris. 

The temperance lecture, In Prison Stripes given by Rev. M. J. Duryea, formerly of Chicago, was up-to-date in every sense of the word.

The lecture thrilled his audience with his eloquence and interested them with his curiosities, and on the whole showed himself to be a mighty champion of the temperance cause."

Reverend Minor J. Duryea was a prison chaplain for many years, hence his crime prevention themed lecture, and was obviously not a fan of ''Old Booze''.

Bio-bits: 

• Minor J. Duryea, son of William Henry Duryee (1824-1908) and Catherine Brokaw, was born 19 September 1854, died 1934
• Married 1876 Anna Miller, daughter of Martin and Margaret Miller, formerly of Ohio, but removing to Hillsdale County, Michigan in 1866. 
• Minor was a "Temperance Evangelist," ordained in 1885, with pastorates in several Michigan towns, Chicago, Illinois, the Toledo, Ohio area and at the Riverside Church, Elkhart, Indiana. [Source]

His New York Times obituary: 

• DURYEA, Minor J. / LYNCHBURG, Va., May 9 1934 / The Rev. Minor J. Duryea, former prison evangelist and a native of Michigan, who had made his home here three years, died yesterday at the age of 80. 

• He was assistant chaplain of the Michigan State penitentiary for a number of years and did much evangelistic work in the West Virginia coal fields, Indian schools of Oklahoma and Federal prisons of Southern States. 

• During pastorates at Blanchard and Ashley, Mich., he built a Methodist church and a Congregational church at Elkhart, Ind. 

HOW DRY I AM

Ohio was an important state in the Dry Movement. It was the birthplace and home of the Anti-Saloon League, which became the most powerful prohibition lobby in America, pushing aside its older competitors, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Prohibition Party.

Learn more about Ohio's Dry Campaign here.

Anti-Saloon League Museum Collection

The Anti-Saloon League of America, one of the most influential lobbying groups in the early decades of the twentieth century, located their printing center and the headquarters for most of their national leadership in Westerville, Ohio. The former headquarters building, today part of the Westerville Public Library, houses a museum and an archive. LINK

Now, let's get back to Lima, Ohio:

Here is a great old photo that shows the same location as the rally postcard, and now we can really see the businesses, with signs that read: Newark Shoe, Lima House, and Old Dutch. Click on the pic to enlarge it. 

The bar on the left has an ornate sign that says OLD DUTCH -- the name of the establishment, or an advertisement for Old Dutch Beer?  We'll take a closer look at The Lima House Hotel and the Old Dutch later. 

For now, here's a look at the Newark Shoe Stores Company:

Lima's Newark Shoe Store was just one location in a large chain of shoe stores, The Newark Shoes Store Company, which was founded by the Morton Samuels & Company of Baltimore MD, in 1904, By the time of this 1921 catalog publication, the shoe store company had grown to 442 branches. It appears part of their strategy was taking over existing shoe stores. 

Samuels shows up as early as 1895 as a shoe jobber in Baltimore. As of 1926, the M. Samuels & Co. shoe empire was 1,100 stores strong, including the Newark Shoes Stores, Henry Clay Shoe stores and Dixie Shoes Stores.

Minimal bio info found on Morton Samuels: born 1870, died 1941. Wife named Belle Hess. Active in Jewish groups. In 1922 donated the money to build a wing at the Hebrew Hospital in Baltimore.

"1922 ‎MARYLAND - Hess Dispensary Completed ... The dispensary is a gift to the hospital by Morton Samuels and is known as the Hess Dispensary, in memory of his wife's parents."

I don't know what number Lima's store was, but below is Newark Shoe Store #348, location unknown, but a cool old photo.

In 1920, Samuels' company had an advertising scandal as they had been running ''Fire Sales'' in stores that hadn't had a fire. They had to print apologies in town newspapers. More here.

The same Lima House location was home to earlier shoe stores. 

As early as 1878, John Bowman had the ''Lima House Boot and Shoe Store'', as seen in the above newspaper ad.

The circa 1910's color postcard shows the store is now named the WALKOVER BOOT SHOP. This happened in 1896. 

D.L. Sherwood owned it, and WALK OVER was another chain.

Lima's was the Sherwood Walk-Over Boot Shop. Sherwood died in 1915, and his clerk Oliver S. Kitchen bought a half-interest from the heirs. [Source] 

No info as to why they then became a Newark Shoe store, but it must have happened quickly, as the RPPC that started this post was dated 1918.

Also, notice that the Old Dutch sign is not there yet.

We see that the bar/restaurant was called THE OAK.

From some Lima News clips, I have kinda-sorta pieced together a rather disjointed possibly not precise timeline:

• The Oak Restaurant and Saloon, was opened in February 1890, by Charles S. King. [Source]

• Charlie King had a little legal trouble for selling liquor at illegal hours. [Source]  

• Charlie became successful and beloved locally for his restaurant. By 1905 he was in poor health, sold out, and went to Colorado Springs.. 

• The Oak was soon owned by Henry Lantz who purchased it in 1905, from ''Baker and Guncheon'' who also ran The Elk. 
• These changes came quickly, as Lantz filed bankruptcy in 1906. 
• The next owners were: Corwin, Wilson, McCarty. Then Corwin and Steinle. They stayed in business until The Oak closed for good in 1919.

Prohibition must have hurt the business. Guess that Dry Vote Rally achieved it's goal of closing down The Oak.

Corwin and Steinle shuttered The Oak Saloon, and proceeded to reopen as a cigar store and restaurant. Cigars were still legal.

I am sure some of these businesses and men will come up in researching future posts, and I will update this info then. But for now, The End.

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Note: These items are part of my ''Collecting Lima Virtual Museum''. They are not for sale.

If/when I find more information on these items, I will add it to the post.

Read the Introduction to my ''Collecting Lima'' Virtual Museum Project, all about my Lima Ohio Bottles, Advertising, Antiques collection.
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