Trailside Center, 4700 Dublin Ave. in Midland
For Lunchtime Learners programs, aim to arrive by 11:30am in Trailside and after your table is called, take your lunch into Room 160. The talk will begin as close to 11:45am as possible and end by 1:00pm. Space is limited in the room, so please call ahead to reserve your spot and register for lunch at 633-3700. Lunches are by donation to those over 60, or $5 for those under 60.
When Midland Went Dry
Friday, April 28, 11:45am-1:00pm
In January and February, Lunchtime Learners talked about the incredible growth of the craft beer and wine industry in Michigan, but did you know that Midland had a ban on liquor for almost 60 years of our history? Nationwide efforts at Prohibition included the use of “local option” votes that allowed communities to go dry county-by-county well before the 18th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1919. Through this effort, Midland was already dry by 1908. Although beer and wine were allowed again after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the City of Midland continued to outlaw sales of liquor by the glass except in private clubs until 1967. Join author, archivist, and historian Tawny Ryan Nelb as she shares rare photographs, postcards, maps and the story of Midland’s prohibition past from the early attempts at temperance, all the way to 1967, some 34 years after most of the rest of the nation!
