2003: Volume 16, Issue 24 - Historic Jeffco

prohibition legislation and implementation
of penalties for violators.
1920s news reports of his
office’s successes were front page
news. City and county officials
called on Vivian as a professional
witness for cases spanning the
state. His powerful oratory skills
made him a
requested
speaker at
local churches
and political
events. One
such address
commended
the successes
of the Volstead
Act in local
communities
in Jefferson
County. He
frequently
traveled from
Golden to
Washington
D.C. for training
or official
business trips
with other “G-
Men.”
His office
received additional
support
under republican
Governor
Morley who
created a special
police force for prohibition
enforcement. Vivian ran in the
gubernatorial race in 1926, one
filled with intrigue and controversy.
Although he lost in the primaries
due to a Republican Party
split directly attributed to the
statewide stand against the political
influence of the Ku Klux Klan,
Jefferson County backed their man
at the polls.
Speak easy type establishments,
-10-
One photograph catalogued at the Denver Public Library may be the Tabernash
raid of 1923. It shows wooden cases of moonshine dumped from a horse drawn
wagon along a roadside. Blue Valley Distillery,Tabernash, Grand County. c. 1920.
oftentimes called roadhouses, operated
illegally across Jefferson
County. The Volstead Act padlock
laws allowed closure and seizure of
establishments in violation of the
prohibition statutes. Recorded
under courthouse releases, the
petition of Mike Caveleiri prompted
the following proclamation
after a county commissioner’s
board meeting:
“The petition of Mike Caveleiri
for license to operate a roadhouse
at Perrin, near Lakeside, was denied
on the recommendation of the dis -
trict attorney and sheriff. The sher -
iff was further instructed to place
under arrest any and all persons
found operating such places in
Jefferson County without license.”
Twilight Gardens, off West Colfax
below the Golden Hill Cemetery
in the Daniel’s Gardens area,
petitioned a number of times for a
license to operate a soft drink parlor.
Each petition was denied and
Twilight
Gardens
portrayed as
a public nuisance
when
open. The
establishment
drew
the attention
of the local
PTA and
upscale
Wide Acre
residents
leading to
several raids
and convictions
for
prohibition
violations
and lewd
exhibitionism
of scantily
clothed
ladies hanging
out the
upper windows.
In
June of
1925 the
Republican reported law enforcement
officials had been requested
to watch Twilight Gardens with
authority under the
policy of keeping Jefferson County
clean.
The illegal production and sale
of alcohol was lucrative business
for the bootlegger and the county
courts. An average fine assessed by
the Jefferson County courts
ranged from two to three hundred