Memorial Day 2021 Issue

HISTORY
High and Dry at Lake Hopatcong
visitor arriving
A at Lake
Hopatcong 100 years ago would have found a
thriving resort with many hotels, restaurants,
dance halls and amusements. One thing they
would not have found was alcoholic beverages for
sale—at least not legally.
The seeds for prohibition in America were
planted in the mid-19th century when supporters
of the national temperance movement began
to decry alcohol as the root of societal evils,
including laziness, promiscuity and poverty.
Leading proponents including the Women’s
Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon
League and many Protestant denominations,
believed banning alcohol would lead to a happier,
healthier, more prosperous America.
The movement gathered steam around the
turn of the 20th century, driven by growing antiimmigrant
sentiment and women’s groups that
saw temperance as a way to combat domestic
violence. Supporters of prohibition assailed
the impact of alcohol on families and the
inappropriately prominent role they felt saloons
played in immigrant communities. Following a
resolution by Congress calling for a constitutional
amendment to implement prohibition in
December 1917, the 18th Amendment was
ratified in January 1919.
Although a majority of Americans, particularly
those living outside of cities, supported the
implementation of a national prohibition act,
it was also opposed by a substantial number,
including President Woodrow Wilson.
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by MARTY KANE
Photos courtesy of the
LAKE HOPATCONG
HISTORICAL MUSEUM
ARCHIVES
A winning entry in the Decorated Canoe
Contest held as part of the Aquatic Carnival on
August 12, 1925. Dorothy Cartwright of Chatham
conceived the idea and is the paddler.
LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Memorial Day 2021
In order to enforce the amendment, Congress
had to enact legislation to enforce the ban. The
National Prohibition Act, commonly known
as the Volstead Act, was passed on October 28,
1919. Although Wilson vetoed the bill on the
basis of moral and constitutional objections, the
House and Senate quickly overrode the veto and
Prohibition took effect on January 17, 1920.
The new amendment had a profound impact
on the country. The allure of the forbidden
gave rise to a glamorous depiction of alcohol
consumption. In many ways Prohibition set in
motion the change of social mores in America
during the Roaring ’20s. The exploits of the
flappers and gents who frequented speakeasies
were widely documented.
Prohibition led to a pervasive disrespect for law,
particularly in larger cities. Out of 7,000 arrests
in New York between 1921 and 1923, only 27
resulted in convictions as jurors had little interest
in jailing bootleggers.
While the possession of alcohol was not
illegal, Prohibition led many otherwise lawabiding
citizens to walk the line of criminal
behavior in order to
purchase it. Criminal
organizations took
the lead in the
production and
distribution of illegal
alcohol. With this
new revenue stream,
Prohibition turned
organized crime into
a major business.
Corruption reached
unprecedented levels
as payoffs to ignore the
law became common.
Instead of reducing
crime, poverty and
violence, Prohibition
Well-known bootlegger John J.
Dunne at his Lake Hopatcong
cottage, which had formerly been
owned by Lotta Crabtree.
led to increased criminal activities such as
bootlegging and widespread alcohol consumption.
Throughout the country, many resorts offered
alcohol and generally had little difficulty
concealing the illegal activity from authorities.
Local officials were often complicit in allowing
the sale of alcohol in their communities. While
Lake Hopatcong was no “Boardwalk Empire,” it
was not difficult to find booze at the lake.
As noted in “Hopatcong Historama,” a 64-page
book published for the Lake Hopatcong Yacht
Club’s 50th anniversary in 1955, visitors to the
lake during Prohibition “never had to go thirsty.”
Several speakeasies provided “cooling draughts of
spirits,” including one River Styx establishment
that provided “a curb service for boaters, shaking
up a quart of gin while the customer waited.”
In his 1976 book, “History of Hopatcong
Borough,” Stuart Murray interviewed former
Hopatcong Mayor Fred Modick, who had been
a borough police officer during Prohibition, and
Borough Councilman James Francomacaro, who
had served as police commissioner during that
era. Modick explained that in recognition of the
importance of tourism, police
had to know “when to keep
fun from turning into trouble,
yet let the fun go on without
interference.”
Confirming the existence of
numerous speakeasies in the
borough, Francomacaro said, “if
people wanted to drink, despite
the laws that said they couldn’t
buy the stuff, they drank
anyway.” Apparently, it was
fairly common for customers to
bring bootleg whiskey purchased
at a local cottage to borough
establishments where they could
then buy soda and ice legally.
Both men indicated that the
Mad House (located where
Townhomes at Lakepointe
now stand) was known for its
homemade gin.
While the Lake Hopatcong
Breeze mostly avoided
discussion of Prohibition and
raids, the lake was mentioned
in other New York and New
Jersey newspapers numerous
times as establishments
were raided, shut down and
quickly reopened.
One such event occurred
on August 30, 1922, when
some 20 agents backed by