County’s own king of the rum runners

December 17, 1917, the people of Canada gave the government an unmistakable mandate for the vigourous prosecution of the war and for the employment of all the country’s energies and resources necessary to achieve victory. It was vital for the efficient conduct of the war wasteful and unnecessary expenditures should be prohibited, and all articles capable of being utilized as food should be conserved.

It was beyond question the use of liquor affected adversely the realization of this purpose.

The importation of intoxicating liquor into Canada was prohibited December 24, 1917, the foregoing provisions to remain in force during the war and for 12 months after the concession of peace.

As the war came to an end, those who spent such a long time overseas came home to the Berwick area to resettle themselves. Among those was a young aviator, looking for an interesting way to make a living. While attending a horse race at the Aylesford speedway, he was told the prosperous-looking people driving big cars, racing fast horses and drinking good rum were in the rum-running business.

The young war veteran bought a fast car and began carrying rum between Mahone Bay and West Kings County. As he continued the illegal trade, he was able to increase his fleet to three cars. he also hired his own mechanic. At that point, he became known as the “King of the Rum Runners” of West Kings County.

The delivery of rum was always of concern to the rum runner, who had to be certain the expensive beverage reached the right buyer. For that part of the operation, the Captain Robbins gravel pit was used, with the rum being covered by the seller and picked up by the bootlegger. The consent of the pit owner was probably not requested.

The transport of rum sometimes led to losses. There was a danger of being stopped by police. On one such occasion, a keg of rum was quickly hidden in a pile of sawdust, but was gone when the rum runner returned himself. The mill workers joked it was their best year working at the mill.

Besides being a lover of adventure, the King of the Rum Runners was also a great innovator. He once built a house at Lake George and put bars on the windows. At a considerable distance from the house,e, he installed a barrel, which he filled with rum. The barrel was just below the water level and pipes were run from the barrel to the house. By setting the valve position, he could have rum from the barrel or water from the lake.

With the excitement of being an aviator in the Great War, and many years of rum-running during Prohibition behind him, the King of the Rum Runners left Berwick in March, 1937, reported to be on his way to Spain. He sailed on the SS Drottingham for Gothenburg, from where he would fly direct to Madrid. As far as could be learned, he was the first Nova Scotian to enter the Spanish Civil War.