Political+Concentration+and+Diversification

Mrs. Letterly's Saloon During the 1870s, Prohibition was a political and social movement that was spreading rampantly throughout the nation. The Prohibition Party was founded in 1869, and this movement quickly became localized. Even in small towns, this was a way for females to get involved in political issues and spread their religious beliefs of sobriety.

In 1874, 241 South Court Street was better known as Mrs. Saloon. Prohibition didn't begin until the 18th Amendment was enacted in 1920, but Local Option Laws made it possible for local governments to declare Prohibition in their towns. In the 1870s, Medina was at this point. The reason saloons still existed was because the local ordinances were not heavily enforced.
 * > Image Title » || Temperance Crusaders in the Snow ||
 * > Source » || The Ohio Historical Society ||
 * > Number » || SC 5354, AL00064 ||
 * > Collection » || Temperance (Whiskey Crusade) ||
 * > Artist » || Fred S. Crowell ||

Local bars, or "tipling shops" as they were sometimes called, were places that were targeted by the Women's Temperance League of Medina. The organization made several trips to Mrs. Letterly's. On the first visit, Mrs. Letterly facetiously agreed to stop selling liquor - //if// the organization would reimburse her for all of her alcohol. The next time that the Temperance League darkened Mrs. Letterly's front stoop, she invited them in. Trying to pass the blame, she explained to the women that her alcohol sales weren't the town's real problem, the real problem was those in Medina who brewed their own hard cider in the privacy of their own cellars.

The Temperance League returned twice more to sing hymns and pray outside of the saloon. Upon their final visit, Mrs. Letterly finally gave up her resistance. When the virtuous Prohibition women raised the money to buy Mrs. Letterly's alcohol, the bar was converted into a restaurant. Meanwhile, the League took Mrs. Letterly's liquor and poured it out in the street gutters.

But the story ends with a note on the value of community during this time period. Because the Temperance League was so grateful to Mrs. Letterly, they wanted to repay her for her sacrifice of alchol sale; this was probably where most of her business had come from. On Decoration Day, the women organized a sort of recognition dinner for Mrs. Letterly in her restaurant, where new customers came to honor her and buy 75¢ meals.