Local historian Bob Freehan uncorks that illegal bottle of booze to pour out real stories behind the 16 years of the who, what, where, when and why of St. Clair River area hometown Prohibition. Stories, photos, film clips and interviews about people like 20-yr-olds “Frenchy” Shovan and “Blink” Westrick – who used a horsedrawn sleigh to cross the ice to Canada and, by the light of a railroad engine, haul back cases of beer for their speakeasy-operating neighbors. It’s not just the 18th amendment, Canadian whiskey, the Detroit River, speakeasies, rum runners or gangs; it’s the real people and hometown stories of Bluewater Prohibition beyond the Purple Gang.
- May 13, 2026