The United States Constitution, craft beer, and new jobs.
September has been an interesting month. I’ll tell you all about it, but let’s start with October’s issue:
Pop Quiz: The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, what did it do?
Follow up: What about the 21st Amendment makes people so darn happy?
The 18th Amendment: On January 16th, 1919, the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified and a year later, on January 17th, 1920, prohibition began.
While it was never illegal to consume alcohol, and “private possession” was not illegal, those who manufactured, sold, or furnished liquor and beer had to go underground. And they did.
The 18th Amendment never really caught on. Mobsters got rich, and eventually, a good senator, I believe from Wisconson, decided to throw an idea into the ring. He proposed a new Amendment – the 21st, which would wipe the 18th off the books.
December 6, 1933, after 13 years of prohibition, the 18th Amendment was repealed. Bottoms up.
For bonus points: The 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution is unique. It’s the only amendment that repeals a previous article of amendment, and it’s the only amendment that was ratified by state convention rather than by the legislature.
Which leads me to this issue of the ECHO. It’s October, and October seems like a great month to talk about beer. During prohibition, many breweries operated on the sly, while some like Anheiser Bush retrofitted their equipment to make ice cream.
Since we’re not living during prohibition, and craft brewing has reached a cult-like following, Dan Shepard has a great story that started out about breweries but ended up being about much more than that. Jacquelyn Crace-Murray explains why beer and peanuts go together. Dru Stinson, our very own Rage City Roller, tackles Octoberfest and other seemingly “beer-centric” events.
We hear about why October is important to Alaskans from HistoricLee, and Cara Walsh Dorman assures us that it’s never too late to learn a new trick.
In this issue, we start two multi-part stories. We can read part one and two of Frank Baker’s story about his father and King Midas Mine, with part three in the November issue. Donn Liston has written a story about Alaska’s desire to become a part of the United States which will also be printed in segments over the next few months.
Frank reflects on the changes he has witnessed in the landscape throughout his lifetime. Keep an eye out for the online version of this story as well; we can’t print all the photos we would like. To be kept up to date, you can join our mailing list by visiting our website at echoak.com.
I want to introduce you to a new series in the ECHO.
But we need your help to make it work. It’s called “A day in the life.” Our goal with this series is simple: Tell the stories of the people in our community. Just people with a story. This month, Dan Shepard brings us A stitch in time. Just a story about a person who likes to make other people happy.
If you’d like to submit a name for this new series, send me an email. I can’t wait to find out who you want to know about!
Finally, new jobs.
Here’s the long story, short. LJ Kennedy has left Eagle River Printing & Design. We congratulate him and wish him the best while he is building a new career in real estate. LJ was the General Manager for Eagle River Printing & Design and handled ad sales for the ECHO.
Zach, Leah, and I want you to know that even with one man down, we are making sure that every print job is done right, everyone gets excellent customer service, and we still put together a magazine worth advertising in and reading every month.
To that end, you’re going to start seeing more ads that read: Eagle River Printing & Design • Home of the ECHO – because that’s how we fit together.
Zach is the Production Manager for www.echoak.com, but he will also be managing our new offerings of web design and development for ERP&D. Leah is the Art Director for the ECHO, and she also does the graphic design for ERP&D, supporting all our customers; and I am the ECHO’s Editor in Chief, but I am now the General Manager for ERP&D as well. The buck stops with me – on both fronts.
