Ula and Ethel Truby - part 2

1925-1930

Prohibition in the United States began in January 1920 with the 18th Amendment to the Constitution which made the manufacture, transport or sale of alcohol illegal.  It is interesting to note that it was not, however, illegal to consume alcohol during that time period.  Ultimately, in December 1933, the 21st amendment repealed prohibition and gave the individual states the right to set their own laws for the control of alcohol.

During prohibition, Ula became a "bootlegger" of sorts.  It is important to remember that during prohibition just about everyone was involved, in one way or another, in bootlegging.  They either made it, sold it or bought it.  Ula was a "proprietor of a drink parlor" (tavern) at 921 Buckeye St in Toledo when he was arrested and fined in January 1927 for "teaching [his] son to sell booze".

When I discovered the following newspaper article, Dalton was upset because he had never told anyone, including his wife, about his arrest.  I kept the article private until after Dalton's death and then discussed this with his son, Dale.  Dale spoke with his children and ultimately they decided that it would be okay to share this story with everyone as, ultimately, it is part of what made Dalton the man that he was.  Dale also felt that it helped to explain some of Dalton's beliefs.

Apparently this experience was enough to send Ula back to the building trades as the Toledo City Directories of 1928 and 1929 show him to be a carpenter.  You will note that the 1929 directory also shows that Ula and Ethel have moved back to Walbridge OH.

1928

 

Photo of house at 1973 Erie St taken in 1937

 

1929

 

The census of Apr 1, 1930 finds Ula and Ethel living in Lake Township, Wood County, Ohio (most likely still in Walbridge), where they rent their home for $25.00 per month.  They did not own a radio which was a question asked on the census to help identify the "status" of the families enumerated.  Remember, that this was at the start of the Great Depression which began with the stock market crash of Oct 29, 1929 (known as Black Tuesday).

 

It is worth mentioning that Ula and Ethel have told the census taker that they were married at the ages of 19 and 16, giving further proof that they had lied about their ages when they ran away to get married in Detroit.

 

Ula is a carpenter in the building industry, Norman is a printer in a print shop, Henrietta is married to George Gray (however, he appears to not be living with the Truby family at this time).  Walter, Lillian, Nina, and Betty attended school.