Utah Centennial County History Series - Millard County 1999

Page 272

EXPANSION IN THE

1910s AND 1920s

257

suspected dealers, they received warnings of his coming and disposed of the evidence. Armed with a search warrant, Sheriff Black discovered account books listing regular customers. Dell Steele and Orin McDermott were eventually arrested and pled guilty to illegal possession. Both were fined and agreed to quit the business; however, a m o n t h later, Sheriff Black caught them again. This time they were fined $250 each.49 Some county residents took the matter into their own hands. The residents of Garrison dynamited a known blind pig, destroying the building and convincing the operators it was time to move to the more friendly wet state of Nevada. The local prohibition battle continued when Deseret LDS Stake President Alonzo A. Hinckley urged LDS church members "to do all in their power to elect men at the November elections who would stand for statewide prohibition in Utah." The word was heard, and in 1919 the county joined the state a n d the n a t i o n in passing the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol. 50 Some 89 percent of the voters in the county cast their vote for prohibition. By comparison, the state as a whole voted 73 percent in favor, with Kane County voters topping the state, with 99 percent of its voters favoring prohibition. 51 In 1933 the nation, state, and county voted to end the great social experiment. The county voted 40 percent for repeal and the state as a whole voted 60 percent for repeal. Lynndyl, with its railroad activities, remained a "damp" community during prohibition. Before prohibition, Lynndyl's recreational pursuits centered on gambling dens and saloons, including a "joint" run by Scottie Johnson near the Sevier River. A local story tells of a man who was an apparent victim of Lynndyl's dampness. He visited Johnson's establishment one payday and the next morning was found dead with a large lump on his head. An inquest was held and it was concluded he had gotten drunk and fallen down and was then bitten by a scorpion. There seemed to be no connection in the ruling between the death and the missing cash of the victim. 52 The county's desire for prohibition was reinforced following a shooting spree and resulting death of John Keeling, a known bootlegger. Keeling had been drinking heavily with J.C Davis and Mike


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