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 horse drawn 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.
What: Rum Running on the St. Clair River
When: Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Where: South Campus, Building T, Room 191 @ MCC Lorenzo Cultural Center (Clinton Twsp, MI)
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Cost: Tix needed
Buy tix
https://events.macomb.edu/event/rum-running-on-the-st-clair-river