Moon(shine) Over Flossmoor: 1933 Police Report Sheds Light on Prohibition

IMAGE: The above is a scanned copy of the original Flossmoor police report from March 19, 1933. (CREDIT: Flossmoor Police Department)

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By Joe Vince

A little bit of cleaning around the Flossmoor Police Department uncovered a tiny piece of village history recently: an original, typewritten report of an almost 82-year-old moonshine bust.

The document was found earlier this year while employees and officers were doing regular cleaning of work areas and filing cabinets around the Flossmoor station, 2800 Flossmoor Road, said Chief Michael Pulec.

Dated 10 p.m. March 19, 1933, the report describes the discovery of a moonshine still in a Flossmoor barn by Sgt. Joseph B. Dineen. Happening during the waning days of the Prohibition era (the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, was ratified Dec. 5, 1933), this case involving the illegal manufacture of alcohol was turned over to federal authorities—the Prohibition Department, according to the report—so, unfortunately, there aren’t details concerning arrests and charges.

The details that are revealed, however, make for some fascinating reading. Here some of the highlights:

• One of the cars mentioned in the report is a Ford Model A Tudor Sedan, which was discontinued in 1931.
• How was the officer tipped off to the still? He noticed three 50-pound cartons of Fleischmann’s yeast in the back of the Model A, which was stuck in a ditch outside the farm where the still was located.
• Although it’s a bit unclear in the report, it appears the farm’s owner tried to bribe police to look the other way when it comes to the still. What do you think? “[The farm’s owner] then started in by saying that he thought we knew what was going on there …,” according to the report. “He said if we wanted to go along with the boys, he would see that we were taken care of at the rate of $10.00 per man. He also said the County Police & [sic] the Chicago Heights Police were taken care of by the boys.”
• After law enforcement made the bust, the farm’s owner said he didn’t realize he was renting out his barn to moonshiners; he thought it was being used for “experimental purposes.” He did, however, finally admit to knowing there was a still on his land. “He said that on Monday March 13th, was the first time he had any idea what the men were doing in the barn, as he began to smell the mash, as also had almost every one [sic] in town,” according to the report.

Pulec said he’s not sure what the department will do with the report. He said he thought the document, which is on thin, yellow, creased paper, would look nice framed if the department had an archival wall or something similar where it could be displayed.