More Liquor Raids in Pelham During Prohibition in the 1920s

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Shore Road certainly was not the only roadway where Pelham residents could stop at a local roadhouse for a stiff drink during Prohibition in the 1920s.  Indeed, on Boston Post Road near the New York City line in the early 1920s there was a tiny roadhouse then known as the "Ash Tree Inn."  Owned by a married couple, Bertha and Alfred (some reports say "Emil") Stocklasch, the roadhouse was known throughout Pelham as a place to buy a drink.  However, it also was known to Pelham Manor police as such a place.

In January, 1923, Pelham Manor police placed the roadhouse under surveillance.  On January 18, 1923, after learning of a fight at the establishment, Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan and four of his men raided the Ash Tree Inn and arrested its two proprietors for Prohibition violations.  The police seized cases of beer and whiskey and hauled the proprietors before the Federal Prohibition Commissioner the following day.

Not long after the raid, ownership of the Ash Tree Inn changed hands.  Eugene Frank and George Fisher became the new proprietors and changed the name of the roadhouse to "Boston Road Inn."  Though its name changed, the nature of the refreshments served at the premises apparently did not.  On January 15, 1925, Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan and one of his officers, Michael J. Grady, raided the establishment.  The new owners seemed quite careful about whom they would admit to the roadhouse.  When the police arrived, they found the front door chained and all doors and windows closed and locked.  Just as they readied to force an entry into the establishment, the proprietors reluctantly opened the doors and accepted their fate.  This time the haul was not so great.  The police seized five quarts of whiskey, arrested the proprietors, and hauled the men off to an appearance before the Federal Prohibition Commissioner.

Stills Discovered by Pelham Manor Police During Prohibition.

From the February 3, 1928 Issue of The Pelham Sun.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of articles about the incident that appeared in The Pelham Sun.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"Licquor [sic] Stock Discovered At Ash Tree Inn
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Police and Federal Agents Raid Roadhouse Late Last Night.  Find Liquor
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Proprietor and Wife Will Appear Before Federal Commissioner This Morning
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Federal agents in company of Chief of Police Philip Gargan of Pelham Manor, and four of his men, raided the Ash Tree Inn on the Boston Road near the New York City line, late last night, uncovered a large supply of unlawful whiskey and beer, and arrested Alfred Stocklasch, the proprietor, on a charge of unlawful possession of liquor.  Bertha Stocklasch, wife of the proprietor, was arrested Monday night after Sergeant James D. Burnett and Patrolman William D. Hamilton of the Manor force, had obtained necessary evidence of a sale of liquor at the roadhouse on that night.

Chief Gargan has had the place under surveillance for some time, and Monday night he was notified that there was a fight at the roadhouse.  [Illegible] Burnett and Officer Hamilton were detailed to investigate, and it was then that the alleged sale of liquor is said to have taken place.  The officers arrested Mrs. Stocklasch, who was later released on $1,000 bail.

After careful investigation, Federal agents Charles Berger, Ben Straus, [illegible] D'Angelica, Chief Gargan, Sergeant McCaffrey and Burnett, Patrolmen Hamilton and Jaeschka, surrounded the roadhouse late last night, armed with a federal warrant the entry was made and the liquor was taken from a trunk.  The stuff included [illegible] cases of beer, five demi-johns of whiskey, six quart bottles of whiskey, one pint of whiskey, eight beer bottles of whiskey, and half pint of [illegible].

Mr. Stocklasch was released on $500 bail.  He and his wife will appear before Federal Commissioner Hitchcock at [illegible] o'clock this morning."

Source:  Licquor [sic] Stock Discovered At Ash Tree Inn -- Police and Federal Agents Raid Roadhouse Late Last Night.  Find Liquor -- Proprietor and Wife Will Appear Before Federal Commissioner This Morning, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 19, 1923, Vol. 13, No. 47, p. 1, col. 1. 

"Alleged Liquor Seized In Raid At Roadhouse
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Boston Road Inn Is Raided For Second Time In Two Years.  Search Warrant Obtained
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Proprietors Will Appear Before Prohibition Commissioner Hitchcock In New York Today
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Five quarts of alleged illicit liquor was the haul of Federal Prohibition Inspectors John H. Fitzpatrick and George W. Hall, who in company with Chief of Police Philip Gargan and Patrolman Michael J. Grady of the Pelham Manor police, raided the Boston Inn on the Boston Road near the New York City line, shortly after noon yesterday.  Eugene Frank and George Fisher, proprietors of the establishment, will appear before Commissioner Hitchcock this morning on charges of violation of the Federal Prohibition Law.

Armed with a search warrant the Federal officers first enlisted the aid of the local police and approached the roadhouse.  Every door and window was closed and the main entrance was barred with a chain.  It was believed that entry would have to be forced, but the two proprietors were inside and on recognizing the police officers they reluctantly allowed them to enter.  A search revealed five quart bottles of a liquor alleged to contain more than one-half of one percent of alcohol.  Two bottles were found in a room on the second floor and three in the cellar.

Frank and Fisher were placed under arrest and held under $500 bail each until their appearance before the Federal Commissioner this morning.

Two years ago Chief Gargan and Federal officers raided the Ash Tree Inn, as the Boston Inn was formerly known and discovered four cases of liquor.  Frank and Fisher were immediate successors to Emil Stocklasch who was then proprietor."

Source:  Alleged Liquor Seized In Raid At Roadhouse -- Boston Road Inn Is Raided For Second Time In Two Years.  Search Warrant Obtained -- Proprietors Will Appear Before Prohibition Commissioner Hitchcock In New York Today, The Pelham Sun, Jan. 16, 1925, Vol. 15, No. 46, p. 1, col. 3. 
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I have written a number of times about bootleggers, moonshiners, speakeasies, Prohibition, and earlier local prohibition movements in Pelham before national Prohibition.  For a few examples, see:

Wed., Jun. 17, 2015:   Prohibition Rum-Runners Delivering A Boatload of Booze Were Foiled in Pelham in 1925.

Fri., Apr. 24, 2015:  The North Pelham "Speakeasy Section" Created Quite a Stir During Prohibition.

Tue., Nov. 18, 2014:  More Bootleggers and Speakeasies Raided in Pelham in 1929 During Prohibition.
Fri., May 23, 2014:  How Dry I Am -- Early Prohibition Efforts Succeed in Pelham in 1896.

Thu., Apr. 03, 2014:  The Prohibition Era in Pelham:  Another Speakeasy Raided.

Tue., Feb. 18, 2014:  Pelham Speakeasies and Moonshiners - Prohibition in Pelham: The Feds Raid the Moreau Pharmacy in Pelham Manor in 1922.

Thu., Feb. 07, 2008:  Village Elections in Pelham in 1900 - New York Athletic Club Members Campaign Against the Prohibition Ticket in Pelham Manor.

Thu., Jan. 12, 2006:  The Beer Battle of 1933.

Thu., Aug. 11, 2005:  How Dry I Am: Pelham Goes Dry in the 1890s and Travers Island Is At the Center of a Storm. 

Bell, Blake A., The Prohibition Era in Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 25, June 18, 2004, p. 12, col. 2.

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