Last Call: Rum Runners, Bootleggers & Watch Hill

“Last Call” Rum Runners, Bootleggers & Watch Hill. 
Watch Hill was called Cincinnati on the Rocks and referred to as “a lot of shingled houses surrounded by gin”. During the thirteen years the 18th Amendment was the law of the land, Watch Hill served up a cocktail of social themes. The “smart class”, the wealthy summer guest and cottagers along with hotel owners ignored the law. The regular Joe’s and Jane’s left thirsty or were arrested for consuming alcohol, rumrunners off loaded spirits at the Watch Hill docks and coves dodging the Coasties, local fishermen dragged for booze in the bay,  bootleggers and hijacker’s played cat and mouse with each other and the coppers, while the Coast Guard’s reputation was in shambles.

In the spirit of the evening, enjoy some local spirits donated by The Real Mccoy Rum.

Speaker Bio
Jack Spratt is a tour boat captain and master of the Catboat TRIM AGAIN and the re-purposed sword-boat ENCORE out of Watch Hill. He donates a portion of his charter fees to support scholarships to Mystic Seaport Museum’s Schooner Brilliant youth sailing and New England Science & Sailing summer programs. Jack also offers a FREE Friday sunset champagne charter for couples coping with cancer.  Jack has written extensively regarding the history of Watch Hill. Jack is known for his historical tours of Watch Hill and Fishers Island Sound and his talks on local history. His most recent work a book Watch Hill, 1886. Jack has appeared on the show This Old House and in the Rhode Island PBS Documentary on the Pawcatuck River. Jack is Chairman of OHS Companies. A retired Watch Hill firefighter and Search and Rescue certified rescue boat coxswain, Jack lives in Watch Hill and Old Lyme.  When not with family, doing work-work, running and maintaining his boats, Jack can be found surrounded by historical papers and books, in the stacks, or at the National Archives looking for primary sources for some obscure historical event or fact. Jack’s passion for history began with his high school history teacher Mr. Stanton and grew while at Cornell University.