Continued from previous week
In July 1918, Henry Hermes was fined for not paying taxes on whiskey after a revenue collector located 60 gallons of whiskey hidden in a barn owned by Joe Hermes.
“The whiskey belonged to Henry Hermes, west side saloonkeeper, who failed to pay the duty on the liquor. Mr. Hermes was fined $500 and costs, which amounted to more than $800, besides the tax on the whiskey,” a July 1918 Press-Gazette article stated.
When Prohibition took effect in 1920, local proprietors looked for other avenues for providing for their customers, and Henry Hermes was not exempt from that mindset.
In October 1920, dry agents raided the Hermes Saloon in De Pere, where they found two gallons of “hootch.”
“Acting under a federal search and seizure warrant issued by U.S. Commissioner Max Strehlow of Green Bay, U.S. Marshal Hayes of Kaukauna and Deputy Dry Agent Sullivan of Green Bay raided the saloon of Henry Hermes, Fourth and Main streets, West De Pere, Monday evening,” an October 1920 Press-Gazette stated. “Two gallons of moonshine liquor was found on the premises. The ‘hootch’ was confiscated by the dry officers. It was the first dry raid in De Pere.
In December, Hermes was one of six Green Bay area men to plead not guilty in federal court.
His bail was set at $1,000 — about $16,000 today — and the trial was set for January.
In January 1921, Hermes pled guilty and was fined $400 on three counts — “possessing two gallons of whiskey and selling three drinks to Gordon Walters and three to Abrams Frankland.”
Hermes continued to run the saloon until the end of prohibition, but his troubles weren’t over.
In 1934, now a farmer living west of the fairgrounds, Hermes was charged with possession of an unlicensed still and manufacturing alcohol without paying taxes.
“The case is the first one in this vicinity concerning a still or alcohol since repeal. Federal agents raided the farm Jan. 8 and discovered the still, although no one was on the premises at the time. It was found underneath a three-stall garage with a tunnel connecting the still room to the farmhouse. Included in the equipment was a large steam boiler,” a Press-Gazette article stated.
An underground chimney carried smoke from the still to the house chimney, making the still difficult to detect.
In May, Hermes pled guilty and was sentenced to eight months.
“His story that he had been ‘trapped’ into running the still for a Green Bay bootlegger who supplied the money will be investigated by federal officials,” the article stated,
In June of that year, John Kaufman, Jr., was arrested on several charges, including ownership of the still on the Hermes property.
To be continued
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