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"Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Port Perry bar operators in gunfight with liquor inspectors at Myrtle machine salesman were hired. In the early winter, Dennin and McRae pros- ecuted a number of hotels and taverns in Whitby and then worked their way north. After laying a number of charges in Brooklin on December 14, Dennin and McRae headed toward Port Perry. Word of their pending arrival reached Brown and Lattimore in Port Perry. Brown and Lattimore abandoned their rivalry, pocketed their revolvers and enlisted the aid of Fred Corbin, also of the St. Charles Hotel, and Thomas Trebell. Reinforcing their animosity toward the detectives and their mission with a substantial amount of whisky, the well-fortified quartet set off in a buggy to teach the detectives a lesson or two. Word of the "welcoming committee" reached Dennin and McRae and they decided to avoid a confrontation by making a hasty retreat to Myrtle and to catch the 7:12 express train to Toronto. ~ By 7:00 they had entered the station waiting room to wait for the train. A number of other railway passengers were in the station including the station agent Joseph Scott, J. A. Mulligan, president of the Toronto Branch of the Irish National League and several PAR NEA RATHI oy hss other railway patrons. : } The party from Port Perry arrived at Myrtle Station where the shoot-out occurred December 14, 1887 the station at 7:09. Brown entered the waiting room and beckoned to McRae and Dennin to come to the door. As Sketches of Scugog by Paul Arculus Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star each month. dl TT ---- In Port Perry as elsewhere in the province, hotel owners got around the legislation by renting their bars to people who would in turn serve alcohol to their clients, thus absolving the hotel keepers of the responsibilities if caught. HE PROBLEMS of drunken- ness have been with us since someone first found out how to produce alcohol. In the early days of this nation the excessive alcohol con- sumption was a serious problem. The Oriental Hotel, later to become the Sebert House. This is where William Lattimore leased the bar. Bullets rattled everywhere and Brown dropped to the station platform with blood pouring from three wounds. Dennin grabbed Brown's revolver and the gun fire continued. The battle went on for as much as three minutes. With Brown injured, the other attackers, except for Trebell, beat a hasty retreat. Once the gun fire Bao lahat 3K wits i It prompted Susanna Moodie to At the St. Charles Hotel in Port Perry, "write, in 1852; "Alas, this frightful vice of drinking prevails throughout the colony to an alarming extent. Professional gentlemen are not George Brown leased the bar from the owner Henry Charles. Across the road at the rival Oriental Hotel (later to be named the Sebert House), William soon as Dennin reached the door, Brown grabbed him by the lapel of his coat and ordered him to "take a walk with me." Dennin, who was much taller, had stopped, Trebell picked up the limp body of Brown and carried him to the rear of the station. It became apparent that Brown was still alive but had been seriously wound- ed with two bullets in his chest and one in his leg. The nearest doctor was at Brooklin and was eventually called. Five days later, Lattimore, Trebell and Corbin were arrested and charged with conspiracy. But the detectives Dennin and McRae were also charged with causing bodily harm. The case was remanded and then thrown out court for lack of evidence! Brown fortunately recovered. His action in preventing the government detectives from attempting to close the bars of Port Perry made him an instant hero. Mr. Mundy, owner of the Port Perry Standard was well known for his support for more readily accessible alcohol. It is unfortunate that the Port Perry news- papers for the period 1884 to 1890 no longer exist, thus depriving us of Port Perry's editorial reaction to the event. Nevertheless, the details are recorded in the Whitby Chronicle and the Oshawa Vindicator. On December the first, 1926, Ontario voters finally voted in favour of the sale of liquor. The following year, those who could afford the $2.00 permit were able to purchase liquor at government outlets. Port Perry however, voted repeatedly to keep such stores outside the commu- nity. It was not until November 1957 that Port Perry residents voted in favour of outlets for beer and liquor. The stores opened the following June. ashamed of being seen issuing from i the bar room of a tavern in the early morning, or of being caught reeling home from the same sink of iniquity 'late at night." In his book Scugog and its Environs, ' Weir states: "Many a man drank him- : self off his farm in those days and there 'were unprincipled barkeepers who found pleasure in seeing the debts of . certain customers pile up, and in antic- | ipating the day when they should be i enriched by the possession of another | farm. Many a loyal wife and mother had to endure the trial brought upon "her by drink, a trial far greater than hunger or isolation." + In 1853, a law was passed which 'allowed each municipality to decide | ;whether or not whiskey could be sold. | 'By 1858 there were Temperance {Societies in Prince Albert, Port Perry .and Uxbridge. Brooklin had two! In spite of this, Reach Township had 'twenty-four places where one could 'buy liquor according to Samuel Farmer in his Shores of Scugog. The Canada Temperance Act was passed in 1878. It was also known as ithe Scott Act and in it, municipalities iwere given the right to prohibit the retail sale of alcohol. It should be noted 'that the consumption of alcohol was inot prohibited. In 1885, Ontario County ivoted in favour of prohibition. Lattimore rented the bar. Both gen- jerked himself free and refused to com. tlemen served liquor illegally to their ply. respective hotel clients. Lattimore and Brown immediately In 1887, the government decided to drew their revolvers. McRae quickly appoint detectives to enforce the Scott reached for his revolver. Who fired first Act. In Ontario County and the adjacent was not clear but a gun battle broke areas, John S. Dennin and William out. Everyone present ran for cover. McRae, a 23-year-old former sewing Scott locked himself in his office. The St Charles Hotel where George Brown leased the bar and served liquor illegally to his clients.