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Strange but True
1921 · PROHIBITION, IN THE DIRECTORY'S OWN WORD
The euphemism: In the first full year of national Prohibition, the largest single trade family in South Bend's classified directory was "Soft Drinks." The Owners Roster section of this history, built from the directories themselves, counts the 1921 classifieds: "Soft Drinks" runs to 92 rows across its headings — ahead of Physicians (61), Meats (56) and Barbers (55). Ninety-two soft-drink stands in a city of a hundred thousand, in a directory that could not print the word for what many of them also sold. The roster prints the euphemism as the directory printed it, and the count is the whole comment the record needs.
Sources:
- The Business Owners Roster section of this history — the Polk 1921 classified sweep: "Soft Drinks" the largest single trade family at 92 rows across its headings, ahead of Physicians (61), Meats (56) and Barbers (55), in the first full year of national Prohibition.