Blue Laws have been on the books since Puritan Days in New England, probably starting out as a way of enforcing the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. In the late 19th Century, as the Temperance Movement (headquartered in Westerville, Ohio) took hold, it became illegal to sell booze on Sunday. This lead to a whole list of things one could not do on Sunday:
... Shop
... Trade Horses
... Buy Tobacco
... Buy Cars (still on the books in several states including mine, Pennsylvania, where the Liquor stores are still mostly closed on Sundays)
.
An interesting exception to these Blue Laws was the Drug Stores who remained open on Sunday to satisfy emergency needs for medication. This is also how Drugstores began to be book stores, grocery stores and stock sundry other items, since they could be open on the Sabbath.
.
I grew up with Blue Laws. Nothing but gas stations and the Rexall Pharmacy were open on Sundays; it was truly a day of rest, except in our family, because we went to visit each other. Lunch after church with Mom and Pop Borders (fried chicken). Then off to visit my Dad's parents, Mom and Pop Giles who lived in Portsmouth in an apartment that was up against the floodwall (boiled chicken and dumplings).
.
Sometimes, we went places on Sundays, driving to Chillicothe for a new treat, Dairy Queen. Of course, anytime we were in Chillicothe, Dad had to have a drink of sulfur water from the sulfur springs there. The water tasted exactly like it smelled. Uggghhhhh.
.
There were no organized soccer games, no Little League, no school activities to attend on Sundays. It was a day to relax, to attend church and be with family, and it was all thanks to Blue Laws. I miss Blue Laws.
... Shop
... Trade Horses
... Buy Tobacco
... Buy Cars (still on the books in several states including mine, Pennsylvania, where the Liquor stores are still mostly closed on Sundays)
.
An interesting exception to these Blue Laws was the Drug Stores who remained open on Sunday to satisfy emergency needs for medication. This is also how Drugstores began to be book stores, grocery stores and stock sundry other items, since they could be open on the Sabbath.
.
I grew up with Blue Laws. Nothing but gas stations and the Rexall Pharmacy were open on Sundays; it was truly a day of rest, except in our family, because we went to visit each other. Lunch after church with Mom and Pop Borders (fried chicken). Then off to visit my Dad's parents, Mom and Pop Giles who lived in Portsmouth in an apartment that was up against the floodwall (boiled chicken and dumplings).
.
Sometimes, we went places on Sundays, driving to Chillicothe for a new treat, Dairy Queen. Of course, anytime we were in Chillicothe, Dad had to have a drink of sulfur water from the sulfur springs there. The water tasted exactly like it smelled. Uggghhhhh.
.
There were no organized soccer games, no Little League, no school activities to attend on Sundays. It was a day to relax, to attend church and be with family, and it was all thanks to Blue Laws. I miss Blue Laws.
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