Savannah’s Prohibition story begins before national Prohibition. Georgia passed a statewide prohibition law in 1907, becoming the first southern state to do so, and Georgia remained dry until 1935, even after national repeal in 1933. Savannah…and the larger “Free State of Chatham,” however, remained “as dry as the middle of the Atlantic.” (or as wet as the highway on a king tide). On Tybee bars, bootleg liquor, gambling, and dancing led the economy even in the off season. Tybee is a place you can go to escape, and it was a place to escape legal action well before it was a fully-fledged resort community. Tybee and Savannah’s riverfront, marshes, barrier islands, creeks, and inland routes created a near-perfect logistics network for rum running and saltmarsh moonshine-making. Historical accounts describe liquor arriving by larger vessels offshore and being moved inland by smaller boats that could slip through marsh channels and evade enforcement. That network was not merely local mischief. Federal reporting later identified Savannah as the site of a major conspiracy investigation, with more than fifty agents assigned during 1922 and 142 people sentenced by the summer of 1924. Local reporting on the August 1923 raid describes it as one of the largest bootlegging crackdowns in the country. Sherman “Moose” Helmy fell into the booze trade by accident, rigging cars for smuggling, but the marshes and waterways remained a part of his life and his bootlegging career was replaced with boating. Prohibition created demand for people who knew engines, boats, waterways, and concealment. Mechanics, boatmen, drivers, dockworkers, and coastal families formed the connective tissue of the illegal alcohol economy. When Prohibition ended, some of those same skills remained valuable in legal maritime work: vessel maintenance, navigation, tide knowledge, weather judgment, client handling, and risk management. He passed along the early history fish tales to his daughter, Judy, and passed along his knowledge of fishing as well. “Kicking fish tail,” since age 5 at her fathers’ side, Judy Helmy is one of the longest-operating women in the local maritime industry. This is her family’s story… This is Tybee Remembers When... Judy explains that her first boat was a batteau with an Evinrude motor. Batteaux were popular flat-bottomed rowboats that could be utilized with oars and/or a small motor. Edward “Bones” Tattnall rented batteaux from a Tybee fish camp, taking people out on the water as well. This video from our archives shows this type of vessel in action with Mr. Tattnall taking members of the Kaminsky family out on the water: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AeYakr9ro/. These were popular boats for kids who wanted to navigate marshes and waterways close to home. Miss Judy has a history of their charter company with pictures on her charter website: https://missjudycharters.com/about-us/ and is the author of several books. Sherman Helmy’s draft card (VIEW PHOTO HERE). Sherman Israel Helmy is listed on the 1930 census as residing and owning a home on Savannah Beach (Tybee), although he would later move to Wilmington Island, Georgia. Learn more about Women in the Maritime Industry: https://www.nps.gov/safr/learn/historyculture/maritimewomenhistory.htm Learn more about the topics, voices and music in this episode: Tybee Historical Society on Facebook Tybee Historical Society on Instagram Proudly produced by Dee Daniels Media - Podcast Production Company You can help Tybee Island Light Station and Museum continue to provide its great services to the public. You would be contributing towards the continuing education of all people who walk through our doors. All of this wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our supporters. Tap the donate link to help us continue to tell Tybee’s story – and share this episode with someone you know. DONATE HERE By becoming a supporter, YOU too will be a part of the story Theme Music: "Tybee Where the Georgia Peaches Go" This rendition of the 1926 song by Samuel B. Miller, originally sung by Dewey Holm and His Savannahians on Tybrisa Pavilion, was rerecorded by Turner Horton, TV and Film Composer for the “Tybee Remembers When” podcast in 2024. Tap HERE for images of the original sheet music from the archives All recordings in this podcast are the thoughts and opinions of the speakers and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Tybee Island Historical Society. Oral histories are, by nature, subjective accounts and should not be taken as unbiased fact without further verification.
