Phillips County Museum News for August 3, 2017

A unique item lies in the upstairs at the PC Museum.

It is only about two inches long – but it carved a wide swath across the USA in the early 1900’s. The turn of the century found a new type of home defender. She didn’t carry a long rifle or shotgun but used her voice to protect the men and women of this country. In 1910, Carry A. Nation delivered a temperance lecture in front of the Chinese restaurant in Malta.

She explained what she did to the bars that furnished the demon alcohol “Why I smashed, how I smashed, and how you may smash” rang in the ears of her listeners. Carrie was known to take an axe and proceed to demolish furniture and whiskey bottles inside the bar until local law enforcement carted her off to jail. To finance her trips and her jail fines Carrie sold books and hatchet pins. The April edition of the Enterprise reports she found a “ready sale for her items in Malta”. Come and visit the PC Museum and see which of the items found its way to our display cases. The museum is open Monday – Saturday 10-5.