Prohibition, legislated in the U.S. in 1921, was intended to ban the
manufacture, transport and sale of intoxicating liquor. However, it soon
became obvious that successfully policing the entire coastline of the
Pacific, Atlantic, and the Great Lakes was impossible. In eastern Canada
the door was suddenly wide open for fishermen willing to make the
remarkable switch to smuggling. Even with the repeal of Prohibition in
1933, rum-running remained a profitable venture in Atlantic Canada up
until World War II.
Excitement, camaraderie, drama on the high seas, love affairs, big
payoffs, and fast cars - these were the returns for a life of smuggling
in Atlantic Canada during Prohibition for those who dared. And David
Mossman's uncle Teddy, Captain Winfred "Spinny" Spindler, certainly
dared. Like so many others, the former deep-sea fisherman seized the
opportunity to turn use his sea-going skills for rum-running between the
years 1923 to 1938. Adventuresome and resilient, charismatic and
resourceful, Captain Spindler matured and endured through necessity,
hard work and tragedy, toward the end persevering like proverbial Job
through his allotted ninety-three years.
In Oceans of Rum, Mossman once again draws on family, community and
Canadian history, this time to bring the story of rum-running in
Atlantic Canada to vivid, pulsing life through his uncle's actual
experiences. Mossman's book is a three-cornered chronicle involving
Spindlers, Ritceys and Romkeys - all South Shore families. It is an
account tinged with tragedy and intrigue and shows how seemingly
ordinary folk can find themselves thrust into the most extraordinary
activities.
