Teaching Guide

Northern New York, 1804

Report of the Battle (Plattsburgh Republican, June 18, 1813)

Brown's initial report (Plattsburgh Republican, June 11, 1813)

War of 1812 Timeline

Fighting crime

This pair of stories shows some of the workings of the law officers trying to enforce prohibition.

(Note that "Pok-O-Moonshine" is a corruption of the original native name for the mountain and has nothing to do with illicit liquor. However, the road there was a steady upgrade, making it a natural spot for law officers to set up to capture the bootleggers.)

Flying column makes arrests

Officers turn lifesavers

(copyrighted by and used courtesy of the Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, NY)

Bonus document: Plattsburgh on the Silver Screen!

In 1924, Plattsburgh was the location for a major scene in, as well as some other filming for, "Janice Meredith," a silent film starring Marion Davies. Davies and her famous boyfriend and Number One Booster, William Randolph Hearst, stayed in his luxurious private railroad car throughout filming, but entertained generously and made a major impression on the townspeople and the soldiers of the Plattsburgh Barracks, many of whom served as extras in the scenes of Washington crossing what was, in fact, the Saranac River.

Filming took place in early spring, before our story begins, and the premiere of the film was in late August, after the conclusion of our tale, but it's still fun to read the breathless coverage of that opening, from the August 27 issue of the Plattsburgh Sentinel. (We certainly do not suggest you use this as a model of objective movie reviewing!)

Janice Meredith Opening

(copyrighted by and used courtesy of the Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, NY)

1924 Newspaper Advertisements

These advertisements ran in the Plattsburgh Daily Press in 1924. We recommend that you save the images to your own computer for easier viewing and use.

Cadillac Ad

Country Fair

Fencing Ad

Jaques (pronounced "Jakes") Drug Ad

(copyrighted by and used courtesy of the Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, NY)

The Rascoe Family Tree

The family tree of the Rascoe family from "Hooch." (Note that, while the family names used in this story are common to Northeastern New York, the story and its characters are fictional. Although key settings and certain major actions in the story are adapted from real places and events, any resemblence of the characters to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and unintended.)

Download Rascoe tree

Map of Northeastern New York for "Hooch"

This map shows the location of towns mentioned in "Hooch," and some of the major roads in the area, in order to demonstrate the ease with which drivers, particularly those familiar with the area, could evade law officers in moving liquor from Canada down towards Albany. We kept it simple by not showing all the small towns in the area or trying to label the roads; consult a contemporary map for more specific information.

We recommend that you save the map to your own computer for easier viewing and use.

Download Hooch Map

Drivers' licenses were first required in NY in 1924

Recommended: Save images to your computer for easier reading.

An article from the Plattsburgh Sentinel, March 28, 1924

An article from the Plattsburgh Press, August 25, 1924

(copyrighted by and used courtesy of the Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, NY)