This left them free to unload their contraband
cargo in the northern part of the community. The famed flying ghost
was only a white-robed figure with its lower part heavily weighted.
This kept the figure upright as it sped along beneath the wire from
which it was suspended. It ran on strong wire with pulleys erected using
the same principle as a clothes line. The fine wire could not be seen
against the darkening skyline of the trees. The woman in white speeding
along the highway (three feet off the ground) frightened many and continually
fooled the authorities. The small pulleys would be taken down and hidden
in the woods after each run. Other times, young people were paid to
dress as the ghost and in some cases did it just for the hell of it.
But it was a success and restaurants were opened till dawn as people
came from far and wide to see the famed Richibucto Ghost. It worked,
time and time again, gullibility unlimited. The rum flowed and flowed
thanks to this crafty wire with its dancing ghost.
Jardine Park was a favorite unloading
spot for this 90 proof special as was York Point. The kids would put
a spike on the end of a stick and try to find the hidden cans of "HAND
BRAND" by jamming that early answer to today's metal detector into
the ground. The soft sand expeditions were often very rewarding. «picture»
Many tricks were used to get Mr. Booze
across the border into the land of Uncle Sam.
Once they welded two cars together and
hid the booze underneath the frame. This unusual looking vehicle came
complete with crosses and religious medals along with the driver and
lone occupant dressed as Priest. At customs, the young officer apologized
for the inconvenience and insisted the good Father proceed immediately
on his pilgrimage for lost souls. Most times, they would drive over
a dirt road and sneak into the U.S. without the time consuming effort
of stopping at the customs house. They even stole the confiscated rum
back from St. Stephen Custom House. - Kent County's good old boys.
Men died, fortunes were made; and this
time is still one of the most colorful ever to cross the path of Kent
County. Cars that got hot and too well known were buried for years.
Those old Hudson’s and Buick’s that rolled through the night are now
but a memory; a tribute to thinking and ingenuity that continues to
amaze many even now. Prohibition was repealed in 1933. An exercise in
legislating morality had failed. By 1939, the end had arrived.