Flagler Beach historian publishes his fourth book

Ormond Beach Observer
Neighbors

Florida Prohibition.

A time period so full of stories, Flagler Beach author and historian Randy Jaye put a book in progress on hold in order to fully explore.

On Feb. 5, Jaye's fourth book, published by Arcadia Publishing, was released after about a year of writing. Titled, "Florida Prohibition: Corruption, Defiance and Tragedy," the book explores Florida's history during the Prohibition Era, from 1920 to 1933. Jaye was working on a book summarizing the major episodes in Florida's history when he became fascinated with Prohibition.

"Obviously, Prohibition was everywhere," Jaye said. "... But the state of Florida actually had a statewide prohibition even prior to national prohibition that started in 1919."

It also stayed longer in Florida, he added, lasting for over a year after Prohibition ended nationally in the U.S. One county in Florida, Liberty, still prohibits the sale of liquor.

"So the after-effects of Prohibition are still with us more than 90 years later," Jaye said.

Locally, Flagler and Volusia County were still fairly rural during Prohibition, aside from the Daytona Beach area, said Jaye, who is also a member of the Ormond Beach Historical Society.

"We didn't have any major Al Capone-type stories or anything like that, but there was a lot of illegal rumrunning and illegal moonshine going on," Jaye said. "And then what we call the Old Brick Road today, the Dixie Highway, which ran through Flagler County and into Volusia County as well, that was a big transport center for bootleggers."

Jaye has been interested in history since he was a child. Throughout his life, he continued researching local history and when he sold his consulting businesses, he decided to dedicate himself to being a full-time historian.

"Florida Prohibition: Corruption, Defiance and Tragedy" is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and other distributors. His previous books are titled "Flagler County, Florida: A Centennial History" ; "Perseverance: Episodes of Black History from the Rural South" ; and "Jim Crow Era Propaganda, Artifacts and Upheavals in Florida."

Visit historyspeak.com.