Check out my article in the February 2019 issue of Early American Life. “The Striped Pig – A Tale of Porcine Protest,” tells the story of wily Yankee protesters in getting around an unpopular temperance law in 1838 Massachusetts. They set up tents at militia musters and town elections and charged admission to view the “educational” exhibit of a rare striped pig. Although the beast was a regular pig painted with stripes, viewers were not disappointed: while viewing the pigs they were treated with a complimentary mug of rum. And so, alcohol was dispensed, but not sold – an educational exhibit, indeed!

I was tickled that at least two pottery artists were motivated by the article to create their own ceramic “striped pig” banks, as reported and pictured in the April issue of the magazine.