In 1836,
Salem requested businesses in that town to close their doors on Sunday. A petition for closing of businesses on Sunday was covered in this blog Here. Many
years later, Smithland followed suit by posting a notice in a conspicuous place
on Court Street in Smithland, Kentucky.[1]
The notice
was addressed to the merchants in Smithland and told them that dealers in
merchandise or groceries that was found guilty of selling goods on the Sabbath
would be reported to the Grand Jury at the next term of court unless prevented
by sickness or death. No words were
minced: “For it is a shame for any man that is raising a family to teach such
or set such an example.” The notice went on to say “if you do not believe there
is a hereafter, for the people’s sake
have respect for the day; for there are people in this town that do believe
that there is a God and a hereafter, too.”
The notice concluded with this warning: “… remember the above notice for
there is a law to protect us, and we intend having it carried out to the
letter.” The notice was signed by “a Law Abiding Citizen.”
Don’t you
wonder what this “Law Abiding Citizen” would think of stores being open 24
hours a day as some are today?
[1] “Notice.”
Hickman Courier, Hickman, Kentucky, Vol. 20, p. 5, Fri., 3 Oct 1884,
reprinted from the Smithland Sentinel, GenealogyBank, accessed 1 Jun 2020.
Published 27 Aug 2020, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/
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