Prohibition, which banned alcohol for 13 years starting in 1920, is being remembered at the History Museum in Valley Center where an area store was issued one of three original alcohol licenses awarded in San Diego County to sell beer on the first day it was legal in 1933.
The display commemorates the 85th anniversary of the end of the booze ban on December 5, 1933.
The general store and cafe known as the Kellogg Store sold its first bottle of beer on that date for 10 cents. The store opened in 1920 and was operated by Daniel P. Kellogg and his son Ralph. The museum remembrance includes a vintage photo of the store.
Archival records at the museum do not note the brand of beer sold on December 5, 1933; however, it has been suggested that it may have been Tru-Blu, one of the few brands that was available when prohibition ended.
San Diego Brewing Co., which started in 1896 as the first commercial brewery in San Diego County, did not reopen until 1935. Tru-Blu, founded in 1898, remained in business until 1950.
Ralph Kellogg operated the Kellogg Store until his death in 1945. His widow Eugenia, who later remarried and was known as Genie Miller, continued to run the store for more than half a century.
Later renamed Pauma Store, the retail establishment was at 15035 Pala Road. It remained in business under that name and was operated by various owners, but closed several years ago. The historic vacant building remains standing.
The Prohibition display will become a permanent part of an existing exhibit on the history of Pauma Valley. The Valley Center History Museum at 29200 Cole Grade Road is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit vchistory.org or call (760) 749-2993.
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