The Blue Laws or Sunday closing laws were a persistent, and yes a little
bizarre, issue in Virginia in the 1950s and 1960s. It was complicated and
involved not only religious rules but also rivalry between big chain stores and
smaller retailers and between the rural and smalltown regions of VA and the
newly industrialized and urbanized regions like Tidewater and Northern VA. All
sorts of strange rules and practices, with necessary goods and non-necessary
goods, either banned or permitted for sale. I've seen a lot about them in the
newspapers of the time and in lawyers personal papers, who took cases for store
owners or were state legislators, but I don't know of any historical studies
(I'm sure there must be state legislative studies at the time, check documents
of the Virginia House and Senate).
Jim Hershman
Deane wrote:
> The Sunday Blue Laws and the observance of those laws were a rather bizarre
> time in the Commonwealth's history.
> Or, I should say, the gradual demise of those laws are what was bizarre.
> Originally, no stores were ever open for business on any Sunday.....and that
> was that; no big deal.
> It simply was against the law to buy and sell or engage in commerce on the
> Sabbath.
> Gradually, as people wanted more options concerning what they could buy on a
> Sunday, the Blue Laws were enacted which meant, basically, that stores, i.e.
> grocery stores, could open during the day, on Sundays, but could only sell
> items which were deemed necessities.....milk, medicine, food, gasoline, etc.
> Definetly NOT beer or cigarettes or clothing....things that could wait until
> Monday morning.
> So. Believe it or not, out came these large, blue (of course), tarp-like
> cloths that were strewn over any item or group of items that were deemed to
> be non-necessary.
> Seriously. One could enter a grocery store and see the large, blue (sort of
> a sky blue; maybe a pretty cornflower blue) tarps draped over counter tops
> of, say, laundry detergent or mops and brooms and household cleaning items;
> whatever else grocery stores sold that were not essential to sustain life
> until Monday morning.
> Thus, the Blue Laws were being observed.
> I do remember, one time, trying to buy something that was prohibited by the
> Blue Laws and my father telling me to put it back because if the store owner
> got caught selling it to me then the store owner and my father could "get
> into trouble."
> I believe that the Blue Laws were repealed in the 1960's when it became
> legal for shop owners to remain open and to sell anything their customers
> wanted to buy.
> This was done before 1968 which was when Liquor By The Drink was made legal
> inVirginia....but that's another story.
> Deane F. Mills
> York County Virginia
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: T Greg Evans <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 9:51 AM
> Subject: Sunday Closing
>
> > Virginia used to have Sunday Closing laws. I am interested in the
> > history of these laws. When they were passed, and how they came diluted
> > over.
> > I believe it was ruled in violation of the Virginia constitution in
> > the 1970' because it had gotten so incredibly convoluted, but I am not
> > sure of the exact date. Does anyone know anymore details about this,
> >
> > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|
