"Country clubs" in dry counties - whats the deal?

Mark Latimour · #1 05-21-2009, 02:36 AM

I was listening to a comedian on a radio today talking about his experiences on the road in some of the states in the US (Kentucky, Arkansas and Southern Georgia IIRC) and he was talking about dry counties where you are only allowed to serve alcohol with meals. He said that in a lot of these counties instead of having bars they ahve "country clubs" which are basically just private bars that you can drink in if you are a member or "vouched" for by a member. However he said that his experience was that this system seemed to be set up to keep black people out of the clubs and he had occasions where he was performing in a town and would be waiting to get in and see black people turned away because they wern't "members" and then he would get vouched for by the guy on the door. He wasn't performing at the club, just in the town. I should mention that another comedian had said that he had similar experiences.

Has anyone had similar experiences? Does this stuff still go on or is it isolated? and...why would anyone choose to live in a dry county anyway?

JimB52 · #2 05-21-2009, 05:59 AM

There are 'social clubs' in my state that have a similar setup the the clubs you mentioned.
Some are in dry counties, some are formed to get around the fact that a liquor license costs 500,000 dollars in many towns in NJ.

Phalex · #3 05-21-2009, 06:33 AM

Round here people join country clubs so they don't have to drink with the likes of me.

tplyons · #4 05-21-2009, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimB52

There are 'social clubs' in my state that have a similar setup the the clubs you mentioned.
Some are in dry counties, some are formed to get around the fact that a liquor license costs 500,000 dollars in many towns in NJ.

Very true, and the liquor license can be very hard to get in NJ, depending on the town.

Social clubs are cropping up, especially where I lived for the past four years. We had several bars in the area of a few blocks. They wouldn't let another open, so a social club popped up. Red tape averted.

**Jerose** · #5 05-21-2009, 11:04 AM

Gob: I can’t. I already lost a brother today.
Michael: Franklin?
Gob: Well, I didn't lose him, but he's all puckered and white.
Michael: On the plus side, you can take him to lunch at the club now.

MakiSupaStar · #6 05-21-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

I was listening to a comedian on a radio today talking about his experiences on the road in some of the states in the US (Kentucky, Arkansas and Southern Georgia IIRC) and he was talking about dry counties where you are only allowed to serve alcohol with meals. He said that in a lot of these counties instead of having bars they ahve "country clubs" which are basically just private bars that you can drink in if you are a member or "vouched" for by a member. However he said that his experience was that this system seemed to be set up to keep black people out of the clubs and he had occasions where he was performing in a town and would be waiting to get in and see black people turned away because they wern't "members" and then he would get vouched for by the guy on the door. He wasn't performing at the club, just in the town. I should mention that another comedian had said that he had similar experiences.

Has anyone had similar experiences? Does this stuff still go on or is it isolated? and...why would anyone choose to live in a dry county anyway?

Pretty much all of Park City Utah is like that. It's more of a formality and a way for the bar to ding you with an extra fee (cost of membership). I've never seen it used racially though, and I was there my bros who were all across the board racially (korean, african american, chinese, guatemalan, mexican, iranian) and we all got in everywhere no problem.

billjr · #7 05-21-2009, 12:14 PM

Around here, country clubs are private clubs that have golf, swimming, tennis, dining, and maybe a few more types of activities. The bars are not usually the go to places at night, unless there is a special dance or private party/reception, and most of the drinking is done by golfers coming in from their round.

Social clubs got their start decades ago when many of the counties were indeed dry. Depending on the county, these clubs could either serve alcohol like a regular bar, or many served mixers, and the patrons brought their own alcohol, hence the term "brown bagging." I am a member of the "Moose Lodge," which has a pretty good bar, although it is an older crowd than you typically find at the public drinking holes. There are also numerous philanthropic activities going on, so that the Moose Lodge is a civic organization, and not just a bar.

Private clubs became popular in SC not only to keep undesireables out, but because public bars use to be required to close at midnight on Saturday nights. Private clubs could stay open longer. While there are most definitely private clubs that were organized to keep other races out, I have found that it isn't just about race anymore, but about keeping out people who will cause trouble (fights). Another way bars have of limiting their patrons is to raise drink prices and have a dress code. The crowd in a $1 draft beer bar is way different than the crowd at a club that allows no hats and charges $5 for a Bud.