The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center’s Speakers Series brings you the best in historic and special interest presentations from speakers across Washington and the Pacific Northwest. Watch for book signings and special discounts on all books in the Museum Store during select programs.

All programs are FREE admission. 

The Speakers Series is made possible through the generosity of our members, donations and the support of local program partners and the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau.

Know of an excellent speaker? Would your organization like to share quality cultural programming with our community?

Contact us at [email protected] and share your ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Humanites WA Speakers Bureau presents      Whiskey and Wiretaps: The Northwest’s Rumrunning King with Steve Edmiston

October 22, 2021 at 6:00 pm
Civic Center Auditorium 401 S. Balsam Street
Admission is always FREE!

On Thanksgiving Day, 1925, Roy Olmstead was trapped by federal prohibition agents and their Tommy guns on a lonely Puget Sound dock. His reign as the Northwest’s most prolific bootlegger had ended. But big questions—political, cultural, and legal—remained.

Why did Olmstead, the youngest lieutenant in Seattle Police Department history, form a secret gang to take over Prohibition bootlegging in the Northwest? What can we learn today from “The Good Bootlegger’s” story of whiskey-driven politics, culture wars, criminalization of popular social behavior, illegal surveillance, spies, sensational trials, and Constitution-bending trips to the Supreme Court?

Using photographs, documents, newspapers, and court cases, Steve Edmiston breathes life into Olmstead’s story by exploring historical context, his entrepreneurial brilliance, his code of conduct, and the profound impact of his legal battles today.

Steve Edmiston (he/him) is a business and entertainment lawyer with Bracepoint Law, an indie film screenwriter and producer, founder of Quadrant45, and co-founder of The Good Bootlegger’s Guild. He has keynoted for the Washington State Historical Museum, Smith Tower Rumrunner’s Club, McMenamins History Pubs, and on the Travel Channel’s Legendary Locations.

Edmiston lives in Des Moines, near the site of Olmstead’s final arrest.

About Humanities Washington
Humanities Washington sparks conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across our state. For more about Humanities Washington, visit www.humanities.org. 

About the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau
In communities throughout Washington State, Speakers Bureau presenters give free public presentations on history, politics, music, philosophy, spiritual traditions, and everything in between.

Our roster of over thirty Speakers Bureau presenters is made up of professors, artists, activists, historians, performers, journalists, and others—all chosen not only for their expertise, but also for their ability to inspire discussion with people of all ages and backgrounds. Hundreds of Speakers Bureau events take place each year. Each talk lasts about an hour.

To reach as many Washingtonians as possible, we partner with a wide range of organizations, including libraries, schools, museums, historical societies, retirement homes, community centers, and civic organizations. These organizations host and publicize the events.

Find a Speakers Bureau event near you. We also encourage nonprofit organizations to host a speaker.

Speakers Bureau is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Washington via the Office of the Secretary of State, the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University, and generous contributions from other businesses, foundations, and individuals.

Article Source: City of Moses Lake