At their Tuesday meeting, the selectmen unanimously approved Scott Hayward’s application to sell liquor and cordials, as well as beer and wine, at the Harvard General Store. Chairman Ken Swanton pointed out that this would be the first time since the 1800s that the sale of “spirits” had been allowed in Harvard.
Hayward told the board that customers had asked him to offer liquor for sale. As part of the permitting process, all abutters to the General Store were notified of the proposed change. One abutter, Pat Jennings, spoke at the hearing, saying Hayward “has been a good neighbor” with his current alcohol sales and she believed he would continue to be so with the new license.
Selectman Ron Ricci noted that the change of license would not affect any other aspect of the business, such as hours of operation. Nor could hard liquor be consumed on the premises.
This measure may permit the first (legal) sale of hard liquor in Harvard since 1842, when Zophar Wetherbee converted his tavern on the Common to a “temperance public house” and ceased serving distilled liquor at the behest of the Harvard Washington Total Abstinence Society. Any sales that took place during Prohibition, from 1919 to 1933, are known only as local lore or legend.
