Days after the conclusion of the St. Louis general strike by the St. Louis Workingman’s Party, the first general strike in the United States, the St. Louis County Council required all able-bodied males between the ages of twenty-one and fifty to work on the roads for six days each year. That day they also made another change; they raised the drinking age from sixteen to eighteen.

This post was contributed by Joe Sonderman. Joe has written many books on Missouri and Route 66 history. You can find his books on Amazon.com and on 66postcards.com