Stanly News-Herald
“Sterno, Canned Heat,” are the words on the tin cans which lie resting in a recumbent position in a dilapidated old mule shed which is located on the lot opposite the News-Herald office and just to the rear of the Stanly Hardware warehouse. More than 100 of these tin cans were counted in this mule shed, or stable, Wednesday. Also bottles of various and sundry sizes and shapes were scattered about the heap of tin cans.
A gentleman who pointed out these tin cans to the News-Herald representative, remarked the people had been going to this mule shed to take their drink or fill of canned heat. All of the cans are empty, but some are new and the paper labels are still fresh, while part appear to be very old, being covered with rust.
The gentleman failed to know what class of citizenry ae the true and regular habitues of the mule shed, but one thing certain, a tin can pyramid with Sterno canned heat as its requiem is being builded there. It is already a good sized pyramid and judging from the apparent age of the cans, it is growing like wild fire.
Editor’s Note: “Canned heat” was a type of jellied alcohol sold in cans as Sterno and used as portable fuel for heating and cooking. During Prohibition, people sometimes used it as a substitute for drinking alcohol. But the alcohol in canned heat—Sterno—included methanol—also known as wood alcohol—which could lead to poisoning, blindness or death. Jellied alcohol purchased in cans was strained or diluted to make it liquid.
From page 2 of the Concord Daily Tribune, Oct. 22, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073201/1926-10-22/ed-1/seq-2/
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