Calling all Genea-Musings Fans:
It’s Saturday Night again –
Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!
Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision.
1) Choose an ancestor who experienced or did something unique or memorable (such as an event, family life, trip, etc.).
What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘protester’? For me, I often think of someone in a large crowd, marching in solidarity for or against a cause. My grandfather didn’t march in the streets, but make no mistake—he was a protester.
I’ve shared his story across several blog posts, each capturing different aspects of his unique protest.
For this post, I’ve gathered information from those previous entries and fed it into ChatGPT, using the following prompt:
The attached document contains portions of various blog posts about Edward O. Briles’ protests of blue laws, including his being arrested and spending time in jail. A line divides each post. Just below the line is the name of the post and the URL for that post. Using this information, compile a narrative about this unique experience.
Below is my grandfather’s protest story as compiled by ChatGPT:
Edward Osmund Briles, a movie theater owner and a staunch advocate for personal freedoms, found himself at the center of a legal battle in 1933. Briles, the proprietor of the Lyric Theater in Emporia, Kansas, took a stand against the city’s “blue laws,” which prohibited the showing of films and the operation of businesses on Sundays. Determined to challenge these restrictive ordinances, Briles began a protest that would land him in jail numerous times.
In the fall of 1933, Briles made the bold decision to open his theater on Sundays, fully aware of the consequences. Every Sunday, Briles would show movies at his theater, knowing that the police would arrest him. The cycle became predictable: Briles would be arrested, appear in court, post bond, and then do it all again the next Sunday. On his first Sunday of protest, as reported by the Emporia Gazette on September 11, 1933, Briles was arrested twice in one day—once after an afternoon show and again after an evening show. In total, he posted $300 in bond and awaited his court appearance.
The legal proceedings escalated quickly. On September 20, 1933, Briles was found guilty of violating the Sunday labor law, which forbade business activities on the Sabbath. Undeterred, he appealed the case to the district court, posting a $450 bond. Meanwhile, Briles continued to operate his theater on Sundays, racking up 12 arrests by late October 1933. The police, worried that allowing him to continue without arrest might weaken their case in district court, maintained their routine of arresting him every time he violated the law.
Despite these ongoing legal challenges, Briles did not face a significant decline in his theater’s business. In fact, his Lyric Theater moved to a new location in early 1934, boasting a seating capacity of 400 people. The theater even hosted special showings, such as two free shows for the unemployed on Thanksgiving morning in 1935, which further endeared Briles to the local community.
Briles’ protest culminated in a district court ruling in November 1933, where a jury found him guilty of violating city ordinances that prohibited both Sunday movie showings and the requirement of employees to work on Sundays. This legal defeat did not deter Briles, as he continued his involvement in the theater business. In 1936, he expanded his holdings, purchasing a third theater in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, which was managed by his niece.
Briles’ defiance of the blue laws was more than just a business decision; it was a personal protest against what he viewed as an infringement on individual liberties. His arrests became a symbol of resistance against outdated laws that clashed with modern societal norms. His actions not only left a lasting impact on his local community but also serve as a reminder of the importance of standing up for one’s beliefs, even in the face of repeated legal consequences.
Briles’ experience highlights the unpredictable value of local newspapers and personal records in genealogy. Through clippings saved by his family and articles from local papers, a fuller picture of Briles’ life and convictions emerged, illustrating how his persistence made a mark on his community and beyond
