Mark W. Rummel posted this photo on March 8, 2013 in the Facebook Group “You know you are from Sebewaing, MI when …”.  He said “For sale today on eBay (at $20.00) from our town of CBWing — here’s a bottle/can opener from Sebewaing Products Company. Folks who follow this know that’s what Sebewaing Brewing Company became when prohibition began in the U.S. in 1920, since it could no longer sell / manufacture beer.

The company COULD sell the products for people to brew beer at home (which was legal) and that’s what they did. So this is from between 1920 and 1933, when prohibition was repealed. The opener itself has a 1904 patent, and this one is in great shape for being almost 100 years old. You can buy it!  Other breweries did this, too, when they were forced out of business by prohibition in 1920. The Stroh Brewing Company of Detroit began making ice cream, and there’s still Stroh’s Ice Cream around today, even though the brewery is long gone.”

Thank you to Mark W. Rummel for posting the photo and making the comments.