Foreword: While the great majority of whiskey men concentrated their attention on the communities in which they lived, some were deeply interested in other countries. A few were recognized for their contributions abroad during their lifetime. Three of them are featured here.
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Frank John Baptiste Duchateau, shown here, who had inherited a thriving liquor dealership from his father, used his riches to become a highly respected philanthropist. His contributions to feeding the starving people of Europe during World War I earned him the King Albert medal of Belgium.
As a result of having been overrun by the armies of Prussian Germany, Belgium faced a food crisis of major proportions. Belgian Cardinal Mercier, shown here, came to the U.S. in 1914 to elicit public opinion for help. During his visit may have met with Duchateau, whose father, Abelard, had been born in Belgium. A Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB), headed by future President Herbert Hoover, was created to assist the starving in Belgium and Northern France.
The CRB purchased and imported millions of tons of foodstuffs to distribute, and watched over the process to make sure the Germans did not appropriate the food. The CRB became a veritable independent republic of relief, with its own flag, navy, factories, mills, and railroads. Private donations from Americans, prominent among them Duchateau, and government grants supplied an $11-million-a-month budget. At its peak, 10.5 million people a day were being fed.
After the war by royal decree on 7 April 1919 a Belgian medal was created and awarded to both Belgians and foreigners who were exceptionally meritorious in promoting, organizing or administering humanitarian and charitable work that assisted Belgians in need. The front, as shown here, bore the likeness of King Albert. The reverse bore the words “In Testimony of National Recognition, 1914-1918. The ribbon bore national colors of Belgium — red, yellow and black. Duchateau likely wore his with pride.
Beginning his life in America breaking coal in a Pennsylvania mine about 1887, Michael Bosak became the self-proclaimed “Richest Slovak in America.” Shown here, Bosak began by opening a liquor store and a saloon in the early 1890s and then founding a company to manufacture a wine-based patent medicine that was reputed to remedy such ailments as constipation and loss of appetite. By 1897 he had accrued sufficient wealth to open a bank.
Despite his business success, Bosak never forgot the place of his birth. During World War I he organized collections of money and clothing to help native Slovaks who were suffering from wartime conditions in Europe. With the final break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a movement emerged to create a new country to be called Czechoslovakia.
Bosak played a key role in a conference of Czech and Slovak leaders who met in Pittsburgh in May 1818 to forge a joint approach to independence. The agreement they formulated after two days at the Moose Temple, right, became known as the “Pittsburgh Pact.” As a moving force and early signatory behind the agreement, Bosak became a celebrity among the Slovaks, receiving several awards.
Since his death in 1937, the whiskey man has continued to be honored in Slovakia, now a country in its own right and under its own flag, something Bosak later had argued for. In 1999 on the 130th anniversary of his birth, the Michael Bosak Society was organized among Slovak-Americans Each year the Society presents monetary prizes in the name of Bosak to business and economics students in the secondary schools of Slovakia. 
Shown here, George Rudy Washburne founded and edited for 32 years a publication called the “Wine and Spirits Bulletin” where he became a vocal and influential leader in the ultimately losing fight against “Dry” forces pushing toward state and national prohibition of alcohol. He failed to prevail and National Prohibition was imposed in 1920 by constitutional amendment.
At that point, Washburne shut down the Wine & Spirits Bulletin and founded a new periodical entitled: “Revista,” a word in Portuguese that can mean “search” or “magazine,” connoting a publication of serious intent. “Revista” was a trade journal in Portuguese aimed at Brazil, the flag shown here. Its articles emphasized the business opportunities existing in the United States for companies that might be considering expanding here, and U.S. companies looking to Latin America.
The success of the magazine resulted in the government of Brazil honoring Washburn by appointing him its Vice Consul in Louisville. Said the Courier-Journal of the appointment: “The selection of this city indicates clearly that the Brazilian government expects American manufacturers in this section will be deeply interested in developing and extending their sales in Brazil.”
Washburn’s duties as Vice Consul would have included meeting with Brazilian businessmen visiting Louisville, briefing American businessmen on the investment climate in Brazil, and occasionally dealing with visa or import/export issues. Working to advance international trade may have helped him ease the sting of losing the prohibition battle. Washburne had only three years to serve as Vice Consul. In February 1923, he became seriously ill and died at the age of 62.
Note: Expanded vignette on each of these individuals may be found on this site as follows: Frank Duchateau, September 28, 2014; Michael Bosak, August 23, 2013, and George Washburne, June 11, 2019
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