“This Week in Williams History” is a column that looks back at memorable moments in the College’s past through articles in the Record. This week in history, a sting operation was conducted in a Spring Street pub, an anonymous parody pamphlet organization was uncovered, and Winter Carnival ski racing was canceled in favor of a schoolwide dance.
February 13, 2001: ‘Police stage sting at Canterbury’s’
After the recent closing of The Purple Pub, students are left with even fewer options about where to partake — if they so choose — in alcohol consumption. Canterbury’s Pub was one such place where students flocked to drink — some legally, some illegally — in the early 2000s. It occupied a storefront at 46 Spring Street, where CRUST Pizza is now, until its closure in 2002.
As the Record reported on Friday, Jan. 26, 2001, the Williamstown Police Department (WPD) and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Alcoholic and Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) conducted a sting operation at the pub.
One anonymous source in the article, at the time a recent graduate of the College, described the scene as crowded and completely normal before the police arrived. Though the officers were dressed in plain clothes, the students could tell as soon as they entered the establishment that they were law enforcement. “It was blatantly obvious that the police had just entered [in plain clothes],” they told the Record. The police were dressed in flat-brimmed baseball caps instead of the curved brim more popular with students at the time.
The sting operation did not result in any arrests, but four students were charged with underage drinking. After the incident, Canterbury’s “significantly upgraded its ID-checking procedures,” the Record reported, adding an ID scanner and requiring out-of-state patrons to provide two forms of photo ID.
The pub’s owner, William Caprari, did not comment on the incident. “‘We’re in a situation — I can’t comment at this time,’” he told the Record.
The situation mirrors recent tensions between students and WPD. In 2025, WPD records revealed that the department had reported significantly more incidents of open container violations than it had the previous year.
February 20, 1990: Snail Prognosis writes parody of Observer
36 years ago, a politically-active group of students who called themselves “Snail Prognosis” were stopped after attempting to anonymously produce and distribute a parody of the Williams Observer, a student-run newspaper no longer in circulation. As the Record reported, the parody paper criticized and poked fun at the Observer’s reporting. The Observer editors discovered the parody paper in their on-campus printing room. These editors, upon examining the parody, discovered that the culprit was Snail Prognosis.
After being caught, founder of Snail Prognosis Brian Coan ’92 was upset about how the group was treated by staff at Central Office Services, a facility the College used to print material. Observer editor Ashesh Shah ’92 found the parody funny, but criticized the group’s decision to keep themselves anonymous. “If you want to say something, have the balls to say it,” he told the Record.
February 23, 1949: Eph dance highlights snowless ski carnival
Last weekend, students crowded into WOC vans, excited for an afternoon of homemade pancakes, mountain views, and Winter Carnival’s main event for over 100 years: ski racing. In Feb. 1949, however, the early arrival of spring canceled all intercollegiate ski races. A Winter Carnival dance in Lasell Gymnasium took the place of the would-have-been skiing.
According to the Record, 460 couples attended the event. As they danced, the attendees were serenaded by jazz singer and film actress Monica Lewis, along with the College’s Tommy Reynolds Orchestra, musician Pappy Moon, and the Octet. Lewis, who during her career appeared in over 50 movies and TV shows, charged the College $100 per song.
“The unrequited ski enthusiasts made up some of their disappointment by square dancing to the able calling of Pappy Moon,” the Record reported. At the dance’s musical intermission, the Octet pleased crowds with numbers like “I Love the Ladies” and “She Had to Go Lose It at the Astor.”
The unseasonable warmth created a distinctly atypical Winter Carnival experience, according to the Record, despite best efforts to emulate chilly weather with decorations. “Any cooling effect from the icicle decorations of the gym at the college dance was purely imaginary,” the Record remarked. “Nor was the heat wave created by the 460 packed-in couples.”
