by Jerome Pearson
June 27, 2021
When I was coming up South Carolina, there was only one bar and no whisky stores (Red Dot) in my community. As an amelioration to this obvious deficit, many folks would sell moonshine in their homes. How do I know this? Now that is another question for another day!
Therefore, instead of going to bars on Friday and Saturday nights, men in our community would travel from one house to another just enjoying themselves. Whisky was sold in special glasses. These glasses were used to measure the amount of liquor being requested. You could get a quarter shot, a 50-cent shot, or a dollar shot. There was only one marker on the glass, and that was for the dollar shot. The half and quarter shots were only estimated.
For physical protection, most men carried a pocketknife in case it should ever be needed. Guns would only be brought with them if there was a known or obvious threat. We would sometimes know some men by the knives they carried. A man referred to as “Bubber B” carried a jack knife, and he was known as one the most efficient knifers around. Some men would even carry ice picks, or if they didn’t have one, reach in your refrigerator and grab one in case of emergency. And some bad ass would carry a straight up razor blade.
I remember on one occasion two men got into a fight over a pig. Man “A” had promised man “B” a pig one Friday night. The caveat was that Man “B” was supposed to come by the home of man “A” on that Saturday morning to receive the pig. Well, man “B” did not show up on time, so man “A” left his home and went on about his business.
After later coming by the house and finding no one at home, Man “B” finally arrived at the establishment where man “A” had traveled to. Once man “A” saw man “B” entering the establishment, he immediately greeted him: “Hey “B”, me and my wife were waiting for you to come by, but you never came, so we decided to leave and come on over here. But we can go back to my house and get that pig if you still want it.” “B” pulled out a big gun, his hands shaking, and became quite formal when he said, “rather than do that, I would rather bust a cap in your….!” Others present had to persuade “B” to put his gun down. I can only imagine the fear that the kids in that establishment felt in observing this. But in the end, it turned out alright. A short time later, they were able to return to the home of man “A” and man “B” was able to get his pig.
On another occasion, two men were arguing with a 3rd man about an organization called the “Masons!” The 3rd man was apparently a member of the “Masons” and was describing to the other two men all the benefits of being a “Mason”, almost in a braggadocio fashion. The two friends were laughing at the 3rd man and was making fun of his organization. In essence they were teaming up on him with an attempt to demean his organization. When they left that establishment, the 3rd man was steaming, and felt that he was being unfairly demeaned and double-teamed.
Later that Sunday afternoon, the two friends returned to the same establishment. The 3rd man returned shortly afterwards. Apparently, he was hoping to find them again because now he had his gun with him. I can imagine him driving around just wishing to spot them somewhere. And to his good luck, those two men had returned to the very same establishment where they had the earlier argument. When the 3rd man drove back to the establishment and observed that their truck was there, he was now swamped with a rush of adrenalin. I can imagine him thinking, “I just wish they start some shit now!” He left his car and entered the establishment with his gun hidden underneath his shirt. Oh, please say something now and we will see what happens.
And would you know that as soon as the two men spotted him, the first thing they said was, “Oh no, here comes that “Mason” again” as they both began to laugh. That was the spark that the 3rd man needed. He pulled out a big gun, pointed directly at them and dared them to keep talking. His hand was shaking with the big gun. The two men nearly wetted their pants as they had no idea it would turn into this. As the 3rd man was being calmed down by the owner of the establishment, the two men were able to sneak out with their tails between their legs. They jumped into their truck and quickly sped away. I can only imagine what was going through their minds as they drove away. “That fool was about to kill us!”
Sometimes men would bring their wives along. Other times they would bring their side woman. But mostly the men were just stag. There were a few men who always had their wives with them because they would not let their husbands go out without them. In such cases you would never see the husband without the wife. And those wives who attended on regular basis were usually the ones who make the most ruckus. And those husbands who chose to come out with their side woman had to be careful. There have been occasions where the wife and children would track the husband down and put a good whipping to both him and the side woman. The side woman received the worst of those beatings, which often happened in areas where there were many witnesses. The witnesses would rarely intervene and would enjoy the fact that the husband was now finally getting his just deserts. And they would call the side woman a name that I will not mention here.
During those days, the police department was always on the lookout for the selling of illegal corn whisky. They were on the lookout for those who were making it, those who were transporting it, and those who were selling it. Moonshine was always manufactured in the middle of some forest so that the “whisky still” could not be detected. And usually, this production occurred during the middle of the night.
Distilleries are sometimes hidden in houses, garages, secret underground basements, or even dug into the sides of hills. The first step in making moonshine is fermenting a mixture of rye, sugar, corn, yeast, or other ingredients in “mash” kegs. The mixture is then distilled in cooker kegs, by heating the liquid and collecting the alcohol vapor through a network of copper tubes into a “thumper” keg.
It was not unusual that a policeman would stop a car along some dirt road or highway suspecting that there was corn liquor in the trunk. Sometimes, they were correct but sometimes it was a mistake. Sometimes they would show up at the house of the person selling it, and if they caught any inventory on hand, there could be trouble. Therefore, a large inventory was never left in the home; no more than can be poured down the drain within 5 seconds flat if it came to that.
Sometimes, they would get a tip that about a “Whisky Still” being located in a certain area in the middle of some forest. Sometimes they were even able to catch the manufacturers in the act. Other times, they would only see the “Whisky-Still”, but no one present. But because these “Stills” were often located on land that did not belong to the manufacturers, there would be no way to trace the “Still” to the owner unless they were caught in the act.
By 1980, major moonshine operations had been largely vanquished. The sale of moonshine in the South was gradually replaced by liquor stores. But prior to this time, the sale of moonshine was key source of income for many families and many kids benefitted from this resource.
The sale of moonshine has died, but the memories continue to live.
But this story is really not about me!
It is only about some of the things I remember.