The Lighter Side of the Moon(shine)

Since today is April first, to get into the spirit of foolishness and such, I thought I’d tell about some of the more humorous moonshine stories I’ve caught in my net. A rough life can have its comedic side, after all.

The children in the school were well aware of the revenuers and their never ending quest to shut down the illegal liquor business that was booming in the valley. They accepted it as a part of life, so what they witnessed was often taken in a spirit of "that's how it goes."

One day in the 1950’s, the calm and quiet of the classroom was interrupted by the sound of a huge explosion not all that far from the school. The students looked at each fully aware of what was going on. One student shrugged his shoulders and vocalized what everyone was thinking, “Well, there goes my father’s business.”

Another time the students had just arrived on the playground when the law went down the valley, flashing lights, siren. By the end of the recess, the law came up the valley with the guilty party in the back seat and a huge metal still hanging out of the trunk. Several students recognized him and waved at him as he went by. He waved back.

A first grade teacher told about the time the children were having the social studies lesson of community helpers and what fathers do for a living. One boy said, “My father makes whiskey for a living.” A surprised little girl sitting next to him said, “No, my father works for his father and they make liquor, not whiskey.”

Each fall on the first day of school the parents had to fill in a form with information about their families including contact numbers and other necessary emergency details. One question was about employment. Never did the response actually say “bootlegger.” Usually the word was “farmer” and that was the truth. They had to grow corn.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen