Sunday’s column: Rocky Mount abuzz about new moonshine movie
A historical shot of some moonshiners under arrest hanging on the wall at the Franklin County Historical Society in Rocky Mount. | Shot by Dan
Head south down U.S. 220 to Rocky Mount, and soon you’ll probably find yourself crossing the W.N. Angle Memorial Bridge near the center of town.
It rises high over the railroad tracks, above a stretch of factory buildings and warehouses that make up Ply Gem, a window-manufacturing outfit that’s one of the town’s biggest employers.
A stone’s throw down the same block you’ll find the oddly shaped art gallery The Grainery, a building that has not a single right angle.
These are pretty much all that remain of Franklin Grocery & Grain, a once-thriving former wholesale operation that for decades supplied foodstuffs and other items to stores all over Franklin County and beyond.
The business played another key role in Franklin County commerce. It bought sugar by the train and truckload, hundreds of tons annually in the late 1940s and 1950s and beyond.
Most of that wound up in stills deep in surrounding wooded hollows, in places like Snow Creek, Ferrum and Endicott. The result was the product the county remains most famous for: untaxed corn whiskey, which fueled Franklin’s self-appointed reputation as “Moonshine Capital of the World.”
Most of those stills are gone now, but moonshine is still a big business in Rocky Mount.
You can see that in the T-shirts and bumper stickers for sale around town, and in the photos of bootleggers that proudly hang on the barroom walls at Ippys, one of the Rocky Mount’s most popular restaurants.
Peggie Foster, 82, still owns the real estate of the former Franklin Grocery & Grain, a food distributor owned by her husband, Pete Foster, and his father, E.G. Foster. The company supplied hundreds of tons of sugar annually to the moonshiners who made illegal whiskey in the Franklin County woods. | Shot by Dan
You can find it on the bookshelves over at the Franklin County Historical Society. There, one best seller is Matt Bondurant’s “The Wettest County in the World,” a novelized biography of the author’s infamous moonshining relations, the Bondurant brothers.
Other recent volumes include “Spirits of Just Men — Mountaineers, Liquor Bosses, and Lawmen in the Moonshine Capital of the World” by Charles D. Thompson Jr. and “Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw’s Adventures in Moonshine,” by Max Watman.
And you can see it each April, when hundreds of tourists descend on the small town for its annual Moonshine Express Tour, which started in 2005 and this year drew about 300 participants from seven states and one foreign country.
“It used to be, we made money making moonshine,” said Linda Stanley, special projects coordinator for the historical society. “Now we make money talking about it.”
That mini-tourism industry may be small potatoes compared to what’s coming, however. Because Franklin County and its most famous product are two chief characters in a major Hollywood movie that hits theaters next week. It will put Rocky Mount on the map like never before.
Based on “The Wettest County in the World,” the movie “Lawless” stars Gary Oldham, Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain and was a selection for the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It opens in thousands theaters across this country Wednesday.
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN HERE.
August 26, 2012 - 6:00 AM
Franklin County
We Do More Than Shine
(sound ON)
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http://roanokeslant.org/FranklinCounty-WeDoMoreThanShine/
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Cannot wait for this movie.
I read the novel “The Wettest County in the World” shortly after it came out and also read Keister(sp?) Greer’s compilation surrounding the moonshing conspiracy trials from the 1930′s.
It’s not so much that people made moonshine as it was the totally corrupt influence of law enforcement in regulating and promoting the industry. It was great deal for law enforcement. They got kickbacks for the equipment they provided to moonshiners to ply their trade, and if the moonshiners balked, they busted them and told the Feds they were doing a good job at law enforcement. That arrangement seems to have persisted far longer than the 1930′s.
If you think it’s a wonderfully quaint industry, you need to think again. It was corrupt as the day is long and promoted the kinds of behaviors and outcomes that come naturally to any organized crime endeavor.
Looking forward to seeing the movie though. I thought the book was a decently told story and enjoyed it for its regional references and familiar surnames.
Why in 2012 is moonshine still illegal?! Wait, it’s 9:30am on a Sunday, the people who need to be answering the question are on their way to Sunday School to learn of the evils of liquor and how Satan controls people with it.
Speaking of movies, I notice the Grandin isn’t carrying “2016: The Movie”. I recall in 2004 when they were one of the few that showed Michael Moore’s pack of lies, the Grandin said it wasn’t for political reasons. Turns out it was. Knock me over with a feather.
Fortunately a lot of theaters around the state are showing this thoroughly-researched well-made film (produced by the same guy who did Schindler’s List) including our own Valley View Grand.
It’s not illegal if it’s sold through legitimate channels, JohnW. It’s only illegal when it bypasses the tax man.
There’s a little piece in the NYer this week with one of their writers meeting with Bondurant in some restaurant in NYC. During the interview he’s drinking some shine that was made in Culpeper, but by some guy who went legit. On the reality show “Moonshiners” (if you don’t watch it, you should) the main guy looks into going legit but when he finds out how much it costs and what’s involved, he doesn’t pursue it.
The making of corn liquor is, in and of itself, not illegal John Wilburn. But if you are making it to sell you have to pay appropriate state and federal taxes to do so. That’s usually where the illegality comes into play.
John,
Below is a link to a 2007 article about the legality of making spirits. My earlier comment was wrong to the extent that you can’t make shine for your own consumption. You can make wine and beer up to a limit for your own consumption.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/10/why_is_moonshine_against_the_law.html
Keister Greer’s book was a greatb detailed compilation of moonshining in the 20′s and 30′s but is a slioghtly tedious read because of the voluminous footnoting which continuously deflects from the continuity of the narrative. I especially enjoyed it however because of the many conections to long ago relatives and people from whom I heard many of the legends inthe 40′s and 50′s. It is a period of rich local color and a great story of the corruption that existed in the politics and law enforcement of the period. Shades of Euel Hunt!
#5 Warning!! Attempted troll hijacking of thread in progress!!!
John,
Obviously the government has a big interest in the tax revenue generated from liquor production, but the lack of safety controls cited in Ron’s link above are also a legitimate concern. It’s also probably a more relevant day to day concern for the average person. I know we had two classmates in high school end up in the hospital after drinking some homemade moonshine at a party.
Here’s a link to a good source of legit shine if your interested in obtaining some. The flavors are really tasty and the White Lightning really has a kick.
http://www.olesmokymoonshine.com/
I think they sell that Ole Smokey at the ABC store.
We get the Apple Pie at Xmas time through a friend who lives at the lake. Put it in a crockpot with some lemon slices and cinnamon sticks and it’s darned tasty. A friend of mine who’s an accupuncturist often gets paid in shine, and she’s figured out how to recreate a close cousin of Kahlua and Baileys with it.
I’ve had customers give me mason jars of moonshine…tastes like what I imagine rocket fuel would, even the fruit-flavored varieties. Not my drinking preference, but the folks that make it are “interesting”, that’s for sure. Looking forward to this film.
You’re right Kristen. They do sell it at the ABC. The only drawback is that the don’t ship the seasonal flavors like hunch punch, grape or lemonade. You have to be in Gatlinburg to get those. Good stuff all the way around.
I look forward to John Hillcoat’s new film, Lawless. From what I understand it was a small budget compared to the larger films. But having the Weinstein Company behind it will help in getting the word out about this film.
One of my hobbies is to listen to older folks tell their stories. I have one friend who use to be a mechanic and use to work on cars. This was maybe in the early 1950’s. He loves to tell me how he out ran cops back then, he had a real souped up engine. He never told me he ran moonshine but one can read between the lines.
I for the life of me cannot stand the taste but I know old timers say it’s good to have some everyday. I like grappa better. I got a bottle of it when I was over in Italy. These truck drivers gave it to me, they were a trip. They got me snickered and we were insulting Daddy Bush all night long.
I guess the better question, then, is why is it taxed so highly or possibly over-regulated? I’d be willing to be there’s some religious nuttery adding to the barrier.
Yesterday morning I was out very early setting up for a class and stopped by the 7-11 on Draper Road in Blacksburg. While there, I saw a guy try to open the door of the cooler next to me, but couldn’t. Turns out the coolers with alcoholic beverages are locked until a certain time of the day. Absurd, nanny, bible-banging guilt nonsense interfering with peoples’ free will to purchase legal products in full effect.
A different car on the same crazy train carried the ban on Sunday hunting.
Geez, at least stores are now open on Sundays. I remember the first grocery store in my hometown that dared to open from 1-6pm on Sunday… oh, the horror! I remember asking as a child when the restaurant workers went to church? That was never really answered satisfactority. I guess some of “God’s people” get a wink and pass. I also can’t ever recall seeing a campaign to get Richard Petty to get out of that racecar and spend Sunday afternoon in chuch instead in the name of saving his soul.
The unending hypocricy of the majority of the “born again”.
John,
While I respect your right to be disdainful of religion and its practice, it is my view that our nation, and the world for that matter, would be a much better place if those politicians who are professing Christians would simply practice what they preach.
Ron, I think we’d be better off if the erronious notion that Christianity is the missing ingredient that turns bad people into good were more widely dispelled. Peer pressure to believe there is no inherent good in people without it has badly corrupted the brand.
You’re right in so much that those politicians who profess to be Christians should back it up, but I think we’d all be better off if there were fewer of them in the first place.
JW,
I don’t think it is taxed any higher than any other liquor. I think the regulations are too much cost to bear for the small businessman (who is trying to make it on his own..lol).
btw… not all Christians are (supposed) teetotalers. Many of us remember the “first” miracle of Jesus.
A good rule of thumb is moderation…
mike O, you’re requiring people to agree on what constitutes a “real Christian”. Cafeteria Catholics, Buffet Baptists, Convenient Christians, et al…. far more of them than the folks they want us to believe they are.
Norway, one of the most atheistic countries in the world, also ranks near or at the top in many categories, like peace, standard of living, education, GDP per capita, and so on.
“John Wilburn says:
mike O, you’re requiring people to agree on what constitutes a “real Christian”. Cafeteria Catholics, Buffet Baptists, Convenient Christians, et al…. far more of them than the folks they want us to believe they are.
Posted on August 26th, 2012″
Along those lines, even among devout Christians who walk the talk, so to speak, there are differing opinions and interpretations of the Bible. A friend of mine says if you sit three Christians down to discuss one Bible verse, you’ll get three different takes on it.
Norway, one of the most atheistic countries in the world, also ranks near or at the top in many categories, like peace, standard of living, education, GDP per capita, and so on.
What does that have to do with the OP? Are you hijacking this thread?
Norway, one of the most atheistic countries in the world, also ranks near or at the top in many categories, like peace, standard of living, education, GDP per capita, and so on.
Yawn. We’ve been over this before. Lily-white, cool maritime climate, small geographic area, abundant natural energy, and small population. It’s pretty easy to do well with those conditions.
@18 John “…Peer pressure to believe there is no inherent good in people without it has badly corrupted the brand.”
Well said John. Love and the golden rule is all the “religion” we need. Priestcrafters annex their man-made inventions to that innate truth to obtain money and power. Since the dawn of time, women have been selling physical comfort while men have been selling spiritual comfort. We can argue which profession is actually the oldest, but we know what the profession is. (Some will say that preachers are nice. Well duh, that’s part of the job. They should legitimate employment and help their neighbors for free like the rest of us do.)
Re: Comment by 13 Suns — August 26, 2012 @ 9:43 pm
And here I thought it was four or five different takes on it.
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Elena Derosa
You’ve clearly never tasted real “apple pie” It’s as far away from “rocxket fuel” as you could imagine. It goes down smooth and clean
and is not at all harsh. I have seen some moonshine in mason jars that would curl your hair and make your teeth chatter, but not the apple pie made by the masters who know how to do it !
Dave Hicks:
Four, five, or more is probably more accurate, I agree!
A wise older gentleman from Endicott once gave me some very good advice on bootleg liquor…”Moonshine is produced to sell, not to drink. If you want a decent drink of whiskey, wait till the local ABC store opens on Monday and lay your money down on some Jack Daniels”. This from a man who had a long history of producing the stuff and knew first hand what REALLY goes on around a still site.
And Dave Hicks, not to break your heart about that delicious apple pie you’re bragging about, truth is about 99% of that stuff you pay a king’s ransome for contains 0% illegal whiskey. Most folks that produce all the apple pie and assorted flavors during the holidays use pure grain alcohol to give it the kick it needs to pass it off as a bootleg mixture. And then they sell it for 50 bucks a quart to suckers like you.
dave, the apple pie we get is delicious.
And Huntersdad…I pay $20/quart, and if it’s not full of rotgut, all the better. How exactly is someone a ‘sucker’ for paying a price they’re ok with for a product they want? Interesting.
#24 “Yawn. We’ve been over this before. … It’s pretty easy to do well with those conditions.”
Yawn, you are so predictable. I almost warned you not to use this reply but I thought I’d see if you’d be dumb enough to step into it. Sure nuff, here you are.
Your reply has absolutely nothing at all to do with my point of how a country can do so well without the absolute “necessity” of believing in God. According to the religious hard cores, there’s no way a country can be 70 percent atheist and be so blessed. It’s just not possible. Or are you saying you can overcome that lack of belief by being really, really white?
Now that I’ve schooled you, let’s see you reply to the point, troll suzie.
#23 “Are you hijacking this thread?”
Why of course not, suzie, that’s your specialty, although nobody would allow it this time so now you’re frustrated and pouting.
If you look back, religion had already been brought into the thread.
This film looks to be an even more unrealistic depiction of Franklin Co. life in the 30′s than the book, which was not very accurate. For some people, I’m sure it’ll get an enthusiastic embrace, just for the Walker Percy “Moviegoer” type sense of validation it offers them. But in making Rocky Mount out to be like Capone’s Chicago, historical reality loses.
First time I ever had moonshine that I knew for a fact was from Franklin County, I was in Detroit.
Huntersdad, where do people get legal grain alcohol in Virginia? I thought the ABC got rid of that several years ago.
It’s not hard to find if you know the right people. Making apple pie is an art and few have mastered it. Took us a few runs to get it right but we got it down. You can have moonshine at bars in Tennessee.