Update on Man Killed While Making Moonshine
June is here, and as I always say it is hard to believe this year will soon be half over. In a past issue I informed you that June 25th is now considered Leon Day. Do you remember what that meant? Leon is from Noel spelled backways to remind us it is six months till Christmas. June is, of course, most young children’s favorite month because school is out for summer. Another important day is June 6th-D-Day, the invasion of Normandy Beach. I do want to mention that if you missed the Heritage Days at J. Frank Middle School you missed a good time. I want to thank a faithful reader that brought in documents to confirm the record cold temperature in January was in January of 1912 with a record low of MINUS 25, and all the others that shared with me how much they enjoy my column.
Now because of the May issue being so important, I didn’t share the answer to the Jingle “Trust your car to” …the man that wears the star which was used by Texaco gas stations. At one time there was a Texaco station in Fulks Run which was Crider Brothers and later became M&R Feed and Hardware, and yes, the M&R stood for Matthew & Ronnie. The Texaco ad began in 1962 and in 1963 they added the logo with the Red Star with Texaco printed above the star. Brings back memories. This month’s jingle is “In the valley of the” … Do you know the answer? To let you know I have an email for any comments or even answers to the jingle, email me at fulksrunfollies@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Now for the feature in the May issue I shared a story about a Marine Pilot that lost his life in our community. To me the most important story I’ll ever write. In the article I mentioned that one of the plane’s machine guns was taken from the crash scene. I have an update: a reader informed me that there was someone who saw the person remove the gun and reported it to officials. The government then contacted that individual and told him in no uncertain terms that they wanted that gun back. Now. I can only guess that the guilty party realized the government was not bluffing and returned the gun promptly. Also, as I have more updates, I will share those with you.
In the April Issue I wrote about homemade Mountain Dew, yes MOONSHINE. I shared a story about a young man who was caught carrying in sugar to a still site. In the article, remember the judge gave him one year’s probation, but now as a 15-year boy he became a convicted felon. Several years later, he came in contact with an official of the draft board in Rockingham County. The official told him he thought it would be good for him to go into the army. The young man said, “No way I’m going into no army, because I’m a convicted felon.”
The official replied, “Oh I see, and you are one of the Morris Boys?”
“Yeah.” Boy, that was a relief! No army for him. But not so fast, a few weeks later he received notice that he had been pardoned for his crime, and his record was erased clean. Now, wasn’t that nice… until a few months later he received notice he was to appear to the draft board because he had been drafted! Now I want to pause and say, that young man would have been better off to stay clear of that official. Now on with the story. So off to basic training he went, but when he arrived in basic training one of the questions first asked by the boy’s officer was, “Do you have a physical disability.” The young soldier could not close his left eye. The officer said, “Boy, you can’t be in the army? You are going home.” For you see, during his birth, the doctor, when using the forceps, damaged the nerves in his eye, and was he unable to close it. Even while sleeping, he has one eye open and one eye closed. He and I both agree that incident was God sent. That saved his life from being lost in Vietnam. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Next update I shared the story about the young man that was shot because he didn’t hear the commands of the Revenuers because he was deaf. I have been told the young man’s name was Thomas Crawford age 23, and he left a wife Molly Knight Crawford of five years. This happened on August 10, 1935. I also found that someone else was with him. A Mr. Lam, at age 19, was a big, big youth, about six feet five inches tall and strong as an ox. This was a big help when carrying in supplies. When he heard the Revenuers shout, he took off running and actually got away. But when he heard the gunshots, he stopped and came back. He was arrested. What was interesting was when the body of Thomas Crawford was taken out, the news quickly spread through the community. So, when the officers took Mr. Lam out, they sat in the back seat and used Lam as a shield, hid behind him, because they feared someone in the community may try and shoot them for killing this young deaf man. And I must say, from some of the stories I’ve heard over the years, that could have been very possible. In the April issue I mentioned that my daddy had seen the still site as a young boy. My research shows when he first saw the still, he would have been 13 years old, and after the shooting when he saw the destroyed still, he would have been 14 years old. What is worse, rumor has it the still didn’t belong to the boys. They were hired to run the still. A terrible tragedy, a young deaf boy lost his life because he couldn’t hear the command given.
Moonshine good or bad? but like all things, alcohol depends on if you abuse it or just take a sip now and then. I remember as a small child “hot totty” when I had a bad cold. That was whiskey and honey, and I didn’t like the taste. One old timer told me the best moonshine he ever had was after he had drunk about a pint when he drove down the road he would see “little Turkey Gobblers crossing the road in front of him and they each had Pink straw hats on”. Don’t know what proof that was, but that was powerful stuff. The scary thing is that he was driving down the road. We will talk about more moonshiners in future issues.
Lastly if you are reading this before June 6th on Friday June 6th the Mountain Grove Church on Third Hill Road in Fulks Run will have the Third Annual Community Cookout, good food, good music, and good fellowship, eat all you want NO CHARGE. Starts at 5:00 PM Everyone Welcome.
Believe it or not
Until next time
Ronnie
