Bootlegging
brothers' joy
short-lived
By
W. T. Block
Reprinted
from the
Beaumont
Enterprise,
November 14,
1998
NEDERLAND
-- I remember
in January
1927, when
most kids
played
"catch,''
"Annie-over,"
marbles or
hopscotch, my
brother
Broomtail and
I were the
"kingpin
bootleggers"
of Port
Neches.
 |
|
Moonshine
Still Captured
at Port
Neches, TX ca.
1931
|
Come
to think of
it, though, I
don't think we
ever produced
enough
moonshine to
offer much
competition
for the Jim
Beam
distillery.
Dad
and another
police officer
often raided
the moonshine
stills up and
down the
Neches River,
from Beard's
Bayou to
Sabine Lake,
and as a
result I often
watched as our
motor launch
and cattle
barge docked
at Our boat
landing,
loaded with
sacks of sugar
and corn
"chops,"
copper stills
and tubing,
and other
paraphernalia
of that
illicit trade.
A
county truck
usually
carried away
the sacks of
sugar and corn
immediately,
for they were
the most
valuable
items. But the
other
moonshine
gear, the
copper stills
and tubing,
Wooden barrels
and gallon
jugs often
remained
stacked near
our house for
months before
being hauled
to the
courthouse in
Beaumont.
One
day Broomtail
and I, then
ages 7 and 4,
decided we
would become
"bootleggers"
ourselves.
There was a
large clump of
sea cane on
our marsh land
near Block's
Bayou, so we
took a cane
knife and
chopped out a
space 10 feet
square to be
our "still
house."
We
then selected
a 40-gallon
still from the
stack, some
copper tubing
and a couple
wooden barrels
for sour mash,
and we rolled
or carried
them down to
our "still
site." We even
had a bench
there to sit
on while we
were cooking
the "mash."
One
day Dad came
home from
town, and we
asked him to
come see our
still. He
looked at us
rather
incredulously,
but followed
us anyway.
Now
Will Block was
a very
reserved
person, not
the least
inclined to
laugh or smile
often, but
that day he
sat down 6n
our bench and
guffawed,
roaring with
laughter, such
as I had never
seen him do
previously.
Upon regaining
his composure,
he said, "I
guess I
haven't been a
very good role
model if all
my sons want
to be is
bootleggers!''
In
fact Dad found
the situation
so amusing
that he
bragged at the
store and the
bank, "Would
you believe I
have a
moonshine
still down in
the marsh on
my farm?"
Of
course,
everyone in
Port Neches
knew he was
jesting,
because
moonshine did
not belong on
the same
planet with
him. Several
of them came
down to see
the still
anyway, and
ended up with
a good laugh.
One of them
remarked,
"Will, you'd
better steer
them boys back
to the
'straight and
narrow,' cause
we don't need
no more
bootleggers
around Port
Neches than we
already got!"
Our
"still house,"
however, came
to an end much
too soon to
suit us. The
county truck
came to our
house to pick
up the scrap
copper metal,
so we had to
take the still
and copper
tubing and
load it on the
truck.
Like
I said, all
the other kids
of that day
got to play
"catch,"
marbles,
hopscotch or
even with doll
houses, but
Broomtail and
I got to play
"bootlegger"
instead. That
was something
very special
for us that we
did not have
to share with
anyone else.
W.
T. Block of
Nederland is a
historian and
author. His
website is
http://block.dynip.com/wtblockjr/
|
