| Summary: | (5:03) Mr. Stanley tells about his dad's experience hauling whiskey in Colbert County in the early 1900s. This interview is part of an oral history project funded by a grant from the Alabama Historical Records Board, managed by the Alabama Department of Archives and History staff, using funds provided by the National Historical Preservation and Records Commission.Florence- Lauderdale Public Library Digital Archive
Interview with Oscar Woodrow “ Woody” Stanley April 22, 2009 Florence, Alabama Conducted by Rhonda Haygood and Patti Hannah
( Also present: Lou Letson, Mac Letson)
Clip 6 of 7
Oscar Stanley: I remember— I got this in my book. When we lived at Spring Valley, a fellow by the name of, ah, [ name purposely edited out of audio] he come to see my dad one day and he said, “ Cleve,” said— they lived at, they called it Little Rocky Hill [ inaudible] toward Leighton, kinda on the LaGrange Mountain back there and he said, said, “ I got to do something.” Said, “ We, we, me and my family are about to starve.” Said, “ I’m thinking about making whiskey.” Said, “ I got a worm, that the revenuers tore a still up and—” said, “ they had the worm—”, worms a copper thing that they use to make the whiskey with, copper, it’s copper tubing’s what it was, copper tubing and I don���t how they rigged it up, but they had to have that copper worm they called it and sometimes it’d probably be as long as from, well six feet long or something to make the whiskey. And he said, “ We about to starve.” And he says, “ I got this copper worm.” Says, “ I’ve kept it hid all year.” Said, “ The revenuers tore up a still and the owner had it hid so well they didn’t find it.” And he said, “ If, if you could get up some money for some sugar and corn malt and stuff,” said, “ I’ll make the whiskey and we will, we’ll split on it.” So my dad got up a few dollars and he had a T Model Ford, a twenty, ’ 24 model T Model. So, Alvie was to come up to Spring, Spring Creek in a boat and my dad was to drive off down on that creek where you could cross it with a team and wagon and unload, they was gonna unload it in the boat and Alvie was gonna carry it back down the creek to the still site. So, they did that. The revenuers was out hiding somewhere and they saw Alvie and saw him unload it and they also had binoculars and they could see my dad’s T Model and they drove by our house later on that afternoon, see where the T Model was parked, you know. And so, they arrested Alvie, carried him to Tuscumbia and put him in jail. And he sent word to my dad and my dad went up, went down there to see him and he was just shook to pieces, you know. He’d never been arrested before and he was very distraught. So, my dad talked to the sheriff and he told him, he said, “ If you’ll go to Spring Valley and get two good men to sign his bond we’ll let him out.” So he went to Spring Valley and got Mr. Mitchell, which is, owned a gin and a mercantile store and a Mr. Stone to sign his bond. So, he carried it back to Tuscumbia and they, they was releasing Alvie and about that time the sheriff walked up to my dad, which he knew him personally and he said, “ Cleve,” said, “ the revenuers took out a warrant for you, too.” So, he said, “ If—”, said, “ I got your papers here for your bond”. Said, “ If you’ll go to Spring Valley,” said, “ I’ll hold everything.” My dad said, “ Well, I’m gone. I’ll be back in about a hour, get my bond signed.” So, when they— come time for the trial, my dad knew the lawyers and judge by, all, all by their first name, you know, and he told the judge, he said, “ When you ask Mr. [ name purposely edited out of audio] a ques—, some questions,” said, ah, “ ask him if he’s a married man.” So, ah, the judge asked Mr. [ name purposely edited out of audio] where his home was and he said, “ Spring Valley.” Said, “ Mr. [ name purposely edited out of audio] are you married?” He said, “ Yes, Judge,” said, “ I’ve got five little children to make a living for.” Said, “ I got them this high, this high, this high, this high and this high.” And my dad told it that the spectators, they all just burst out laughing and he whammed his gavel down and called for order in the court. But, anyhow that cleared them, that, they cleared them both on the, on their whiskey making. But, my dad had a lot of friends in Tuscumbia. Lawyers and feed store owner and, and a judge and they all, they’d tell him say, say, “ Cleve when you come to town,” said, “ bring us some good whiskey or good wildcat.” And so he got— thought what he’d try to do since their distillery was cut short and right around town, around Allsboro there was a man made whiskey, by the name of, ah— there’s a road named after him down there today.
Lou Letson: Yeah, I think it starts with a B, but I don’t remember.
OS: There’s a road, road named after him. But anyhow, my dad started going down there and getting whiskey from him. And my dad told back then that he singled and doubled his whiskey and had the best whiskey in the county. Now, I’ve never known what singled and doubled means. I’ve talked to bootleggers and moonshiners and unless it meant they’d run it through the still a second time or something, I don’t know. But, anyhow, he’d take, took care of his friends by going down there and— kept a pretty good car hauling whiskey.
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