GASTONIA, N.C. (AP) – It’s popularly known as “white lightning,” “hooch” and “mountain dew.”
But to lawbreakers producing homemade whiskey by the light of the moon in an attempt to not get caught, it’s simply referred to as “moonshine.”
The Gaston County Museum of Art and History is planning a temporary exhibit featuring whiskey production in Gaston County during prohibition. The exhibit, which plans to feature memorabilia, stories and photographs, will encompass the entire second floor of the museum in Dallas, N.C., beginning in September. It will be on display for six months.
Gaston County Museum curator Stephanie Elliott is busy gathering information and learning more about Gaston County residents who made homemade whiskey.
“Right now, we’re just in the initial planning research phase,” she said. “From what little research I’ve been able to do, it was very big in this area. There were people in it for a legitimate business.”
She’s hoping that residents of Gaston, Cleveland and Lincoln counties will share stories and memorabilia to be displayed in the exhibit.
Museum employees want to tell the whole story about the art of moon shining including the illegality of it. Elliott said it’s OK for people to share stories or items for the exhibit on the contingency of remaining anonymous.
“We haven’t gotten a lot of stories yet,” she said. “We still need a lot more information. Really, we’ve just been trying to go through our archives and records. To find a local angle has been difficult.”
The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution outlawed the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors. The amendment was ratified in January 1919 and repealed by the 21st Amendment in December 1933.
Except as authorized by state Alcoholic Beverage Commission law, it’s illegal in North Carolina for anyone to manufacture, sell, transport, import, deliver, furnish, purchase, consume or possess any alcoholic beverages. Any violation would constitute a class 1 misdemeanor charge, according to N.C. General Statute 18B-102.
Moonshine making continued heavily in North Carolina through the 1960s and to some extent still exists today.
Stills hidden in the woods produced the liquor, enticing people to take a nip.
Elliott says that past visitors to the Gaston County Museum have asked about the county’s moonshine history and she hopes it will be of interest to Gaston residents.
Several vehicle drivers who would go on to success in NASCAR polished their driving skills while running moonshine. Junior Johnson’s infamous moonshine still is featured in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.
Country music artists George Jones, Dolly Parton and Grandpa Jones popularized songs about moon shining including White Lightning, Daddy’s Moonshine Still and Good Old Mountain Dew.
Some of the most popular television shows of the past century chronicled illegal stills.
The Andy Griffith Show featured several episodes about illegal liquor. Otis Campbell, portrayed by actor Hal Smith on the show, was affectionately known as the town drunk.
On The Beverly Hillbillies, actress Irene Ryan played Granny and made moonshine by their home’s swimming pool, known to the Clampett family as the cement pond.
Actress Cloris Leachman reprised Ryan’s role in the 1993 film The Beverly Hillbillies. In the movie, Granny ran a moonshine still in the woods near the Clampett home.
The Gaston County Museum is asking anyone with stories or memorabilia to contact Elliott.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-01-11-12 1902GMT
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