Stories from the past

[beemer]

Speaking of a pile brass, my first wife's father was in the Ozark Division in WW2. He rarely spoke of any of his experiences. He was a great guy and we became very close. I would help him put up swarms of honey bees when no one else would. While setting watching a swarm go in a hive he just started talking. This is his story.

He was given six German prisoners to take back to a holding compound about three miles back. They would start to scatter on the road, he rounded them up and they did it again. He was carrying a BAR and did a mag dump down the tarmac, dropped the mag and popped another in. Said you could have planted taters in it. I can't write his exact words but he basically told them they had killed his brother in Italy and didn't really care if he took them back or not. Said he doesn't know if they understand English, tone of voice or BAR. One of the six had more rank, he walked to the left of center and barked a few orders. They formed two abreast and three deep and goose stepped all the way to the compound.

[gunther]

Had a high school math teacher who went on to teach at our local university. A really good guy. Also knew a sweet little old lady who had grown up on the same ridge as my teacher. She was riminising one time and remarked that "Charlie was a scamp when he was little, and his daddy made the best liquor that was ever in this world".
Another time, she told that, when she was a girl, she had seen a fellow steal the nickels off a dead mans' eyes. That was before undertakers became a local phenom.
In the 1950's, we lived on a bad curve on the main road about a mile out of town, and the turnoff that led to that ridge. Every now and then, I would hear a car take that curve in the wee small hours, at a speed that would scare you. There was more than one operation on that, and other ridges out that way.

[Ithaca Gunner]

My dad was a fan of, ''National Geographic'' magazine and would often buy their books. One of them was about the people of Appalacia, printed in the 1970's. And yes, there were people living there like it was 1800, independent and happy to be so! I wonder if I have that book...

[farmbif]

DONNIE LAW, a local historian of sorts, has recorded dozens if not hundreds of stories from our area around Appalachia and posted them up on YouTube. this is the kind of stuff that needs to be recorded to preserve the real history of the people.

[beemer]

I have several Dad stories, was pretty much a character, especially before WW2. Here is another.

There a park in Alexander Co ,NC called Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area. It has hiking trails. In the 1920's till the 1940's it was a rock quarry, the granite was blown off the face and crushed into gravel. Not many are aware of it being worked buy black prisoners.There was a small gage track that carried the gravel to the main line. My Grandfather was in charge of the blasting and dynamite and had keys to the storage building. Here is where it gets interesting.

My Grandfather lived at the foot of the mountain on the other side. My Dad was about 6 yo at the time. He knew where the keys were kept so on Sundays when no one was working he would slip over to the quarry and get in the dynamite shack. He would cap and fuse half dozen sticks, three in each hip pocket. Then he would walk over the ridge, climb up in a tree, tie it down and light the fuse, climb down and watch the top of the tree blown off.

Can you just imagine a 6 yo walking around with dynamite today. The look on some OSHA employee's would be priceless.

[contender1]

Funny,, I know folks who used to blow stuff with dynamite,, and taught their kids as well. I think the youngest I ever knew of was about 10 when he was getting started blowing stuff up. He passed away a few years back,, at the age of 71.

[ulav8r]

The dynamite story reminds me of one from the not quite distant past. While I was a student at CST, Jack Belk was one of the instructors. He had gone to school there several years earlier and went into the mountains one weekend with one of the other students who was a demolitions specialist when he served in Vietnam. The guy found a tall dead tree that was solid enough to climb. One he got near the top he took out a roll of det cord and wrapped it around near the top. Then, as he descended, he strung the cord down in a straight line then wrapped it around again at regular intervals. One he got to the bottom he backed of a ways and shot the cord. Instant firewood of the lengths he wanted, no splitting needed.

[Thin Man]

East TN has always had a reputation for moonshine. My wife's uncle used to drive loads for the shine makers in Newport. He was a tough old bird and no one had the courage to ask about his days in the moonshine business.

Years ago a local shine maker was well known for his work. The ATF kept after him but never did catch him. He aged out and passed away. About a year later his son called the local ATF office and offered them a trade: "If you promise that you won't arrest me, I can show you where he made his moonshine." Of course the agents wanted to destroy that operation so they agreed to the offer. The son still lived in the father's house and directed the officers to that location. When the officers arrived the son led them to the barn behind the house. He walked into the barn and showed them where the "false floor" into the dug-out "basement" was located. When the agents entered that basement they found one of the most modern and oversize stills they had ever seen. Rather than destroy the still they disassembled it and reassembled it for future generations to view. The son never heard from them again.

[max it]

Beemer, Z"L. "May your mothers memory be for a blessing", and it is.

[Bmi48219]

…. I think it is said that as long as the stories are told and the old peoples names are mentioned they still live.

That’s the truth.

[MT Gianni]

My dad was a fan of, ''National Geographic'' magazine and would often buy their books. One of them was about the people of Appalacia, printed in the 1970's. And yes, there were people living there like it was 1800, independent and happy to be so! I wonder if I have that book...

There is a community near me that half the town has no electricity, only generators and solar. Most haul in water and have outhouses. Many are just weekend cabins but not all. About 225 5-10 acre lots with no power. This is in 2024.