Moonshine

Also known by terms like white lightning, homebrew, white whiskey, hooch, and mountain dew, moonshine was the usual term used to describe a high-proof, corn liquor that was distilled illegally. The word "moonshine" is believed to have been coined in the Appalachian Mountains and derived from the term, "moonrakers," used to denote early English smugglers. Settlers, however, made their whiskey without aging it.

I grew up in Wilkes County, one time known as the "moonshine capital of the world." Although my family was never involved in making it, even as a small child, I could have told someone where to buy it. Everyone knew. I figure the local law enforcement had to have been paid off. But stills were tucked into remote spots all through rural areas, especially in the South and had been for years. That's also where NASCAR got it's start, from men out-running the cops while hauling moonshine. Later on, many moonshiners began adding chicken manure to their mash to make it ferment faster, a rather disgusting idea. To be true to the region, I've included moonshining in my historical novels, where all my profits go to a scholarship fund for missionary children.

In Cleared for Planting, the first book in my Appalachian Roots series set in the 1800's, Emma's uncle makes moonshine on his homeplace near the Linville River, and her father ends up drinking it. In the second book, Sown in Dark Soil, on the way to the North Carolina mountains, my main characters meet a man transporting moonshine from the western part of the state to Salisbury. Moonshining became an important economic enterprise in many rural, otherwise poor, locations. It's definitely a part of American history.

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