Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality
old file
Members of Los Angeles County's Dry Squad, Constable Jack Pilcher (left), Deputy Constable Ed Brown (center)
and another officer bust up a still in one of Newhall's local canyons during prohibition in 1924.
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I wonder how many stills were confiscated in the county during prohibition? Obviously the many canyons and mountains made for excellent hiding places.
I bet there are remnants of old stills yet to be found.
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I'm currently reading a biography of Jerry Rushing, a real-life moonshiner whose experiences in the '50s and '60s inspired the 1975 movie 'Moonrunners' and then the TV show 'The Dukes of Hazzard'. Although he was based in the hills of North Carolina, I'm sure his story isn't too far removed from his earlier counterparts in California.
The picture above reminded me of a passage in the book about what happened when stills were discovered. Initially, the revenue agents used to sell the stills to a local junkyard where the owner would hide them in a barn until he could contact the moonshiner and sell them back to him. Apparently, this happened several times before the agents got wise and started destoying the stills, often with dynamite. It was a similar story with 'shine-running cars. Any that were confiscated were usually bought back from police auctions by someone acting on behalf of the moonshiner.
I apologize for going off-topic, but I felt that a short comic aside wouldn't hurt
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BTW, the book is 'The Real Duke of Hazzard: The Jerry Rushing Story' for anyone who's interested.