Rum Running part - 14


1930's Rum Running



1. An old lady told me that when she was young, she and her husband and father-in- law would go to a nearby village to get a keg of bootleg rum. On the way back, sitting in the back of the car, the lady placed the keg of rum under her long dress. The police could not check the under garments of a woman. Upon arriving home the rum was evenly distributed into portions.

2. One fellow told me how he would take metal out of a junk yard and sell it to the owner to buy candy. He would then steal it again and resell it to the owner. The junkyard dealer was suspicious of this but could never prove anything.

3. One old fellow bought hides, metal and bottles and would take the hair off the hides and ropes putting the hair in a bag to sell later as he was very stingy.

4 An old bootlegger lived in the lower part of town and had a pig and trained him to follow him through town behind the man like a dog. One fellow who remembers this said he can still hear that pig snort and grunt all the way through town.



6 One bootlegger had a barn and near the door where he sold booze, was a trained bear (chained). One fellow came in for a drink and the custom was to throw change in a barrel. The fellow tried to take change out of the barrel and the bear went up on his hind feet scaring the fellow so bad the man fainted.

7.Two young fellows would deliver booze for a bootlegger but one of them would drink some of the rum and add water to the rum. The customer complained to the bootlegger so they put some contents from the drugstore in the rum. The delivery boy sampled the booze every day for a set time each time messing his pants. After a short time he learned his lesson.

8.One time at a summer lodge a family went out for summer. Now the grandmother could not speak English or read or write also she had not traveled anywhere. Tea was ordered for her and at that time, bulk tea was put in hot water and poured into a cup through a strainer. Tea bags were new on the market and this was brought to her. She looked at the tea bag and said to her daughter "they're trying to poison me."

9 Most old homes had a hole above the kitchen stove where the heat should go through and shoes were placed in on the top of the warming oven to dry. One night one of the occupants of the home was half asleep and walked to the hole squatted down and urinated down the shoe. One can imagine the smell the next morning.

10 Years ago one didn't need a radio as if an argument started all the doors in the neighborhood opened and everyone listened until it was settled then all the doors would slam shut at the same time.

11 One old fellow told me that in the 30's there would be a cat and dog day at the movie theater meaning if one showed up with a cat or dog they got in free. Bill said they always found someone's cat (as they were smaller) and got in free. They would always let the cat go.

This old gentleman from the French shore, used to run a motorboat from the shore to the big boats. This was to pick up rum and bring it back to shore. He once met Al Capone and describing him as a fine gentleman. Irving's boat was built and paid for by supplying lumber for another boat. He's still living at ninety years of age.

One old fellow went from restaurants to stores collecting swill to feed his pigs. He had a wagon that should have been hauled by a horse but was hauled by a cow.

One fellow from the shore, wanted to get married. He looked in the Sears catalogue where he saw a girl in a dress, he ordered her. All that came was the dress and he couldn't understand where the girl was. He was not too bright.

One fellow in town was an awful pest and always begged for food and money. One time a few fellows came back from rabbit hunting and were eating rabbit stew and he barged in and had two helpings of stew. It was decided to play a trick on Jim and so they killed two old tom cats and boiled them. He was invited to what he thought was rabbit stew and ate to his hearts content remarking this is the bast stew he had ever had.

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