Flatwoods, Perry Co. & Hickman Co.
Sammye Lawson – Sep 4, 2003
Monday, I talked with a friend in the nursing home about old memories. New memories are few for him. He is almost 96 and blind but ”sees” so much from the past years.
His father followed the logging industry, had mills and lived in these areas up until 1921 when they moved to Lewis Co.
He went to school at Flatwoods until he was 12. When talking about Flatwoods he remembers the ”Big” store in the forks of the road where the post office was located as being Sharps Store. He named a name who told him he could stand on the porch and on a clear day he could see 7 stills from here at one time. Then he explained that the smoke from the stills would go straight up and that was what the man meant by ”seeing” 7 stills. He said they liked to use Chestnut wood for the stills. Then he chuckled and said he doubted if the man could really count 7 stills at once. But said the man PROBABLY visited 7 then.
He recalled that Kirk Hollow in Perry Co. had a small community built by the Holland Stave Company. He said there were 12 to 15 houses there, a boarding house and a church building that he guessed any church could met there. But he remembers when the church of Christ had their services in the building. His family moved there for his mother to run the company owned boarding house for 12 to 15 workers. They remained there for two years.
He remembers the toll road that the company put up after improving the road ”on to Flatwoods”. They had to remove the gate shortly as it didn’t come up to some regulation. Possum Creek – he laughed when asked about the name and said he didn’t know. He said there was an ”overshot” water wheel on a mill there. More than once he said it was a ”showplace”. He said they ground meal and other grains. He said there were 3 other mills up the creek but they just ground meal. He laughted and said they all did a good business and the meal was used for other purposes.
This got him into Hickman County. He said he thought in the earlier years there were more stills in Perry and Wayne than Hickman. Then he told of driving a truck to take hay to Wrigley. There was a man with him who hasn’t from the area and wanted to get a pint of Hickman Co. moonshine before he went home. He ask my friend if he knew where he could get some. He told him yes, that most all the service stations along 100 Hwy. sold it at that time. He pulled his truck up front of a place ”on top of the hill” near Wrigley and they went in. The man running the store ask what he could do for them. He told the owner that his friend wanted a pint of Hickman Co. liquor and could he help him out. He said the man leaned across the counter and looked outside. Then he said yes, he could, he could sell him a cup, pint or just about any amount he wanted. So the man bought his bottle and they left. Then the man with him ask him how the man knew he could sell to them. He said he told the man that was why the owner had looked outside – to see what they were driving.
Then he told the names of two men traveled the highway to Nashville hauling lumber. They would stop into one of these stations and make their purchase. He said one day the men were in a nice looking pickup truck instead of the logging truck. They were ”dressed up” and went in to buy their whisky. The same man they always bought from told them he didn’t sell that stuff. Had no idea what they were talking about.
Some of the details may be a little off. The man was remembering a long time ago. I”ve left off names for obvious reasons.