Mountain Moonshine Festival

Moonshine Runners turned Racers
October in the North Georgia
Mountains means different things
to many people - summer’s over
and the cool air arrives, harvest
time, trees sporting vivid colors
and yes, time again for the
Dawsonville Moonshine Festival
in Dawson County, Georgia.
The Moonshine Festival has
been a tradition for 42 years now,
and celebrates the somewhat dubious honor that has been bestowed
upon this area as the “Moonshine
Capitol of Georgia.”
Equally as famous as the
potent brew are the drivers that
emerged from these hills and
turned their extraordinary talent
for driving at high speeds into
another way of making a living.
Producing moonshine goes back
a long way - the art of making
moonshine was a pastime enjoyed
by the farming community simply
for personal use. Of course there
were those who viewed it as a
profitable venture and a supplement to existing means of income.
Contrary to popular belief,
moonshine was part of the rural
culture long before the Prohibition
Era years of 1919 to 1933. When
the 18th Amendment prohibiting
the “manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors” in
the U.S. became Constitutional
law, there was an instant market
and widespread demand for homemade whiskey would make any
modern distiller today green with
envy.
Even though Dawson County
had a huge reputation for selling
moonshine in the Southeast, it
didn’t quite have the same reputation for consuming it according to
Gordon Pirkle, owner of the
Dawsonville Pool Room.
The majority of whiskey that
was produced in Dawson County
took place under the cover of
night to prevent state and federal
42nd Annual
Mountain Moonshine Festival
October 22-24, 2010
in Downtown Dawsonville, GA
Grand Marshal: David Pearson
Fri. October 22
Moonshine Run 9 am • Live Music 6 pm
Sat. October 23
Parade & Opening Ceremonies 9 am • Car Show,
Cruise In, Swap Meet***All Day Entertainment, Food,
Arts & Crafts**All Day
Sun. October 24
Car Show, Cruise In, Swap Meet All Day • Entertainment, Food & Arts & Crafts All Day
Car Tour “Moonshine Run”
on Friday, October 22nd:
The success and enjoyment
of the first annual Moonshine Run has encouraged
us to offer this event again
this year with a different
route and new sites to see!
The Moonshine Festival explores Dawson County’s
history during the prohibition era when liquor was
illegal and the Great Depression of the 1930’s when
running moonshine through the foothills of the Northeast Georgia Mountains was a way of life.
For more information and registration forms visit:
www.kareforkids.us
Proceeds benefit KARE for Kids, Inc. which sponsors children in need in Dawson County
authorities from intervening with
much wear and tear on the car.
the illegal activity. “Trippers”
Only on occassion would they
loaded up their cars daily with
have to run wide open to get away
moonshine and made the journey
from the revenuers.
down Highway 9, nicknamed the
Moonshine cars were usually
old “Whiskey Trail,” and headed
faster than the cop cars - the averfor Atlanta to rendezvous with
age moonshine car could run at
their customers.
100 mph in first gear and up to
There are conflicting accounts
speeds of 115 mph in second.
about just how much moonshine
Very few police cars could exceed
was transported out of Dawson
95 mph which definitely gave the
County during the Prohibition, but whiskey runners the advantage in
estimates of 50,000 gallons a
a full-fledged chase.
week are probably not too far off
Some of the drivers, such as
the mark.
Junior Johnson, learned how to
As careful as moonshiners were
tinker with their cars and get betto operate under the radar of the
ter performance and speed - like
law, eventually revenue agents
adding extra power to the engine
discovered where the source
and inserting special springs and
Atlanta’s “shine” was originating
shocks to handle sharp turns at
from. As revenuers increased
corners.
their efforts to stem the flow of
With the combination of faster
illegal traffic, the haulers where
cars and good money to be made
always one step ahead of them by
in running moonshine, more and
developing a network of backmore young men were attracted to
woods country roads leading
the growing ranks of whiskey runbewildered law enforcement offiners. Before long, when they
cers on a merry chase that ended
weren’t hauling moonshine, they
with the moonshine drivers getting were running against each other
away.
with informal races in attempts to
A typical run by a whiskey
prove who was the fastest of the
hauler in the early days began
bunch.
with 24 five-gallon jugs. Each jug
If there was money in running
was placed in a wooden liner to
moonshine, there was extra money
prevent them from clinking
to be won in these races in their
against each other and making a
spare time. These races increased
racket that might tip off the revein frequency during the thirties.
nuers who might be listening and
On a local level, the first stock car
lying in wait on a dark country
race was held in 1939 at
road.
Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta Back then, there wasn’t much
and naturally the winner was a
traffic on the roads at night and
driver from Dawsonville.
haulers seldom encountered much
From that point on, there was a
Cruise-in,
pm:up
Friday,convergence
October 23
trouble.
When they5-9
did meet
of sorts beginning
Car
Show, car,
9 am
4 pm:
Sat & with
Sun,theOct
24 in
& moonshine’s
25
with another
they- knew
it was
decline
Meet:
days while the increase in
either anotherSwap
moonshiner
or All
the three
profitability
law. Headlights from oncoming
racing as organized events in the
traffic
could
be
spotted
long
developed23
during the
Car
Tour
“Moonshine
Run”Southeast
on and
October
before
the carsfrom
actually
met.
50s.
Take
this day-trip
9 am to
5 pmThis
to cruise1940s
deep into
the
NE GA
gave theon
whiskey
runners
ample
thatcountry
time NASCAR,
as a
Mountains
an authentic
route
in the heart of During
Moonshine
to
see
a working
moonshine
time
to prepare
for thestill!
worst case
governing body on a national
scenario.
level, came into existence in 1947
To hear tell it, most of the old
and launched the careers of Junior
stories about running
moonshine
Johnson, Tim Flock, Lee Petty,
Showing
of the movie
were nothing more than tall tales
Ned Jarrett and many, many othaccording to Millard Ashley, a
ers.
Saturday:
12 Noon, 2, 4 and
7 pmthere are all types of oval
close friend of
Junior Johnson.
Today,
10 am,
2 and series
4 pm throughout the U.S.
Ashley saidSunday:
a moonshine
run12 Noon, racing
Stay
after the
Saturday showing
presentation
by owe
Jim Mitchum,
through
the7 pm
mountains
wasn’tfor a special and
they all
their continued
author Alex Gabbard and other well-known revenue agents and moonshiners!
much different than making a trip
success and growth to legend of
to the local store and didn’t put
moonshine. •
Thunder Road
Visit www.motorsportamerica.com and
click on the “Moonshine” banner for
more information.
www.FreeMSA.com • SEPTEMBER 2010 • 3