The stories that blossom in the shadow of the mountain are as rich and as fertile as the Appalachian dirt. They have been shaped by the current of time -buried deep and grown roots- yet, unlike the mountains, they cannot exist without the mouths that speak them. The ones who pass on this precious inheritance of words are the ones who preserve the history of the mountain people, and shape the very culture itself.
Embedded Files
Willard Watson was born in 1905 in Deep Gap, North Carolina - only one mile away from the place he would die 89 years later. He only attended school until fourth grade, but his lack of formal education didn't seem to slow him down. In his lifetime, he worked at a sawmill, cut timber in Montana, became an elusive moonshiner and flat-foot dancer, and tried his hand in toy carving. Though these many pursuits appear to have little in common, they are all intertwined through Willard's paramount skill: storytelling. It never took much convincing for Willard to launch into a detailed recollection of "them good old days" for a captive audience of grandchildren, cousins, newscasters, or perfect strangers. The stories he told are largely drawn from his own experiences, sometimes also coming from family legends and the experiences of his many acquaintances. But the purpose of these recollections go far beyond reminiscing, they give wisdom for days ahead through always making a point about life.
With his 35 gallon furnace, some 4 day old beer mash, a gallon of rye, and gallon of malt from sprouted corn, Willard Watson could make an entire gallon of pure whiskey that he claimed would make you want to "see your mother and shake her hand (2)." Pure corn "likker" was Willard's specialty, but over the years he made apple brandy, and blackberry, elderberry, and persimmon wine.
Willard's career as a moonshiner began when he was a young man and made a the journey, on foot, to Big Creek, Tennessee to work on a large scale moonshine operation. His uncle had taught him how to make apple brandy as a small boy, but this was his first experience distilling large amounts of illicit liquor. Though the days were long and the work was challenging, Willard made three dollars a day, which was well above double the standard laborers wage at the time. Willard never viewed the Prohibition as an obstacle to his work in Big Creek.
When asked if he was ever worried about government agents discovering the operation, Willard replied, "No. Well, I'll tell you, they had the law bought over there. That's what they done (1)."
After leaving Tennessee to return home to Wildcat Road, Willard built his own moonshine still deep in the woods behind his home.
"There's money in stilling liquor," Willard once said, "But the penitentiary in it too (2)."
Despite this grim warning, Willard Watson somehow managed to never be apprehended by revenue agents, and eventually was given government permission to keep his still in an effort to preserve one of the most infamous moments of Appalachian history. On the other hand, there certainly was money to be made in "white lighting."
"Good whiskey was brining 20$ a gallon anytime you had it." Willard said. "Pure corn liquor made from white corn will bring 25 a gallon for every gallon you could make (2)."
Though he was never caught, he did have some close encounters with the law. One was so close that Willard resolved he could "live without foolin' with whiskey (2)."
"This fella turned us in and the law throw a 38 special right in my face and said 'It won't be long now'," Willard remembered. "And I turn, I wheeled and turned and when I did I just started dead flat out runnin. And while he put the light on me I'd falled on the ground and skid on my belly, and when the light had come off of me I'd come to my feet. I'm the only man there is in this county that absolutely outrun the law. In the days that have gone by we'd laugh about that and he said I must be partly lizard 'cause I outrun him skidding on my belly. I got out of that easy and that learnt' me. I decided well I believe I just let that alone, I can live without foolin with whiskey (2)."
Some moonshiners, like Willard Watson, might have had the fortune to evade government intervention, but there is no escaping the consequences of just a few sips of white lighting.
"If you was to take a drink, as much of a half a pint of that, you couldn't hit the wall with a handful of beans." Willard said. "And if you started to church, you'd knock on the door and ask who lived there. That's really gettin' where you didn't need a cane or to crawl on your belly 'cause you'd be so drunk you'd have to lay flat out on your back (2)."
Willard Watson knew how quickly moonshine could get ahead of one's senses, and he prided himself on never getting drunk.
"But I've still, all my life, drink a drink of whiskey but if I had any brains I'd use brains enough to never let it get ahead of me." Willard said. "Anything I can't stay ahead of I won't fool with it one minute (2)."
Long after his moonshine career was over, Willard Watson wanted to still one last batch to prove a point to the government he had evaded for so many years.
"I would like to go back and take 10 bushel of pure white corn, one bushel of ground rye, and one bushel of ground malt and double still a little bit of pure corn liquor." Willard said. "And then, put it up with this stuff the government makes and have it analyzed and tested to see who made the best whiskey:
Willard, or the government (2)."
Willard specialized in flat-foot dance, a distinctive dancing style unique to the Appalachians that resembles clogging. Often, at family gatherings, Willard would entertain his audience with this talent while his cousin, the internationally renowned Doc Watson, would provide the music. "Shout Little Lulu" (lyrics on the right) was one of Willard's favorite songs to dance and play on his banjo (3). Below is a video of Willard demonstrating his flat-foot dance at a friends house.
Like the generations of Appalachian people before him, Willard Watson found his livelihood in the forest. At the age of 14, Willard began cutting timber and grew to love the often hard and low paying work. Though he worked countless jobs, even coal mining, to support himself and his family, working with wood was always his favorite,
When asked about cutting timber as a young man, Watson replied, "I wish I was back then," he said. ''I'd shut this door, and run. I'd rather work in the mountains than any place I've ever been. And if I was young - course I won't be no more -I'll tell you where. In Oregon I'd hang my cap in one of them big lumber camps and say, 'Boys, I've come to stay (1)."
After Willard retried from timber cutting, he found another creative avenue to continue working with wood - toy making. He started carving his toys in early 60s and would sell them to the wagon trains that frequented Boone. His creations, like his stories, reflected the way he lived his life - without cars, phones, computers, or many of the other modern innovations we take for granted. He carved covered wagons, horses, farm animals, and installed spring mechanisms in his toys to make them appear more lifelike. For Willard, the "good ol' days" were the days when life required hard labor, but moved at a slower pace.
"(People) lost the love, now children. They have, now. I'm telling the truth," Willard said. "Back when we worked for a dollar a day, everybody was just as happy as they could be. And if we wanted to go a-fishin', Hell, we stopped and went a-fishin' (1). "
To hear Willard Watson's thoughts on the "rising generation" and get a peek into his day to day life, watch this feature from the WBTV archives.
SOURCES
Huntley, D. (1985). Willard Watson and his oral narratives (pp. 6–17) [Graduate Thesis]. https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Huntley_David_1985_Thesis_Willard%20Watson%20Oral%20Narratives.pdf
WBTV News - Charlotte. (2024, November 27). Carolina Camera: Moonshiner Willard Watson (Part 1). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6j_ftO8yu4&list=PLqxjaAJJanbsxc8CjKxf01YXg3FOJ-xHb&index=8
WBTV News - Charlotte. (2024b, November 27). Carolina Camera: Moonshiner Willard Watson (Part 2). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyTjrHxXT1c&list=PLqxjaAJJanbsxc8CjKxf01YXg3FOJ-xHb&index=6
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