Title: Moonshine toast

General Information about Item:

• Verbal folklore, toast
• English
• Place of origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (anonymous) A
• Date Collected: 2/24/18

Informant Data: Informant A was born and raised in the Upper Valley, and has spent most of the last 3 decades living in Vermont and working as a roofer. His family has a rich tradition of making moonshine, and in his spare time he enjoys building things on his property.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Informant A learned this from his older brother (Informant C), who in turn had learned it from one of their father’s good friends. Obviously, as it is a toast, Informant A learned it when he and his brother and friends were drinking moonshine one time. As usual with moonshine (see: Safety Meetings), the consumption of moonshine and this toast occurs only with good friends, almost always under happy circumstances. It is a toast that sets the tone for revelry and celebration
• Cultural Context: This piece of folklore seems cross cultural, toasts occur in many places and contexts, but always before drinking

Item:

• Informant A and his friends usually say this toast towards the beginning of any consumption, as it requires taking two swigs of moonshine, which is a lot of alcohol

“A man’s gotta do

What a man’s gotta brew,

This clear stuff is strong,

So let’s go drink two!”

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: Informant’s favorite toast

Collector’s Comments: I found this toast to be quite unique, most of the toasts common at Dartmouth are recycled or unoriginal

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

• Toasts
• Verbal folklore
• celebration

Title: Moonshine Family Recipe Book

General Information about Item:

• Material lore, beverage recipe
• Textual lore
• Place of Origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) C
• Date Collected: 2/24/18

Informant Data:

• The older brother of Informant A, Informant C has similarly lived in the Upper Valley his entire life, and in fact currently resides in the two brothers childhood home. He works full time as a landscaper, and shares in the family tradition of moonshining.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: the recipe book itself has existed for at least two generations, and was handed down to Informant C upon the death of his father. The circumstances that produced this recipe book are unique to the process of moonshining. Because the process of making moonshine is an imperfect science, each batch has a different taste and texture. Though it is nearly impossible to recreate the same batch twice, the recipe book can help Informants A and C as a rough guide. The recipe book added to every time Informants A and C make moonshine, therefore also in a way serving as a log of a family activity. The recipe book can also only be read and written in by members of the informants family, as it is an integral part of their family identity. Finally, writing in the book occurs only after the process of moonshining is complete
• Cultural Context: The recipe book naturally derives from the greater culture of moonshining, as the process is an imperfect science and one naturally shrouded in secrecy, in addition to also being a family business

Item:

• Big, old, leather-bound book with lots of handwritten recipes that discuss the methods, timing, and ingredients of various moonshine recipes
• While the item itself is a book, the act of writing in book by the family members is somewhat of a ritual, as it is done only after the moonshine is made. It “caps off” the moonshining process, making it post-liminal, and also connects the informants to their roots.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file): was not allowed to take a picture

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: he described is at incredibly important to his family

Collector’s Comments: I was amazed by the sheer size and age of the book

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

• Material folklore, textual folklore
• Moonshining
• secrecy
• Ritual folklore

Title: Safety Meetings

General Information about Item:

• Verbal folkore
• Superstitious saying
• Place of Origin: Upper Vally
• Informant (Anonymous) A
• Collected 2/24/18

Informant Data: Informant A was born and raised in the Upper Valley, and has spent most of the last 3 decades living in Vermont and working as a roofer. His family has a rich tradition of making moonshine, and in his spare time he enjoys building things on his property.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: this piece of folklore originated at a party when Informant A shared his moonshine for the first time. Critically, the Informant did not know, and therefore could not trust many of the party-goers due to the taboo and illicit nature of moonshine. The people present during the performance of this piece of folklore, both at its origins and every time after that, are close and trust worthy friends. The performance of this ritual/superstition always has a positive impact on the people present; they know that they are in the circle of trust of the moonshine giver, and the ritual/superstition itself is an active engagement. Again, the performance of safety meetings only occurs in social contexts among a close group of people drinking moonshine, usually at a party hidden away from the rest of the pary goers
• Cultural Context: this ritual/superstition derives from the culture of moonshine generally and the context of the rural Upper Valley more generally. Moonshine is illegal, so one always wants to be cautious when drinking it around others, and word of illicit moonshine travels quickly in small towns, making it especially troublesome.

Item:

• Originally, at the party, Informant A was approached by a few friends who asked him if he had any moonshine on him. He did, but wanted to drink it with them away from the rest of the party. They went to a secluded area, but wanting to make sure they were not seen, they were cautious throughout the process. So, each time someone went to drink the moonshine, they had to ask the rest of the group “is it safe?” and look over their shoulder, to which the rest of the group had to respond “its safe,” before the person could drink. This gave rise to the name “safety meetings.” Ever since, whenever Informant A and his friends drink moonshine, they repeat this process out of superstition. They believe that if they do not, that they will jinx themselves and risk getting in trouble with the moonshine.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: The description might make it seem high stakes, but it’s important to remember it’s still fun drinking among close friends

Collector’s Comments: This is an example of both a ritual, and a conversion superstition (if A then B, unless C

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

• Material folklore
• Converstion superstition
• Folk recipe
• Ritual folklore

Title: Valentine’s Day Moonshine Recipe

General Information about Item:

• Textual folklore, material folklore, recipe
• Place of origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) A
• Date Collected: 2/24/18

Informant Data: Informant A was born and raised in the Upper Valley, and has spent most of the last 3 decades living in Vermont and working as a roofer. His family has a rich tradition of making moonshine, and in his spare time he enjoys building things on his property.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This special recipe was actually created by Informant A himself, though Informant C also uses it now as well, as a gift to his wife (Informant B) one Valentine’s Day years ago. He only makes one batch of it a year, before every Valentine’s Day. For the bottle that he makes, only he and his wife are allowed to consume it.
• Cultural Context: Special recipes are not specific to informant A and C. They related how many moonshiners they know also have special recipes for which they are well known, and only rarely produce

Item: Special Valentine’s day recipe, it is a smaller batch of moonshine that has flavors strawberry, honey, a some cinnamon. Usually accompanied by chocolates

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: While Informant C loves it, it is not Informant A’s favorite recipe

Collector’s Comments: It was intriguing to here widespread special recipes are among moonshiners

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

• Recipe
• Celebration
• Material/textual folkore

Title: Taste Testing

General Information about Item:

• Customary folklore ritual
• Place of origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) C
• Date Collected: 2/24/18

Informant Data: The older brother of Informant A, Informant C has similarly lived in the Upper Valley his entire life, and in fact currently resides in the two brothers childhood home. He works full time as a landscaper, and shares in the family tradition of moonshining.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Informant C originally learned of this ritual from his father, who began it himself. While formerly this was an important part in the moonshining process, as taste testing entailed making sure the batch had not gone completely rotten (“sour”), it is now more of a ritual/superstition Informant C performs during the process, even though he is good enough at moonshining to not mess up an entire batch. The ritual is not too serious, but is funny and keeps the family process of moonshining alive, and it is usually performed only with Informants A and C present, towards the end of the moonshining process.
• Cultural context: Again, the process of moonshining is an imperfect science and one shrouded in superstition. Most moonshiners like to stick to the process that they know well.

Item:

• Informant C owns a 180 pound pig named Dudley (who was supposed to be a teacup pig), just like his father did. His father use to make sure that his pig was always the first to try the moonshine (pigs will consume pretty much anything, and are attracted to the sweet flavors of moonshine), as he could supposedly tell based upon the squeal of the pig whether the batch had gone sour. Now, Informant C is a skilled enough moonshiner to not produce a sour batch, but he still gives Dudley the first taste of every batch to keep the ritual alive, and because the squeal is funny.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: Informant C thinks that even pigs like to drink

Collector’s Comments: This is another example of how connected Informant C is to his family’s tradition of moonshining

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary folklore
• Taste testing
• Recipes

Title: Storing Moonshine

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore Ritual
• Verbal folkore
• Superstitious saying
• Place of Origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) B
• Collected 2/22/18

Informant Data: Informant B was born in and raised in Vermont. She has spent the last three decades living in the Upper Valley with her husband. Her husband’s family has a long tradition of making moonshine. Informant B works as a babysitter for many families around Hanover, NH as well as other towns in the Upper Valley. She also works for local nurseries and has a garden of her own.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Informant B originally learned this piece of folklore the first time that she participated in making moonshine with her husband’s family. She had never had any experience with making moonshine before spending time with her husband’s family. The first time that she had joined the family for a day of distilling moonshine she was exposed to all sorts of different pieces of lore of the process. One thing that stuck with her the most was the final act before storing the moonshine. All of the people that participated in the process of producing the moonshine in any way come together before putting the bottles on the shelves in the barn. The coming together serves as a ritual of celebrating the work that everyone had put in to make the moonshine possible.
• Cultural Context: This ritual/superstition derives from the culture of moonshine. The process of moonshine is very difficult and involves a lot of work. This ritual celebrates the coming together of people as well as the work that went into the process. This process also is a way of ensuring that the moonshine will stay safe and not go sour while it is stored.

Item:

• After every batch of moonshine is completed, it is stored into empty vodka bottles and placed on the shelves of the Informant’s barn. All members that participated in the process of the moonshine all come together before the last of the bottles is put on the shelf. The members present stand in a circle and pass the bottle around and each member takes a sip. The last member then says, “Stay sweet” and places the last bottle on the shelf. This process is repeated as a superstitious ritual every time moonshine is produced. The passing of the bottle celebrates the hard work that each member put in as they enjoy the first sips together. Although, the moonshine would not go bad, the process of saying, “stay sweet” serves as a superstitious ritual to make sure that the batch does not go bad on the shelf before the next time they will enjoy it.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: It is an awesome way to bring everyone together at the end and try what we have made.

Collector’s Comments: This is an example of both a customary folklore ritual as well as a conversion superstition. It celebrates the members’ hard work, and it also ensures that the batch does not go bad sitting on the shelf.

Collector’s Name: Jack Korzelius

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary folklore ritual
• Conversion superstition
• Verbal Folklore
• Storing Moonshine

Title: Seasonal Raffle

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore Ritual
• Rite of Transition
• Calendar Rite
• Place of Origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) A
• Collected 2/24/18

Informant Data: Informant A was born and raised in the Upper Valley, and has spent most of the last 3 decades living in Vermont and working as a roofer. His family has a rich tradition of making moonshine, and in his spare time he enjoys building things on his property.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This piece of folklore originated from an agreement between Informant A and the local Upper Valley authorities. It is illegal to produce and sell moonshine in Vermont. The Informant wanted to figure out a way to share the family’s hard work and multigenerational passion with other people. The informant approached a member of the local authorities that he had known for years. He had asked him if it was against the law to “raffle” off his moonshine instead of selling it to people. His friend deemed it to be okay and that he could proceed this way with the understanding that he would never charge someone money for it. After this agreement, the Informant organized a seasonal raffle of his moonshine twice a year. The raffles would include members of his family as well as his close friends; all from the Upper Valley. These raffles serve as a fun and positive way of bringing people together to enjoy the family’s tradition.
• Cultural Context: This ritual derives explicitly from the culture of moonshine and it being illegal to produce and sell moonshine. The Informant wanted a way to both follow the laws of the local authorities but also share his family tradition with other people. The informant keeps the seasonal raffles restricted to family and close friends that he can trust, to keep the act as close to the family as possible.

Item:

• After his agreement with the local authorities, the informant decided that a raffle was the best and most enjoyable to give away his moonshine to other people without selling it. Every year the Informant hosts two seasonal raffles to raffle off his moonshine. One raffle is held at the end of the fall before winter and the other is held at the end of the spring before summer. At each raffle a special recipe of moonshine is raffled off. During the raffle at the end of spring, he raffles off his special dandelion and honey moonshine. During the raffle at the end of the spring he raffles off his special apple cider moonshine. Not only are these celebrations of the transition of season, it also is a way to bring the small community together. It is also a way of the family to share their tradition with others.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: The seasonal raffles are great to bring family and friends together to celebrate. I’m happy that I can share with others and I don’t have to drink all this moonshine myself.

Collector’s Comments: This is an example of a customary folklore ritual. It is also an example of a rite of transition and a calendar rite.

Collector’s Name: Cormac Dugan

Tags/Keywords:

• Ritual Folklore
• Calendar Rite
• Rite of Transition
• Seasonal Raffle
• Seasonal Ritual

Title: Labels Facing In

General Information about Item:

• Material folkore
• Superstitious Ritual
• Place of Origin: Western Virginia
• Informant (Anonymous) D
• Collected 2/23/18

Informant Data: Informant D was born and raised in a small town in Western Virginia. He attended West Virginia University and now works as a grounds keeper in his hometown. His family has a long tradition of producing moonshine on their family farm.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Informant D originally learned this piece of folklore when he was in high school. He was visiting his family farm in Western Virginia, where his grandfather had lived, and was taught the process of moonshine. His grandfather had given him a tour of the shed that housed all of the moonshining distillers. During the tour he explained a lot about the process that goes into making the moonshine. The informant’s grandfather also explained that there is also a process that is followed after the moonshine is completed. After the moonshine is produced the moonshine is placed into old, empty hard alcohol bottles. Anyone that handles these bottles has to put them away in a certain way.
• Cultural Context: This ritual/superstition derives from the hard work that is put into the moonshine. Even though the moonshine is in a certain alcohol bottle, the family attempts to make it clear through this ritual that the alcohol is now changed.

Item:

• After a batch of moonshine is produced or handled it must always be put back on a shelf the same way. This particular ritual calls for the bottle to be placed with the labeling facing the wall. This way the side of the bottle that has no label is facing out to those who can view it. This superstitious act is done to symbolize that the use of the bottle has changed. The bottle no longer is used for the previous alcohol that it held, but now has changed and is holding the family produced moonshine. This superstitious act is performed to display the father’s pride in the work that went into making the moonshine. This ritual can also be seen as a Rite of Transition of the bottles contents. This is also interpreted as a Conversion superstition as the family believes that if this is not done, then the moonshine that they produced loses its special novelty and the people that made it are disrespected.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: This act is pretty small land may go unnoticed by a lot of outsiders, but is a small way that our family takes pride in the moonshine we make.

Collector’s Comments: This is both an example of a conversion superstition to keep respect for those who made the moonshine as well a rite of transition.

Collector’s Name: Jack Korzelius

Tags/Keywords:

• Material folklore
• Sign superstition
• Storing moonshine
• Ritual folklore
• Rite of Transition

Title: Dandelion Picking

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore Ritual
• Superstitious process
• Place of Origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) B
• Collected 2/22/18

Informant Data: Informant B was born in and raised in Vermont. She has spent the last three decades living in the Upper Valley with her husband. Her husband’s family has a long tradition of making moonshine. Informant B works as a babysitter for many families around Hanover, NH as well as other towns in the Upper Valley. She also works for local nurseries and has a garden of her own.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: Informant B originally learned this piece of folklore the first time that she participated in making moonshine with her husband’s family. Her husband’s mother had taken her out in their field to collect dandelions for the dandelion wine recipe. Her mother had taught the folklore to her, so the folklore has been in the family for at least two generations. In general a women would participate in the ritual of picking the dandelions, however she said that there was no restriction on who could participate. The people who are present during the ritual are usually family members or close friends, due to the nature of moonshining being illegality. This brings family members and friends together in a way of working together to produce a family tradition. This ritual would be performed before every batch of dandelion wine was made.
• Cultural Context: This ritual/superstition derives form the culture of moonshine. There is no scientific backing by the nature of producing moonshine. The process instead is about repetition, so the process yields a slightly different product every time. So by following this ritual, it stands as a superstitious method to ensure that the batch will come out well.

Item:

• Before every batch of dandelion, someone must pick enough dandelions in order to create the batch. The person who picks the dandelions must pick them in a very particular way. The dandelions must be picked with the right hand and placed into a basket in the left hand. It was stressed that the dandelions do not come into contact with the left hand at all during the process. It is believed that by doing this, they can ensure that the batch will come out well. If this process is not followed it is believed that the batch will be jinxed and come out sour.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: It might seem a little strange to some people but we have been doing it for so long it seems like second nature by now. I would never think about doing it any other way.

Collector’s Comments: This is an example of both a customary folklore ritual as well as a conversion superstition. It is always performed as a way of ensuring that the batch is not jinxed.

Collector’s Name: Jack Korzelius

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary folklore ritual
• Conversion superstition
• Dandelion Wine
• Dandelion Picking

Title: Cleaning Hands

General Information about Item:

• Customary Folklore Ritual
• Superstitious process
• Rite of Transition
• Place of Origin: Upper Valley
• Informant (Anonymous) A
• Collected 2/24/18

Informant Data: Informant A was born and raised in the Upper Valley, and has spent most of the last 3 decades living in Vermont and working as a roofer. His family has a rich tradition of making moonshine, and in his spare time he enjoys building things on his property.

Contextual Data:

• Social Context: This piece of folklore was originally taught to him by the Informant’s father. As he grew up, his father had brought the Informant into his family shared and taught him everything that he knew so that he could carry the tradition on to later generations. This folklore originated from the illegal nature of producing moonshine. The people present during this ritual are the people that participated in the distilling of the moonshine. The performance of this ritual/superstition always serves as a reassurance of the secrecy that the moonshining will be kept. The participants know that when they do this act they are safe from other people finding out about what they had worked on.
• Cultural Context: This ritual/superstition derives from the culture of moonshine. Producing moonshine is illegal, so dealing moonshine comes with a lot of cautious and deliberate actions. This superstitious ritual is a reassurance for the secrecy of the producing moonshine to avoid legal issues and allow the production of moonshine continues in the family for many years to come.

Item:

• The Informant was taught by his father the importance of keeping everything about moonshine inside the family. By doing this, the family could remain safe and no one would find out about the family illegally producing moonshine. One way to do this was to clean his hands after working on moonshine. The Informant’s family keeps all of their materials and devices to produce moonshine in the family’s barn. After anyone goes into the barn and touches any material or device their hands are deemed to be “dirty”. In order to cleanse them before they return to the world, this person must clean his hands on a towel that hangs next to the barn door. This towel was hung by the Informant’s grandfather and is still used today. After this person rubs his hands on the towel, the person’s hands are then “clean”. This act of rubbing one’s hands on the towel may not actually clean their hands, but rather serves as a rite of transition of cleaning their hands of the act before returning back to the world. This is also an example of a conversion superstitious because it is believed that if someone does not wiped their hands on the towel they will get caught for doing this illegal act.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

Informant’s Comments: That towel has been there for so long and is so dirty, but I would never want to get my family or me in trouble.

Collector’s Comments: This is an example of both a customary folklore ritual as well as a conversion superstition. It is always performed to ensure that the person does not get in trouble for producing moonshine. It can also be seen as a rite of transition, going from a secret place to the outside world.

Collector’s Name: Jack Korzelius

Tags/Keywords:

• Customary folklore ritual
• Conversion superstition
• Rite of Transition
• Cleaning Hands
• Cleansing