A Copperhead Road Nighthawk
Calling for Stories
Vol. 137, January 28th, 2025 Published a day early online
Moonshine Stories
She pulled me aside with a hushed tone, one of fast cars and high stakes. “He lived to tell the tale.” A man way out west recalled the sheriff never bothering a certain 3 am van.
I’ve been inviting friends to walk down Memory Lane. Some of ‘em turn onto Copperhead Road. (The stories of moonshine, man.)
Seems every third person “knows a guy”. Most folks recollect their parents and grandparents making do during Prohibition, and beyond. One can’t live in these hills without getting struck by White Lightning. The stories about it are usually easier to down, although sometimes they’ll make your eyes water, too. I’d like to find them, hear them, dust them and preserve them. It’s piqued my interest.
I’ve been requested to do a talk about the dry years and moonshine, so it’s research time. There are so many memories packed away and almost forgotten up in the hollers. It seems right to document them. If you’ve got one to share, drop me a line at Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588.
Of course, we must be err...delicate in our research. The tales of yesteryear can be recorded without jeopardizing any of the traditions. If you have to change names or places, so be it.
Copperhead road is most anywhere, right?
Gentle On My Mind
I took the long way home, with Glenn Campbell’s hobo songs on my mind.
Carol’s Appalachian Word of the Week
Shank’s mare (legs). “How did you get to church today? Hitch a ride or shank’s mare?”
Happy Birthday, Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen’s iconic novel was published today, 1813.
Quote of the Week
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
–Marcus Aurelius
Book of the Week
Wayfaring Strangers (Fiona Ritchie)
A magnificent chronicle of Appalachian music, it’s Scots-Irish roots, and the people who carry the torch.
Write to Us!
The Nighthawk is a new old-fashioned way to connect, published weekly. You’re invited to write back, or just enjoy reading. Let’s have some fun! It’s a social paper! Send stories, etc to: PO Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588 or Joshurban@protonmail.com
Letters from Josh
(A weekly update from Josh Urban’s adventures on the farm and in the city. #222)
Appearing in the Altavista Journal, etc: Cabbage Patch Kids
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to the show! It was bad. So I Grandma for a tip from the old country. “Hey, how do you cook cabbage?” She suggested boiling it. I didn’t tell her that’s above my head, instead making a note: learn that skill, too.
You may recall last week’s mention of the laundry soap cap. Mom had stopped by for a coffee. She watched while I proudly measured ingredients for the new insta-pot pressure cooker.
“Son, what are you using there?”
“It’s the measuring cup. I think it was in the box.”
“Doesn’t look like a full cup.”
Suddenly, it dawned on me, all soap puns aside. “Huh, maybe this is from the detergent bottle. Don’t know how it ended up here.”
Hey, at least it wasn’t soapy. Things like that happen. I’ve caught an old 60’s stove ablaze. The fire extinguisher powder turned acrid on the burners, the whole kitchen reeked of chemicals, and I had to stump off to the grocery store for a frozen pizza, defeated. “Set the stove on fire, man.”
More recently, the instant rice met with a similar fate. I got distracted, the water boiled away, and the plastic bag melted. But no flames. That’s improvement.
Things are looking up with real measuring cups. I’ve got a good onion rice formula. Humility lurks around every corner, though. Lunch got me.
“So what about the cabbage?” Grandma asked. Her parents emigrated from Lithuania. The other side of my family is mostly German and Polish. I don’t like polka, but love sauerkraut. A tiny bit of English flows through my veins, so I’m tough when it comes to bad food. That’s good, because cabbage skills aren’t genetic.
“Overcooked it with potatoes, and it all turned to a horrible glop. The butter made it better. Kind of. It was pretty gruesome. So much for eating healthy.”
So the next step is to boil it. Get your fire extinguisher ready. I’ll learn to cook someday. The best part of all of this? Hearing Grandma laugh uproariously about the laundry soap measuring cup. If it brings you a smile too, I’m winning. So is Domino’s pizza.
Send me a recipe for cabbage if you’ve got a good one. Or even a bad one. Anything helps.
Catch you on the flip side,
Josh
Send postcards and recipes to P.O. Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588 or on X@RealJoshUrban
Forget trying to boil cabbage with potatoes, make your own sauerkraut. Given your history in the kitchen, it would be safer too, as no cooking required, and you are careful slicing the cabbage head! Unless you have a wood stove in the basement by now, it would be an ideal cool place to let the kraut ferment. Like some other fermented foods (natto, kimchi), kraut is an excellent dietary source of vitamin K2.