Charlotte and Environs

[giradman]

Moonshine Can Still Cause Health Problems

Despite the fact that 'moonshine' (i.e. mainly non-aged corn-based whiskey) is produced legally in the United States since 2010, the 'home-made' stuff (a.k.a. moonshine, rotgut, hooch, white lightning, mountain dew, home brew, and other colorful names!); unfortunately, outside the flammability (of high proof alcohol) and potential for alcoholism, there are potential 'toxins' in illegal moonshine, mainly methanol (wood alcohol which can cause blindness, among other maladies) and lead poisoning (related to leaded solder in metal joints or the use of old radiators, which might also contain glycol) - see the quotes below and check the link for much more discussion (written in November 2018 and proofed by a physician).

Lead poisoning can occur at all ages, especially in children ingesting old lead-based paint, but drinking 'home brew' is another potential danger (see third quote below). In 1971, I graduated from medical school (in Michigan) and we moved to North Carolina - I did a medical internship from 1971-72 at Wake Forest University Medical School (and later a radiology residency) - but on a month rotation to the local community hospital, one of my first patients was an elderly man who presented w/ a variety of symptoms, which included discolored lines around the gums and both a hand and foot drop, signs of lead intoxication - after further questioning, we finally elicited the history of long term drinking of moonshine - Dave

Moonshine, the formerly home-distilled liquor of backwoods Appalachia is still around. In fact, it's now legit. "White lightning," as it's called, was once completely an illicit and banned substance by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, but it is now permitted for sale and regulated by the U.S. federal government in some states.The first legal moonshine distillery in Tennessee opened its doors in 2010, and others followed in Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. There are some estimates that more than a million illegal moonshine stills are in operation in the United States making the production of the clear, high-potency brew more prevalent and widespread now than it has ever been in history. (Source)

More people have died from drinking moonshine than have died by explosions of stills due to the toxins in the brew. Although many of the stills in operation today are the all copper variety, there are plenty of the old handmade stills still around. Old stills use vehicle radiators in the distilling process, and they are apt to contain lead soldering, which could contaminate the moonshine. The old radiators could also contain remnants of antifreeze glycol products which could also add toxins to the brew. (Source)

Methanol is highly poisonous and can cause blindness and even death. Most moonshine makers today know to pour off those first drippings from the condenser, also known as the foreshot, but not all of them know or do it. In 2003, Dr. Christopher Holstege, a physician with the Virginia Health System, tested 48 samples of moonshine obtained by law enforcement from different stills. The doctor found lead contamination in 43 of the samples. (Source)

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[scifan57]

Hey Scifan.. - last night, I wanted to watch one of my many documentary DVDs/BDs (quite a few multi-disc sets) - so I was rummaging through the collection and 'my word' I found the BD of Burn's Prohibition - watched the first of 3 discs last night - as expected, quite excellent! Dave
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I'm glad you discovered your copy and enjoyed it.

 

[giradman]

Charlotte Getaway for 2 nights - February 2020 - Charlotte Museum of History Visit - First for Us!

Susan and I were getting our usual winter 'cabin fever' and needed a short trip - decided to visit Charlotte for 2 nights staying at the Westin Hotel (topic of previous posts). We had two great meals at the same places posted on earlier pages, i.e. Bernardin's Charlotte and Fin & Fino - for myself, I had a delicious emu dish the first night and we enjoyed 2 1/2 dozen oysters our second night - delicious.

Just one activity, a visit to the Charlotte Museum of History, a first for us but located in a hard to find location in a residential area away from Uptown (for those wanting to go, GPS is highly suggested!). Short synopsis below from the link given - the museum has a number of exhibits related to early Charlotte history, Revolutionary War battles in the vicinity, wonderful description of the historic Hezekiah Alexander Home Site (next post), and other topics related to the city's and North Carolina history. Pics below a mixture of my own and some from the web. Dave

P.S. last 'combo pic' are images of Queen Charlotte (namesake of the city) and George III (king during the American Revolution) - these are at the entrances to the women's and men's restrooms - love it!
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The Charlotte Museum of History is a not-for-profit organization that interprets and preserves Charlotte’s unique history, enriching the community through shared understanding of the past and inspiring dialogue about the future. The Museum is the steward of the ca. 1774 Hezekiah Alexander Home Site, a National Register of Historic Places site, and places an emphasis on the settlement of the Carolina Backcountry and the ideas and events that led to the American Revolution. The Alexander House is the last extant home of a framer of North Carolina’s 1776 Constitution and Bill of Rights and the oldest surviving house in Mecklenburg County. In addition to the house, the Alexander home site contains a reproduction log kitchen, reconstructed two-story springhouse and log barn. (LINK above)

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[giradman]

Hezekiah Alexander Rock House - Oldest House in Charlotte's County - Worth a Visit

The so-called 'Rock House' described below is the oldest house in Mecklenburg County (seat of Charlotte) - finished in 1774 along w/ a reproduction of the kitchen and other buildings. As stated in the previous post, the Charlotte Museum of History serves as the steward today - one hour tours are given which we took - the guide was excellent; the tour includes visits of the grounds, the 'Spring House' (cooled by an underground stream; and a storage place for products needing the 'refrigeration' of the times), and the main house - plenty of information of the times around the Revolutionary War; the museum also contains plenty of information, as shown in the pics. In my opinion, worth a visit and definitely do the tour which is part of the modest admission, important for this non-profit organization. Dave

The 1774 Alexander Rock House in Charlotte, North Carolina is the oldest house in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Originally built by the Alexander Family who finished construction in 1774, the Rock House and its various outbuildings have had many owners over the years with The Charlotte Museum of History being its steward today. Hezekiah Alexander (~1728–1801), bought more than 600 acres (243 ha) on Sugar Creek in 1767 and finished building the Rock House 1774. Originally from Cecil County, Maryland, Hezekiah moved to Pennsylvania, then to Delaware, and finally North Carolina. He worked as a blacksmith, a farmer, served in the Fifth Provincial Congress which wrote North Carolina's first constitution, and as a trustee of Queens College(Source)

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[scifan57]

You certainly accomplished a lot during your 2 days. Thanks for another interesting post. In regards to why kitchens were sometimes separate from the main house; it was likely due to the increased risk of fire in the kitchens of the day.

 

[giradman]

You certainly accomplished a lot during your 2 days. Thanks for another interesting post. In regards to why kitchens were sometimes separate from the main house; it was likely due to the increased risk of fire in the kitchens of the day.

Hi Scifan.. - thanks again for your interest; and of course, you're 'spot on' about the kitchens in those days being separated from the main house, i.e. kitchens of those times w/ open hearth fires would often burn down - the one we visited was a recent reconstruction - at least two previous kitchens were consumed by fire on Hezekiah's property. The family consisted of 10 children and two adults, so the kitchen which is rather small was a BUSY place - 3 meals a day (largest one at lunch); the fire in the hearth was kept burning 24/7 every day of the year. Now, we've been in many colonial kitchens and seen all of the bygone utensils but the guide went into some detail - just a few examples: 1) Ingenious ways of keeping the food hot from kitchen > outside > house via the back door; and 2) the 'toaster' at the time with links to adjust closeness to the fire and hence whether the bread was light/medium/burnt (pic below of one that looked similar).

The inside of the house was rather compact with about 8 rooms (bedrooms up a narrow spiral staircase for the kids; adults w/ a master bedroom on the first floor) - we were allowed to take non-flash pics inside but the rooms were intentionally kept dark and our group was rather large in number. But just another observation - there were 5 'chamber pots' for the usual purpose at night - but I noticed that there was no 'out house' and the guide stated that the records/plans of the property never showed an 'outside convenience'; SO, we surmised that all needs were served by the pots. The job of emptying and cleaning the pots in the morning was assigned to the youngest son (who I hope had anosmia - ) - the nearby stream by the Spring House was used. Dave
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[scifan57]

Anosmia; no sense of smell?

 

[giradman]

Anosmia; no sense of smell?

Correct - well, did not want to be too graphical (or olfactory), so used an appropriate medical term - figured that anyone really interested would know the meaning or easily look it up - Dave

 

[suenc]

Charlotte Getaway for 2 nights - February 2020 - Charlotte Museum of History Visit - First for Us!

Susan and I were getting our usual winter 'cabin fever' and needed a short trip - decided to visit Charlotte for 2 nights staying at the Westin Hotel (topic of previous posts). We had two great meals at the same places posted on earlier pages, i.e. Bernardin's Charlotte and Fin & Fino - for myself, I had a delicious emu dish the first night and we enjoyed 2 1/2 dozen oysters our second night - delicious.

Just one activity, a visit to the Charlotte Museum of History, a first for us but located in a hard to find location in a residential area away from Uptown (for those wanting to go, GPS is highly suggested!). Short synopsis below from the link given - the museum has a number of exhibits related to early Charlotte history, Revolutionary War battles in the vicinity, wonderful description of the historic Hezekiah Alexander Home Site (next post), and other topics related to the city's and North Carolina history. Pics below a mixture of my own and some from the web. Dave

P.S. last 'combo pic' are images of Queen Charlotte (namesake of the city) and George III (king during the American Revolution) - these are at the entrances to the women's and men's restrooms - love it!
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An interesting museum and one we hadn’t seen before.

 

[suenc]

Hi Scifan.. - thanks again for your interest; and of course, you're 'spot on' about the kitchens in those days being separated from the main house, i.e. kitchens of those times w/ open hearth fires would often burn down - the one we visited was a recent reconstruction - at least two previous kitchens were consumed by fire on Hezekiah's property. The family consisted of 10 children and two adults, so the kitchen which is rather small was a BUSY place - 3 meals a day (largest one at lunch); the fire in the hearth was kept burning 24/7 every day of the year. Now, we've been in many colonial kitchens and seen all of the bygone utensils but the guide went into some detail - just a few examples: 1) Ingenious ways of keeping the food hot from kitchen > outside > house via the back door; and 2) the 'toaster' at the time with links to adjust closeness to the fire and hence whether the bread was light/medium/burnt (pic below of one that looked similar).

The inside of the house was rather compact with about 8 rooms (bedrooms up a narrow spiral staircase for the kids; adults w/ a master bedroom on the first floor) - we were allowed to take non-flash pics inside but the rooms were intentionally kept dark and our group was rather large in number. But just another observation - there were 5 'chamber pots' for the usual purpose at night - but I noticed that there was no 'out house' and the guide stated that the records/plans of the property never showed an 'outside convenience'; SO, we surmised that all needs were served by the pots. The job of emptying and cleaning the pots in the morning was assigned to the youngest son (who I hope had anosmia - ) - the nearby stream by the Spring House was used. Dave
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Having visited innumerable historic houses, we knew the answers to many of the guide’s “quiz questions,” such as what the spring house was used for (storage), what was the biggest meal of the day (lunch), what the white cone was (sugar))

 

[suenc]

Prohibition was a 'National Disaster', so completely in agreement. For those interested, checkout the 2011 6-hr documentary by Ken Burns on Prohibition - short interview w/ Ken below.

Concerning North Carolina moonshining, also concur about the effect of Prohibition on the 'industry' - although moonshining in the state dates back to colonial days, its most infamous period began with Prohibition in the 1920s and 1930s; after repeal, the practice continued as making moonshine was wildly popular, supported individuals and their families, and was still desired by many people; that was the period when Wilkes County was known as the 'Moonshine Capital of the World' where Junior Johnson rose to fame and saw the emergence of NASCAR. But moonshining declined in the later decades of the 20th century with opening of ABC stores in North Carolina, the shift to other drug trafficking, and likely other reasons.

Also along with the opening of well over a hundred craft breweries in the state, distilleries have become popular - see quote below - the NC map shows over 50 distilleries making 'legal' whiskey and even products resembling 'moonshine' - I've circled the 'Broad Branch Distillery' in Winston-Salem (we've not made a visit and done a tour but will be in our near future - I've been to distilleries in Tennessee & Kentucky, so should be interesting, of course, on a MUCH smaller scale). Dave

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We got so caught up in the excitement of moonshine in Tennessee (and in a distillery gift shop) that we bought 3 bottles of the stuff. Dave used the butter pecan as a coffee addition, but we still have blackberry and salted caramel, and are not linclined to drink them….

 

[scifan57]

We got so caught up in the excitement of moonshine in Tennessee (and in a distillery gift shop) that we bought 3 bottles of the stuff. Dave used the butter pecan as a coffee addition, but we still have blackberry and salted caramel, and are not linclined to drink them….

My grandmothers cottage at a local resort had an ingenious method of keeping food cool in the summer before the cottage had electricity. In the kitchen was a deep concrete lined shaft behind a door. A wooden box with shelves could be lowered into the shaft and raised to get at the stored food. Have you seen anything like this in your visits to historic houses?

 

[giradman]

My grandmothers cottage at a local resort had an ingenious method of keeping food cool in the summer before the cottage had electricity. In the kitchen was a deep concrete lined shaft behind a door. A wooden box with shelves could be lowered into the shaft and raised to get at the stored food. Have you seen anything like this in your visits to historic houses?

All types of ingenious methods to keep 'food & dairy products' cool were used before refrigeration - the Alexander's 'Spring House' was named for an underground spring that came to the surface inside the building; the water's temperature was constant in the mid-50ºF - the items needing cooling were placed inside containers and then put into the spring - most modern refrigerators are kept in the mid- to high 30sºF, so not too bad.

But this brought up the 'ice box' days - in the late 1700s, ice was likely used for various purposes but the concept of the 'ice box' seemed to be an early 19th century invention from the quote below. When I was growing up in the 1950s, especially earlier in that decade, we had a refrigerator but I do remember an 'ice man' in the neighborhood - those were the days when we had dairy products and bread delivered to the house. Just a few web pics of harvesting, cutting and storing ice, along w/ some 'ice boxes'. Dave

The ice trade, also known as the frozen water trade, was a 19th-century and early-20th-century industry, centring on the east coast of the United States and Norway, involving the large-scale harvesting, transport and sale of natural ice, and later the making and sale of artificial ice, for domestic consumption and commercial purposes. Ice was cut from the surface of ponds and streams, then stored in ice houses, before being sent on by ship, barge or railroad to its final destination around the world. Networks of ice wagons were typically used to distribute the product to the final domestic and smaller commercial customers. The ice trade revolutionised the U.S. meat, vegetable and fruit industries, enabled significant growth in the fishing industry, and encouraged the introduction of a range of new drinks and foods.(Source)

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[giradman]

Lake Norman - Long Weekend Getaway - October 2024

As stated below, Lake Norman is the largest man-made lake in North Carolina and was formed by damming the Catawba River by the Cowans Ford Dam, a Duke Energy project for hydroelectric power. The northern portion of the lake (drive on I-40 > I-77) is just an hour west from us and Charlotte another 30 mins only. The first web-pics show the numerous finger extensions (the shoreline is 520 miles!) of the lake now populated with innumerable housing and commercial properties, including marinas and boat rental businesses.

The next set of images (both mine and from the web) are of the house we rented for 3 days (it's location is the blue dot on the first pic) - modest size but beautiful inside with a large 4K HDTV and Apple TV (so I could sign in on my account!). Huge back porch leading down to the dock area with adjacent properties all having docks with boats (both regular ones and pontoons, the latter quite common especially as rentals).

Lake Norman is a man-made fresh water lake in southwest North Carolina. The largest lake in the state, it was created between 1959 and 1964 as part of the construction of the Cowans Ford Dam by Duke Energy. Located in Iredell County, 15 miles north of Charlotte, Lake Norman State Park boasts the region's popular mountain biking trail system. (Source)

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[giradman]

Lake Norman - Long Weekend Getaway - October 2024 (End)

Last day, took a walk along the street and saw some lovely houses and plenty of water views - more docks with boats, pontoons, and other water activities equipment - even a house under construction - now many of those were modest to moderate in size and likely modestly priced, but there are many multi-million dollar properties (we saw a few years ago on a boat tour of the lake which no longer is in business - a definite miss for us); but a couple of ending pics of two very expensive properties!

For eats, nothing fancy - a couple of times at the Toucan's Lakefront Restaurant and a few dinners at Big Daddy's Restaurant - started out with oysters each time and stayed with seafood. Dave
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