Skip to main content

My Grandpa was a Bootlegger, Part 2

Bathtub Gin

Okay, here's another great story that my Uncle Bud shared with me just a month or so ago.  Pa and Toni would make batches of liquor in a big tub right in the middle of the kitchen.  He said they would wash it out and it was the same tub they would use to take a bath in. They would make a tub full of their product, bottle it up, cap it, and then store it in the basement to ferment.  Apparently, it wasn't uncommon to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of a bottle that had over-fermented, exploding and popping the cap. Grandma would remark with agitation about the "loss of profit" when that would happen.

I have absolutely no proof that this was the bath tub that was used in their production endeavors, but I do know that this tub was there for a very long time. It know it seemed old back when I had to take a bath in it as a kid when I would spend the night at grandpa and grandma's (yup, no bathrooms were ever added to the building so even in 1975 you took a bath in the big metal tub).   So hey, you never know.....what stories can this tub tell?

Wheeling, WV
Galvanized Steel Tub
Wheeling Corrugating Company
Wheeling Dub L Tub



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vintage Soda Bottles

Vintage, Retro Soda Bottles They just don't make them like this anymore.  Although they are heavy and fragile to transport, they are a more environmentally friendly option than the plastic soda bottles of today. And they just look so much cooler!! Buried in a box in the side garage were a pile of empty soda bottles of various brands.  I find the bygone days of regional soda, before Pepsi and Coke took over everything, fascinating.  I grabbed a few of some of these more interesting looking bottles, most of brands I had never heard of, and found a way to use them as vintage decor in my office. Most of these are from the 1950s. It was fun to do a little retro soda research. We do love our soda pop! Pile of 60+ year old empty soda bottles Vintage Soda Bottle Decor in My Office Howel's Root Beer Bottle is Circa late 1940s The origins of Howel's Beverage Company out of Chicago, IL started with the sale of an orange-julep syrup (this would eventually bec...
1 comment
Read more

Red Dot Potato Chips Cardboard Boxes featuring Ta-to The Clown

Historical Cardboard Boxes with Stories as Interesting as Their Contents I am finding that some of the cardboard boxes that are in the tavern are proving to be unexpected windows into history.  So for your reading pleasure, here is what I learned out about what was once a Madison, WI based potato chip company, complete with a creepy clown mascot. Red Dot Potato Chips and Ta-to the Clown The first thing I noticed when I found these boxes were that they had my dad's name on them.  Once I got past that and all the cool things that were stored inside them, I was then drawn to the brand of potato chips I had never heard of along with its eye-catching clown.  I wanted to find out more. The Company's Mascot - Ta-to (rhymes with potato) the Clown Were clowns not considered creepy back then? A quick google search revealed an interesting story of an entrepreneur with a tragic ending from right here in Madison, WI. I encourage you to check out this i...
4 comments
Read more

Kurth's Brewing, Columbus, WI

Kurth's Beer from Columbus, WI Well, the online auction of items from the tavern has been over now for a few months and at times I find myself still reflecting on how valuable some of those items were to people.  Our signature piece was the Kurth's Beer sign that had been sitting in the garage for upwards of 70 years.  It's that sign that has inspired this blog post, which focuses on all the vintage Kurth Brewing items that were found inside. Kurth's Beer Sign If you want to know more about Kurth Brewery, I encourage you to check out this July 2016 article by Lisa Cestkowski for the Columbus Journal https://www.wiscnews.com/columbusjournal/news/local/kurth-brewery-was-barreling-full-steam-ahead-until-flames-altered-the-course-of-history/article_a5cd6ef0-4a02-5501-bd40-1084d25fe168.html I'm sure it makes sense that there was an abundance of Kurth's Beer served at the tavern. Since the brewery was located in Columbus, WI it was likely the closest bre...
2 comments
Read more