Moonshine Memories & Staggering Cows: Tales from Raleigh County

I grew up in Raleigh county, in a little town called Beaver, in the state of West Virginia. I lived on a 100 acre farm in a family of ordinary means. When I look back to my childhood I realize how fortunate I was to have clean air, clean water, vegetables from a thoroughly organic garden, fresh cow’s milk, butter, and buttermilk–fresh every day. We gave the hogs what was left from each day so we raised great pork. Recycling was a part of life, not something you had to work into your habit. Back then we didn’t have thrift shops like the Goodwill, as we wore our clothes so long that they weren’t fit for anyone else to wear. This is what it was like.