Bama Dew
Bama Dew
…being a story of Alabama moonshiners, their techniques and their recipes
A Note From The Editor:
The-North-Alabama-Farm-Boy-Today
A North Alabama farm boy grew up in a tightly knit family with several generations living on the family property. The family’s ancestors and area history were constant subjects of family discussion with one ancestor having the majority of interest. So many stories circulated, not only among family members but townsfolk also, it was thought impossible to determine the validity of the stories–were they true or just local folklore? Many of the tales were very hard to believe due to the difficulty one would have had in days past to actually accomplish the feats featured in the stories. As with all local legends and folklore, a person eventually appears that is intent on finding the basis of the stories and how close or how far they are removed from reality. In this case, that person is the grandson of the leading character in these articles. We have given fictitious names to both. The grandfather is “Melvin Cane”; the grandson is “Raven Cane.” The grandson became a Field Intelligence Group Supervisor for the FBI and perfected remarkable investigative skills. After leaving the FBI, the grandson created a private intelligence group and has a client list including high asset individuals such as famous sports figures, government entities and large corporations. Fate arranged that the grandson would become aquainted with others that offered the opportunity to make a careful and critical examination of the legends and folklore. That group, along with writers and editors, present their findings to you in this series named “Bama Dew.” The facts of the stories are true and the grandfather, Melvin Cane, narrates the stories in the first person.
Terry Platt, Editor
Bama Dew …being a story of Alabama moonshiners, their history, techniques and recipes. By Tracy O. Crane & Terry W. Platt
“Bama Dew” consists of the many true stories about Alabama moonshine – both tales of historical and present day moonshine in Alabama. The tales are narrated by Melvin. We hope you enjoy the stories and ask that you share your own stories with us. Thousands of men and women made moonshine in the early days of Alabama. Making and selling moonshine proved to be a simple way of providing for their families. One relative of the authors of this site, Melvin Cane (alias), was an inventive and energetic moonshiner that helped many families throughout the state of Alabama by sharing his techniques and recipes. Melvin was never arrested for his moonshining activities but six other Cane family members were arrested and jailed for making and distribuiting moonshine. Years of research have gone into determing the travels and the influence of Melvin. Hundreds of documents have been reviewed and hundreds of family stories have been analyzed. During this discovery process, many fascinating facts about Alabama moonshiners were brought to light and an abundance of folk tales were discussed and shared. It is our wish to share the end result of the professional analytical process – true investigative journalism – used by the writers of these stories in a series of articles we have titled “Bama Dew.”
