Old ways die slowly in the mountains

An old song says:
I'll eat when I'm hungry. I'll drink when I'm dry.
And, if moonshine don't kill me, I'll live 'til I die.

The story here - Moonshine stills bubble to surface in Eastern Kentucky - from the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal deals with what is very nearly the end of an era - the era of untaxed alcoholic beverages which goes back to at least the Whiskey Rebellion during the Washington administration. It includes this charming bit of history:
"With the help of his father, who built a still soon after returning from World War I, [Donald] Caudill [now 87] made a few batches of the liquor and then found their 'name was all around town' as producers of good moonshine.
"Caudill said he continued to ply his trade in Leslie and Perry counties until the age of 17, when he left Appalachia to join the military.
"'There was always a market for moonshine,' Caudill said. 'It was only a black mark on your character if you made bad moonshine.'"

Reading this reminded me of a fellow I knew in College Republicans about 35 years ago who was from the coalfield region of SW Virginia. He said they didn't need fake IDs when he was in high school because they made their own beer at home. Oh, for the good old days when kids had wholesome and productive outlets for their free time like making homebrew instead of playing video games.