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125 Years Ago - 1885
    While Dr. Barber of Middleburgh was out in the country on professional business a few nights ago, some miscreant loosened one of the lines from the bridle and attached it to the breast collar. After starting the horse, he found that he had no control over him; when, by the use of one line ran the animal into a fence corner. It is a pity that such a person cannot be caught and made an example of.

100 Years Ago - 1910
    Mrs. T.A. Shortess of Beavertown wandered away from her home last Wednesday morning and walked to Kreamer, where she was stopped and an effort made to hold her there until the arrival of friends, but she would not have it that way. She started to walk home and walked as far as Paxtonville when her pursuers overtook her.
    The snow which fell last Thursday and Friday night in Snyder County has all but disappeared. Six inches fell at most places with some sections receiving as much as 12 inches.

75 Years Ago - 1935
    Mr. M.A. Wetzel, 40, of Beavertown met with an accident Friday afternoon while hunting near his home. He was hunting with a group when a rabbit ran between Wetzel and one of the younger hunters. The latter took aim and fired at the rabbit. Mr. Wetzel was in the direction of the firing. One shot entered the eyebrow and flattened out against the bone above the left eye. Two entered the chest and two the left arm. The shots were removed in the office of a local physician. The man is in good condition.
    Dinius Bros., dealers in Ford cars and who have garages in Middleburg and Selinsgrove find a large demand for the 1936 model Ford. They have delivered ten new units since they were introduced.

50 Years Ago - 1960
     At Monday evening's meeting of Reliance Hose Company No. 1, Middleburg, John Ebright, Jr. and Rev. James H. Gold joined the ranks of the organization. One fire and fourteen ambulance calls were reported for October.

35 Years Ago - 1975
    Midd West School Board was informed that the final audit of the district's books showed a surplus of almost $300,000 remaining from its budget for the fiscal year which ended July 1st, 1975.

From the Archives of
The
Middleburg Post

    There is no fixed date as to how early the distilling of grain began in Snyder County. Some dates proposed go back to 1780, but what is known is that all distilleries in the county went out of business on or before January 1, 1920. That is when the Volstead Law and the 18th Amendment went into effect. More popularly known as "Prohibition."
    Before 1920 a man was not considered an outlaw or a criminal if he had a license to operate a distillery. Operators were responsible for paying his Revenue tax when the collector called for it.
    In the early days of the area, before good roads and before there was a real market for grain, farmers found it more profitable to distill their grain and sell the whiskey than to sell whole grain.
    Also, newly cleared ground did best growing rye for a season, and rhy is a key ingredient in whiskey. A bushel of rye when distilled yielded about three gallons of whiskey, which in the early part of the 20th century was worth from $1.90 to $2.50 a gallon Farmers also found it profitable to raise rye and less oats and wheat.
    During that time, having a drink of whiskey was as common as having a soda is today, according to records of that time. Farmers could not harvest grain or have workers build a building unless they had Rock and Rye Whiskey provided to them.
   On farmer who worked the fields in the mid 1800's, Amos Winey, of Richfield, was the first to refuse to furnish any kind of liquor to his harvesters. At first it created quite a stir, but he stuck to his resolution and those who refused to work for him came back and asked for the job after all.
   Many, but not all, townships contained at least one distillery over the years. Unfortunately, there are no traces left of them anymore, and many people, even those familiar with county history, cannot definitely name a location of a distillery.
    In Adams Township, just east of Port Ann, at the foot of Jack's Mountain was located the Shawver Distillery. This was in operation for about 30 years from 1878 to 1908. This was one of the smallest distilleries in

the county, with an operating capacity of 118 gallons.
    When Mr. Shawver began the business, he used large wood-en vats to ferment the grain, which he had ground at a nearby grist mill. It also required a certain amount of barley in making the mash.
    This preparation was allowed to remain in the vats for about a week. The time allowed for proper fermentation and had to sometimes be adjusted because of the weather.
    If the preparation got too "wild", as Mr. Shawver would say, he would pour in a bit of sweet cream "to quiet the spirits" in the vat.
    After the fermentation process was over, the contents of the vats were heated by a large boiler and reduced to steam,

completely unheard of in this day in age, regarded two young boys, who were charged with delivering two one-gallon jugs of whiskey across Jack's Mountain to an iron furnace near Glen Iron.
    When they got to Glen Iron with the two jugs, one of those who ordered did not want his
whiskey. So the boys had to carry the jug back to the distillery with them. Both were disgusted and tired so they decided to drink some of the whiskey to "lighten their load and revive their spirits".
    Since it was sealed and they did not want to break the seal, they took a nail and pushed it through the cork, making a hole large enough to get some out. After they were refreshed, they took the balance home with them.
   Several days later, when a customer came to the distillery for a gallon of whiskey, he found the gallon short. When the operator asked the boy if he had taken any out, he replied, "a little". When measured, there were only three quarts left. So each boy drank a pint of whiskey on their walk home.
    Marks Distillery set up operation in at the foot of Shade Mt. near the Middleburg reservoir. This was a large moonshine still that was also operated during the days of Prohibition. The still was discovered when the mash came floating down the stream into a pasture field at the foot of the mountain and the cattle actually got drunk from drinking the water.
    This distillery had a capacity of thirty gallons of whiskey a day and used up to ten bushels of rye daily. Most of the product was sold to wholesalers in Philadelphia for $1.60 to $1.80 a gallon.
    Mr. Marks learned how long to keep his mash before it would be able to be consumed by animals without getting drunk. By this method he also raised cows and pigs for sale, a byproduct of his distillery.

then forced through copper coils and cooled with cold spring water. That's the reason distilleries were located near a spring.
After it was reduced to vapors again, the liquid would be put into charcoal barrels and left to season or "age" for at least three years, and some, much longer. This whiskey was sold under the "Shawver Brand" and had a reputation for being very good.
An interesting anecdote of the time, something that would be

Snyder County Distilleries of the Past

Put out of business by Prohibition...