Sunday, July 21, 2019

Moonshiners Steal Aberdeen Church's Copper Roof to Make Stills, July 22, 1919

From The Monroe Journal, Tuesday, July 22, 1919

Neighborhood Comment

A few years ago the Pages built a magnificent memorial church at Aberdeen. The best of material was used in its construction, the roof being covered with copper shingles, and it has been since the pride of the community. But now it is almost roofless, and the wealthy Pages will have to pass out a little more coin for a new one. It won’t be a copper roof, either, though there is no doubt that it is the best roofing material made. Copper is in too much demand for moonshining purposes these days to be exposed even on the roof of a church, for that’s the demand which the first roof went to fill. Capt. W.L. Howie is our authority. He was in Aberdeen the day after the moonshiners stole half of the roof. That’s even worse than the sin of that old darkey who used to store liquor, which he kept for sale in the basement of the Monroe Baptist Church.

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Messrs. Lee and Crawford Griffin, when they conducted a sales stable in Wadesboro years ago, had to contend with a certain inveterate loafer. This man, running true to his tribe, had another besetting sin. He imbibed too freely and too often of the flowing bowl. This sin also made him an added burden on the Griffin brothers because he always chose their stables in which to sleep off the effects of the spree.

Their patience exhausted, the Messrs. Griffin began to tax their ingenuity to rid themselves of the loafer, who often disturbed them in their trading by his lusty snoring. Hints or reprimands intended to impress the man with the undesirability of his presence had not the least effect. To all intents he was a parasite contended with all his days.

It happened that a furniture store in Wadesboro rented some vacant space in the Griffin brothers’ stable to store its surplus goods. One day when the store unloaded some coffins in this space the Messrs. Griffin conceived of a plan that eventually rid the place of their parasite. The next time this old man staggered to the barn to sleep off his booze they immediately got into action. Selecting a nice, glass-plated coffin from the furniture stock, they placed the now unconscious man in it. The folded his hands, first placing n them a bouquet of flowers; put a coin over each eye, and scattering flowers all about his body, closed the lid.

Two hours later, from a point of vantage, they watched the terrible awakening. The first sign of returning consciousness was when the man began to flutter his right eye-lid. The coin swung in the balance, hesitated a little, then fell. A dazed look spread over the man’s face. As yet he could not grasp the meaning of his surroundings. The left eye began to move a little, and the other coin went the way of the first. The scent from the flowers woved the old fellow to glance in the direction of his hands, which still held the bouquet. His predicament began to dawn upon him. Glancing upward he managed through the rays of light that fell downward, to learn without a doubt that he was housed in a coffin. An agonized scream rent the air, and a sound of falling glass was heard as the man dived upward throught he glass front of the coffin. Neither did he hesitate on reaching the floor; but he went out the door, and he was never seen again back at the stables.

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