Still exhibit planned for Dismal Swamp park

Exhibit to educate on ’shine’s history

By Toby Tate
Staff Writer

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Usually when you’re building a moonshine still the last person you want to know about it is the head of the state agency that enforces alcohol laws.

But when Tim Aydlett set out to build his moonshine still in the Dismal Swamp, Bill Chandler, director of N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement, was the first person he called.

That’s because Aydlett’s still is designed for educational purposes — to teach the public about the rich history of moonshine-making in the Dismal Swamp — and Aydlett wanted the state’s top ALE officer on board with the project.

Aydlett, a member of the Friends of the Dismal Swamp State Park, said Chandler was as excited about the project as he is.

“He was very excited about this and said this would be a great educational opportunity to show people exactly what stills actually looked like,” Aydlett said. “Predominately, any still that’s left behind has been blown to pieces (by law enforcement) and that’s what people see.”

Because the possession of any kind of moonshine still — even one for educational purposes — is strictly against the law, Aydlett also sought District Attorney Frank Parrish’s blessing. Parrish, who also believes in the project’s educational value, gave his OK in a letter in August.

“I certainly think that it is fitting, appropriate and has educational value, when one takes into account the typical location of stills over the years and the history and culture of our region,” Parrish’s letter states.

Aydlett set about building a temporary still in a wooded area of the Dismal Swamp State Park in Camden County. Once it’s complete early next year, the still will be located on a path about a quarter of a mile from the Dismal Swamp State Park welcome center, Aydlett said. The site is significant: it’s near where law enforcement authorities destroyed a moonshiner’s still in the 1950s.

Aydlett said the local ALE office has been very helpful with the project, providing information on still design. ALE officials have also helped by providing pieces for the still seized from illegal moonshine stills.

Typically made of copper, moonshine stills come in all sizes, from ten gallons to hundreds of gallons, Aydlett said. The size depends on how much moonshine will be produced.Aydlett said he made his out of old oil barrels and propane tanks. The boiler itself is 46 inches in diameter, six feet tall, and has an eight-foot smokestack.

“We made the smokestack out of two propane tanks — we cut the lids off and stacked them on top of each other,” Aydlett said.

The only thing the still currently lacks are the copper tubes that usually go inside the device, he said.

Aydlett said the still exhibit will include placards explaining the history of moonshine and how it was made, how it was transported and who used it. Visitors will likely be hikers using one of the parks many nature trails.

The still will be featured in a 4.5-minute DVD about the Dismal Swamp being shot by Chapel Hill videographer Davis Stillson and produced by the Friends of the Dismal Swamp State Park, Aydlett said.

The DVD will be used in the welcome center auditorium to inform visitors about the Dismal Swamp State Park, according to Michele Aydlett, founder of Friends of the Dismal Swamp State Park and Tim’s wife.

“(Stillson) has been coming during different seasons in the park and he’s gotten all the flora and fauna, but we also wanted a lot of cultural aspects like the stills, the lighter boat (gondola) and a maroon,” Michele Aydlett said.

A maroon was a temporary settlement of camps and lean-tos created by runaway slaves as they made their way north to freedom. The Aydletts recently constructed a maroon shelter inside the swamp, she said.

Michele Aydlett said a video can cost up to $3,000 a minute, but Stillson is giving them a good deal. Embarq, AG Carolina, the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Tourism Development Authority and the Camden Tourism Development Authority are helping to fund the video, she said.