Messenger-Inquirer from Owensboro, Kentucky • 9

EDITORIALS, SOCIETY, MOVIES, FEATURES, NEWS, COMICS tnttfx. SECTION 2 16 PAGES SUNDAY DECEMBER. .13 1942. torn Ik SOME OF FIRST DISTILLERIES IN DAVIESS COUNTY TT ft Early Daviess Distilleries Were Largest In Kentucky; Production Was Near Top Distillery Plants Mushroomed in the 1880's, a Few Became Famous While Many Failed to Survive Competition Distilleries figured prominently in the early history of Daviess county, in fact the county was second only to Jefferson in Kentucky in number of distilleries and production of whisky. At one time, several of the distilleries here were the state's largest and the sour mash whisky they produced was said to have been the best whisky in the United States.

The first distillery built in this section was on the Ohio river above Pearl street and was operated by a man named Bailey. It was built some time around 1850, but went out of existence around 1870. Young Owensboro Sailor Hasn't Missed Much In This War-Vet Of 5 Big Battles El wood J. Travis, 21, Was Member of Aircraft Carrier Crew During Long Chain of Exciting Naval Engagements (Editor's Note This is the first of three Installments on U. S.

naval action in the Southwest Pacific as seen and told by an Owensboro 6eaman, Elwood J. Travis, who has been in five major engagements.) By IDA F. COCKRIEL Owensboro Messenger Staff Writer (Passed by XI. S. Navy Censor) "The Jap planes flew so low, I could see the fiendish, murderous grins of the pilots and gunners, as they leaned out of the cockpits to see if their machinegun bullets had hit any of us," was the way Elwood J.

Travis, 21, aviation metalsmith, first class, of the United States Navy, described one of the attacks he has experienced in the fighting in the ft Pacific. Reproduction of a charcoal drawing of the T. J. Monarch distillery, and accompanying grounds, is shown above. The distillery was located on the banks cf the Ohio river at Grissom's landing and later became known as the Eagls Distillery of Grissom's Landing.

Mr. Monarch built a fine home on the distillery grounds and lived there many years before coming to Owensboro and erecting horns where the A. S. Griffin family now resides. In addition to the grounds ond buildings, an interior of the sour mash rooms, showing the barrels and vats, is also pictured.

-jc jpr 'SmTK The E. C. Berry distillery, shown above, was located, on the Ohio 'distilleries and was owned by E. C. Berry, father of Henry Berry, E.

C. river just below what is now Dam No. Berry and George Berry. The whisky 45. It was one of the first sour mash mode there was referred to as hand- farmers now use it.

node whisky. The Berry distillery, as Stta-K- did many of the other whisky plants, kept livestock which was fed on the distillery slop, just as fa Iff. I -2SWTr boro. In the Spring or 1881 the Boul-war and Wilhoyte firm was organized and the plant used to make whisky. In 1877 Hill Perkins bought the E.

C. Berry distillery and operated it under the name of Hill Perkins. They continued to manufacture C. Berry." Built in 1881 was the E. P.

Millet Company plant in which Millet, Richard Monarch and Wm. H. Monarch were interested. Builds Old Stone Plant One of the old distilleries was the Old Stone distillery, operated by W. S.

Stone. This was on the River road on the farm owned by the late S. R. Ewing. The main buildings on the farm now stand where the distillery stood from the late 60's for many years.

Stone, in a few years, sold to M. P. Mattingly and Nick Lancaster. In a few years Mattingly bought out Lancaster. Then Lancaster went in with Deane and Herr in their venture.

S. M. Deane, Henry and James Herr and Nick Lancaster had, prior to this tine, converted a grist mill on the river near where the Fleischman distillery is now located, into a distillery. Mattingly first started out in a small way in 1855 when he opened a small distillery. C.

P. Applegate Company operated a distillery at Yelvington and a man by the rfame of Ed Murphy had a distillery at Newman during the whisky Boom in the 1880's. Some Had Brief Existence There was at this time a distillery built across the ravine, by M. P. Mattingly and J.

M. Herr. This had only a brief existence, two or three years. It was during this boom that John Thixton built a distillery on the ground where the municipal light plant is now located. A.

Rosenfeld built another on adjoining property. The Thixton distillery burned and was not rebuilt. -Then it was that Rosenfeld purchased the distillery operated by Deane, Herr and Lancaster and change its name to Rock Springs, that became one of the well known distilleries and operated up until prohibition. In 1881 the J. T.

Welsh distilling company was organized. The building was erected during the Spring of that year and had a capacity of 400 bushels of grain a day. J. T. Welsh, who lived in McLean county, was president.

R. S. Triplett was vice president, S. V. Wallace, secretary and A.

Rosenfeld, treasurer. This distillery later became the Glenmore. Spectacular Fire Recalled One of the well known distillers was J. W. McCulloch, who came to Owensboro as a gauger and bought an interest in the Cliff Falls distillery on Green river.

In the 1880's he built the celebrated Green River distillery on the Texas railroad Just below Owensboro. This operated until prohibition. It was the Green River plant that provided Owensboro with one of its spectacular fires. The fire started in a freight car at 6 o'clock at night and spread to the bottling plant and then to a warehouse. The distillery included four warehouses and the distilling plant.

By some strange coincidence, it is said that as each building burned, the wind shifted to throw the fire on the adjoining unit and so on and on until every building on the premises had been consumed. McCulloch had sold out to Eastern interests in the meantime and the plant was not rebuilt. Remnants of the J. W. M.

Field distillery still remain on the C. C. Evans farm east of Owensboro. Built in 1873 it was operated by Mr. Field for many years.

Mr. Field, a son-in-law of the distiller, John Hanning, had purchased the Reed distillery and moved it East of Shortly after the Bailey distillery was started, T. J. Monarch built a distillery beyond Bon Harbor hills, about three miles from the river, at Grissom's Landing, formerly known at Bunch's Bend. Then considered a plant," the T.

J. Monarch distillery had a capacity of 2,000 barrels a year. Later this distillery was enlarged and became known as the Eagle Distillery at Grissom's Landing. The same company in 1880 started the Eagle Distillery at Birlt City. This plant had a 10-barrel a day capacity.

The brands of whisky placed on the market by both plants were called the J. Monarch," "Imperial" and "Cliff Falls." E. C. Berry Distillery Opened In 1867, E. C.

Berry opened the E. C. Berry Distillery in a plant that had formerly been the R. G. Moorman pork packing plant and was located on the Ohio river at a point Just below what is now Dam No.

46. His son, Henry Berry, in recounting his experiences in that establishment, said: "Sour mash whisky was the important whisky In those days. There were what we called big mash tubs in the plant, each tub held four barrels. There were two rows of tubs, and troughs through which flowed hot water, were connected to the tubs. The meal was packed Into the tubs, then the water was poured over it.

A mash stick was used to stir the mixture until it was smooth. It stayed in the tubs for 48 hours, then it was put Into what was called a beer cistern. Yeast was added and it was allowed to ferment. Then it was ready to be distilled. After being distilled, it was put into charred barrels, then placed in a- warehouse for 12 months, after which it was placed on the market.

And that's how we made whisky." Other Monarchs Other members of the Monarch family went into the distilling business about that time, according to Mr. Berry. Dan Monarch opened a plant in Fifth street about two squares above Crabtree avenue. He died in 1871 and was succeeded by Dick Monarch. That distillery burned and then he bought what later was known as the Daviess County Distilling company.

It had been built by Cunningham and Trigg, Louisville, in 1873, a little below where the Field Packing Co. plant is now located. R. Monarch Co. had a distillery one mile west of Owensboro on what was known as the Han-caster road.

Members of the firm were Richard Monarch and J. T. Magale. Built in the fall of 1869, the office of the firm was located a few doors south of the old Deposit bank. M.

V. Monarch built a distillery on the Hardinsburg road just above the present Glenmore. Called the Sour-Mash Distilling company, it was established in 1868. Another old distillery was the Reed distillery and was located back of where the Guenther Warehouse is now located. It was later moved to the county on what was- later the Cole Fuqua land west of Owensboro on Highway 60.

Rapid Growth Recorded In 1869 John Banning built a distillery on the Yelvington road eight miles east of Owensboro on Pup creek. It burned one fall around 1880. In the following February the John Hanning Distillery company was formed and another plant was erected about a mile from the courthouse, below town and on the river. Around the 1880's distilleries mushroomed, being almost as thick as filling stations before 1942. In 1880 Clarence Boulware built a structure for the manufacture of apple brandy at a point four and a half miles southwest of Owens Young Travis hasn't missed much in this war.

He's been in five major battles and has seen everything from a Jap pilot in a suicide dive, to headhunters with rings in their noses and ears. "The headhunters were not as repulsive as the Japs, either," he avowed. "They're better company." Young Travis, who is a son of Mr. and Mrs. J.

A. Travis, Owensboro, formerly of Beech Creek, attended Hughes-Kirkpatrick school, near Beech Creek, and enlisted in the United States Navy on September 12, 1939. He received his basic training at Norfolk, and had his first taste of war on neutrality patrol. Tells Of First Battle After several months, Seaman Travis was transferred to a new aircraft carrier in November, 1941. "We went; on a training cruise to the Gulf of Mexico and were there during Pearl Harbor.

We heard an account of the attack, and it was hard for us, for many of our buddies were there. There we were thousands of miles away on a training cruise, That didn't last long, though. We went back to port, and after a few days were ordered to the West Coast, We left at 7 a. m. one morning amid lots of excitement, We boys really wanted to get into the fight We had our first excitement several days later.

It was 7 a. m. and there came over the loudspeaker, 'Stand by for submarine attack on starboard That happened to be my side. I had charge of two stock rooms on the hangar deck, The destroyers in our task force dropped many depth charges. We didn't see any subs, but if there were.

any, they didn't, stay there very 'long. i' "We got to the Panama Canal It gives one a thrill to see that feat of engineering. But the men and natives there were just as in terested in our ship as we were in the Canal, and they lined the shores to watch as we passed. You see, ours was a new carrier. We stopped at Balboa before proceeds ing to San Diego and then San Francisco.

We didn't stay long. Just a few days, then came sailing orders. Off To War, "It was on a Tuesday morning, and there was lots of fog. You don't know what fog is, until you see a San Francisco fog. We were called to quarters and our division officer, Lieut.

Commander W. O. Smith, said: 'Take a good look, boys, this will be the last you will see of the Golden Gate for a long, long Well, we all took a good look; one or two might have nibbed away a tear. There was a certain feeling, but underneath it all we were anxious to go across. That's where our buddies were and that's where we felt we belonged.

Well, we sailed. Six hours at sea, the captain opened his orders even he didn't know where we were going when we sailed. Then he read the orders over the loud speaker. I can't tell you what they were. That would be divulging military secrets.

But, nevertheless, we all shouted. I never heard so much skouting in all my life. We were off to war! "We had been at sea for days, heading for a place where we had a very special task to perform pn a certain day. Conditions altered circumstances and before that day arrived, we had some excitement. It was on a cloudy morning.

The sea was rough and misty, and a low haze hung overhead. I was at my battle station, with the fire party on the hangar deck. Suddenly the loud speaker blared out: 'Stand by for We all Jumped to our places. Tension was high. The pilots and gunners jumped in their planes, engines were warmed up and one by one the planes left the ship.

There wasn't anything sad about their departure. We'd raise our hands and wave good-by, and yell after them, and they'd call back, 'So long, see you in time for Some said, 'Don't worry about me. I'll be Everyone left with a smile. They faded away into the horizon to the northwest. That group of planes included torpedo planes, dive bombers, and fighters.

Fighters are necessary to protect the bombers and torpedo planes. They All Came Back "After they had disappeared into the distance, the suspense was terrible for those of us who were left behind. Wje kept our fingers crossed, and with the rest of our task forpe, maneuvered about. Then came the contact. Our loudspeaker gave us an account of the battle as it actually took place.

I remember it well. First there was, 'Our planes are now over the enemy. Now they are attacking the enemy. There is heavy anti-aircraft fire from enemy Installations' and so on and on. Yes, the planes came back every one of them.

They came back a little late for chow but they came back nevertheless. We had been watch- (Continued on Page 12, Sect. 2) Abcve is a view of the R. Monarch distillery, which was located in plant and a stock barn quartered many cattle fed on the distillery refuse. Monarch, who had acquired great wealth, built an elaborate home near $75,000.

The home was later converted into the Daviess County High Fifth street near Crabtrce avenue. A large residence was built near the Monarch manufactured hand-made sour mash whisky. In later years R. the Ohio river east of Owensboro at a cost estimated at approximately school. ELWOOD J.

TRAVIS Bright Leaf Growers Thrill To High Market Loose Leaf Floors Scenes of Much Interest Past By TV. E. DANIEL (Owensboro Messenger Staff Writer) Elation of burley tobacco growers contrasted with the complaints and "dejected appearance of Pryor. raisers presented two pictures of the Owensboro market the past few days. Those who sold bright leaf profited beyond the government's ceiling price of $38, while farmers who clung to the darker types saw a vanishing demand.

The 'comparatively new crop which slipped unobtrusively into fields of the Green river section within the past generation threatens to evict the other from the throne it has long occupied. And where land owners planted Burley questioningly, only to find it adapted to their soil, their answer has been in terms of higher prices and larger monetary averages. Eurlcy Makes Inroads Burley pioneers found opposition In, the long-held opinion that the Green River territory was not favorable to their invasion, many old timers believing Central Kentucky the habitat of Burley and this region peculiarly fitted in soil and weather conditions for the darker tobacco. But, timidly at first, and then with conviction, the Burley advocates found their faith justified, and farms that had been planting only the one type began to share fields with the interloper, which in the course of a few years became the favorite with many farmers. Since early days of settlement the growing of tobacco has been a prime crop here, the changing types and ways and means of handling keeping pace with development in general.

From operating factories in every village and even some in the country the market practice has centered in the one place, Owensboro, with its huge loose leaf floors, its fast-talking auctioneers, and the complicated system of passing ownership of tobacco from the man who raised it to agents of those who will prepare it for consumers. The scale of prices too has' moved with the swing of the pendulum of types and marketing methods, for in the early 1900's best dark leaf sold for $4, $3 and $1 and when offered $6 and $4 growers snatched at the bargain. From those depressing low prices the slant was upwards to the all-high sales of around and slightly above one dollar a pound soon after the first World War, with 50 cents a common figure for high quality leaf. High Burley Averages Now the Burley market brings new, averages to growers, $40 and more, and yields of $550 an acre, with a few going even higher. The $38 ceiling fixed by the government will necessitate a shaving down to those who market later, or the selling of fewer crops at the top figures.

The Pryor start drew from pool leaders sharp criticism of the low prices, around $12 when said averages under $15 would not be be satisfactory. To offset that demand for revision upward came the Burley opening and more than expected averages were reported. The anxious throng that watchd and waited wonderingly last Tuesday, (Continued on Page 12, Sect. 2) -1 i 4 X' i J' 'tkf Symphony Orchestra To Give Goodfellows Program Today Fifty Owensboro musicians will appear in the twenty-third annual Goodfellows concert at Owensboro Senior High school at 2:30 p. m.

today. Prof. George R. Vestal wu organized the Symphony orchestra, is directing the musicians. J.

H. Mc-Kinney is general chairman and the Rev. W. B. Myll, will present the pica of the Goodfellows, to the audience during the intermission.

He will be introduced by Lawrence W. Hager. A military ah" will be added to the concert today, several Coast Guardsmen appearing as members of the tra. Misses Martha Batsel and Jo Ann O'Flynn, cor-netisU from Senior High school, will assist with the program which will be as follows: "Stars and Stripes Forever," Sousa; Minuet from "Military Symphony," Haydn; Turkish March from "Ruins of Athens," Beethoven; "Kelody in Rubenstein; "God less America," Berlin; "Polish National Dance" Scharwenke; "The Pals," Barnard; "Rave Aprcs Le Bal," Boustet; "Hungarian Lustpiel," overture, Kelcr Bela. The orchestra personnel includes the following: First violin Everett Starks, concert master; Ermina Winter, Mrs.

Lernard Alvey, Louise Turner, Mrs. Frederic Bopp, Marian Allen, Marietta Spring, Mary Aloysia French, Charles Shown, Anna Louise Nelson, Colleen Duvall; Second violin Em-mett Gipe, principal; James Mor- (Continued on Page 9, Section 2) Another distillery on the banks of the Ohio, east of Owensboro, was that of M. V. Monarch. It was located on ground adjoining what is now the Glenmore distillery.

That section of the county was dotted thickly with whisky plants, there being one after another for some distance up the river. The view above shows the distillery, occompanying buildings, an interior view of the plant and the stock pasture. Inset is a photogroph of Mr. Monarch. The island, now known as Whitcley's island, is also shown,.