A Collection of Short Stories (Bootlegging)

The South Longyard Plant 

A federal Prohibition agent and two Massachusetts State Police officers descended on Luther Hosmer's farmhouse in the desolate part of the South Longyard section of Southwick at about 10:00 p.m. on April 27, 1928. 

There, authorities smashed their way in and found a large-scale liquor operation, but not a soul around. 

The manufacturing setup was so extensive that they dubbed it "The South Longyard Plant." 

F. B. Arnold & Sons Tobacco

Luther Hosmer had rented the property to others, perhaps tricked into thinking they would operate the farm. Instead, the so-called renters installed equipment, creating a plant capable of producing large amounts of alcohol, presumably for wholesale. 

The plant was so complete that it took workers until late the next day to dismantle the equipment, which included: a 1000-gallon still, two 300-gallon and six 1200-gallon galvanized iron tanks, seventy-five tanks filled with the finished product, a large boiler, fifteen boxes of charcoal (for filtering), and more. 

Authorities loaded the confiscated items onto trucks that took them to a storage facility in Springfield, most likely Bay State Storage, a warehouse the state stored illegal liquor evidence pending trial. 

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Nicholson's Farm

Federal agents and Massachusetts State Police, assisted by Constable Joseph Morehouse, raided a tobacco barn on John B. Nicholson's property in Southwick, Massachusetts, on September 5, 1932. (Agents had watched the barn for a week before the raid. However, they believed that the distillery started in June.)

Nicholson's property was located about 2.5 miles south of Southwick Center. His barn sat about three-quarters of a mile off College Highway.

Agents found two stills: one capable of making 1,500 and one with a capacity of 2,500 gallons. They also found four 7,000-gallon vats full of grain mash, 25 gallons of finished alcohol, and another 400 gallons in the process of being redistilled.

Authorities arrested two workers during the raid, but it is unclear if they arrested John Nicholson or others.

The bootleggers outfitted the barn with a clever device, so those passing by couldn't see smoke and light. The fumes, however, could be smelt about a half-mile away.

In October, the government filed a liquor libel suit in federal court seeking forfeiture of the liquor, stills, and other assets confiscated in the raid. Those named in the suit were the two men arrested during the raid, a third man and John Nicholson.

Author's Notes: 

Massachusetts voters repealed state enforcement of Prohibition in 1930, but it remained a violation of federal law.

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Fowler's Gaffe

There were about a dozen homes on Fowler Road, a little used backroad in Westfield connecting it to Southwick, in 1933. Most of the Fowler Road residents were farmers.

On Friday, May 12, at about dusk, a call from one of that road's residents came into the local police station. The excited and somewhat frightened caller reported seeing two automobiles speeding by his house.

Even though the caller said the tailing coupe fired shots at the first automobile, he said he was close enough to see the vehicle's plate number through the dust kicked up by the cars as they sped down the dirt road.

Local newspapers got tipped off about the gun battle between possible bootleggers or bandits, a somewhat problem at the time, so they held their morning edition front pages way past the standard deadline to get what would surely be the big story of the day.

Police contacted the Massachusetts State Registry of Motor Vehicles, who informed them that the car wasn't a coupe but a coach belonging to well-respected Southwick farmer Oliver Holcomb, who lived on Vining Hill.

Westfield police headed for Fowler Road. They brought along state constables for backup. Authorities interviewed residents along Fowler Road, who estimated they had heard some 20 to 25 shots as the two autos flew by.

One resident told investigators that she came out of her house after the automobiles passed and found her cat dead by the road, an innocent victim of a flying bullet. Police quickly determined that a car had struck and killed the cat. However, the cat's owner refused to accept their findings.

Authorities went to Southwick, where they questioned Holcomb. He thought about it briefly before telling them that his car had backfired several times and he must remember to take it to the mechanic for service.

Case closed.

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Bryon Howe of Old Granville Road, Southwick, Massachusetts, and five co-defendants were indicted by the Boston Federal Grand Jury on September 25, 1935, for attempting to operate an unregistered still on his 74-acre farm. 

Howe was constructing a $10,000 still. The five codefendants were from New York.