Narrative by Junebug Clark in the summer of 2014 Molasses Making Stir-off - Walking My Girl Home Overall Background: These Molasses Making Stir-off photos were shot by Joe Clark HBSS in the early to mid-1940s. Either on the farm of Fred Whitaker about four miles southwest of Cumberland Gap, or in Cumberland Gap on the farm of Baptist preacher the Rev. Hugh Vancel. More information about these images can be found in scrapbooks in the Clark Family Collection at the University of North Texas Special Collections Library. Specifically in a Detroit news pictorial article published December 13, 1942 titles "stir-off party" where mountaineers make molasses and merriment. Also in life magazine published November 13, 1950 [page 156] titled “Stir-off Time in Tennessee, Fun Starts in Hills as Molasses Boils.’ Also in the library is the NBC Today Show story on Joe Clark HBSS by Bob Dotson. It features Joe Clark returning to Cumberland Gap Tennessee to photograph a molasses stir off taking place in the same location as some of these photographs and attended by some of the same people in the early 1980s. Let me briefly set the scene of the time and era that these photos were made. …

Photograph of a jug of "Wild Spirits" from a still hidden in a tree in the hills of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

Report issued by the Bureau of Mines over the operations of the Nonmetals Division during 1942. The work done by the division is discussed. This report includes tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Photograph of a jug of moonshine hidden in the stump of a tree. Narrative by Junebug Clark: This photo appears in Joe's book "Back Home" where it is captioned, "The Old Marketplace" Photo by: Joe Clark, HBSS. Clark PhotoFile: 0088-1

A letter addressed to Mr. Edward J. Meeman, Editor, The Press Scimitar, Memphis, Tennessee, from T. N. Carswell, dated February 26, 1942. Carswell requests a copy of the editorial written by Meeman, printed by The Press Scimitar on December 22, 1941, which was written in reply to the letter received by Meeman from Carswell requesting an answer to the question "What is Americanism?"

A letter written to Mr. T. N. Carswell, Abilene, Texas, from James W. Bodley, Department Commander, Memphis, Tennesse, dated September 1, 1942. Announcement from the Department of Tennessee presenting Roane Waring as candidate for National Commander of the American Legion.

Photograph of young Roy McCreary crossing a bridge with a walking stick on a path in the Hills of Tennessee, thinking about his future. Beautiful scene in the Hills of Tennessee.

Photograph of Aunt Oma Wright and Aunt Julia McCrary seated by the fireplace in their home in 1942, Cumberland Gap Tennessee. (Aunt Julia is seated in the rocker)

Photograph of two soldiers kneeling by a truck. One of them holds a piece of paper on his lap, and there are more books and papers on a surface to the left.

Photograph of soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division marching down a road in Tennessee or Kentucky while on maneuvers. There are also several trucks on the road, and trees on either side of it.

Photograph of several soldiers, including one identified as Stewart, climbing on a truck with tires and a crane on it.

Photograph of three soldiers identified as Richard Ennis, Joe, and Harry, working in front of a camouflaged truck covered with a net.

Photograph of S/Sgt. Herbert Price on the left, and Sgt. Stewart, wearing a raincoat, on the right, posing on a muddy road while on maneuvers in Rover, Tennessee. A truck is visible in the trees in the background.

Photograph of three soldiers, identified as S/Sgt. Herbert Price, Cpl. James Mizen, and Richard Ennis, standing next to several trucks in a forest while on maneuvers in Tennessee.

Photograph of a soldier, identified as Lembke, looking over his shoulder as he kneels on the ground next to his rolled up bedroll. Other blankets or bedrolls have been stretched on the ground around him.

Postcard with a colored drawing of the Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.

Photograph of two soldiers, Stewart and Lemke, watching another unidentified soldier who sits at the base of a tall 40MM anti-aircraft gun in a field.

Postcard with a colored drawing of the Tennessee state capitol in Nashville.

Postcard with a colored drawing of a lake at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Photograph of two or three soldiers standing in the hatch of a tank in motion. Blurry trees are visible in the background.

Photograph of an unidentified soldier manning a gun on top of a moving tank.

Photograph of two camouflaged control trucks covered with nets in a field with several trees.

Birth certificate of Lee Frith Turney that includes the names of his parents, his birth legitimacy, and location where he was born. The next two sections include affidavits saying the accuracy of the information, and that it has been accepted with the state registrar.

Photograph of children lined up tasting the sweet sorghum molasses off shortened sorghum cane used as a tasting spoon. The envelope containing the negative is annotated "stir-off".