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.

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 Mary Krent with her granddaughter Jacquelene Krent who is sitting in her lap. Jacquelene is looking off to the side and smiling. Mary looks down at Jacquelene and slightly smiles. Both of them are wearing dresses.

Photograph of Mary Krent with her granddaughter Jacquelene Krent who is sitting in her lap. Jacquelene is pointing and making an angry expression. Mary looks down at Jacquelene and appears to be laughing. Both of them are wearing dresses.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is smiling at Jacquelene while Ester and Jacquelene look off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is smiling at the camera while Ester and Jacquelene look off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of Mary Krent with her granddaughter Jacquelene Krent who is sitting in her lap. Jacquelene is pointing and making an angry expression. Mary looks down at Jacquelene and smiles. Both of them are wearing dresses.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is looking at the camera while Jacquelene and Esther are looking off to the side. Jacquelene is sitting in her father's lap. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of Mary Krent with her granddaughter Jacquelene Krent who is sitting in her lap. Jacquelene is looking off to the side with a serious expression on her face. Mary looks down at Jacquelene and slightly smiles. Both of them are wearing dresses.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is looking at the camera while Jacquelene and Esther are looking off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of Jacquelene Krent as a toddler, looking off to the side with her mouth open. She wears a dress with boots and sits on a velvet piece of fabric. A solid-colored wall can be seen behind her.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is smiling at Jacquelene while Ester and Jacquelene look off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of Mary Krent with her granddaughter Jacquelene Krent who is sitting in her lap. Jacquelene is looking off to the side with a serious expression on her face. Mary looks down at Jacquelene and slightly smiles. Both of them are wearing dresses.

Photograph of Jacquelene Krent as a toddler, looking off to the side with a serious expression on her face. She wears a dress with boots and sits on a velvet piece of fabric. A solid-colored wall can be seen behind her.

Photograph of Jacquelene Krent as a toddler, looking off to the side with a serious expression on her face. She wears a dress with boots and sits on a velvet piece of fabric. A solid-colored wall can be seen behind her.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is smiling at the camera while Ester and Jacquelene look off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William is smiling at the camera while Ester and Jacquelene look off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of Jacquelene Krent as a toddler, looking at the camera and crying. She wears a dress with boots and sits on a velvet piece of fabric. A solid-colored wall can be seen behind her.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. William and Easther are smiling and Jacquelene has a serious expression on her face. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. They are all looking off to the side and Esther is smiling. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of William (Bill) and Esther Krent sitting on a couch with their daughter Jacquelene. They are all smiling and looking off to the side. William and Esther were married in 1941 and their first child Jacquelene was born in 1942.

Photograph of Mary Krent with her granddaughter Jacquelene Krent who is sitting in her lap. Jacquelene is looking off to the side with her mouth slightly open. Mary looks down at Jacquelene and appears to be speaking. Both of them are wearing dresses.