The Legend of Drag Out Hollow
Script
Hello and welcome every one.
Full flight productions and avalonn.com would like to announce
our first project for 2009.
We are going to produce a gangster movie based on the story of “drag out
hollow.”
This is a story about moonshine, and gangsters. It takes place in rule Calhoun
county Illinois some time the 1920’s
matt@avalonn.com
1. Secret Places
2. The Legend of Drag Out Hollow.
3. Calhoun County at the turn of the century
4. Prohibition 1920 to 1933
5. The search for “Drag out hollow”
6. Summer Paradise
7. Gangsters in Paradise
8. Tomato garden
9. The doctors on call.
10. A gangster stuck in the mud
Secret Places
All around the world there are many secret places. Places were
men and women worked for people that executed clandestine plans. These secret
places are interesting and numerous. But not all are secret any more.
Most people thank of there home’s, communities, and them selves as ordinary.
But in fact many communities are rich with human history. And were there is
human history there is always secrets.
What secret places do you know about?
The Legend of Drag Out Hollow.
In this documentary we are going to explore and examine a local legend. The
legend of drag out hollow.
Near a sleepy little river village called Kampsville. Along the banks of the
Illinois River there lays a pleasant and peaceful valley.
It’s a place were farmers farm the land, and sportsman come and hunt large
trophy game.
But not every thing is as it appears.
Along time ago this place was not so peaceful or quiet.
There are stories about this place, things that have been kept secret for years.
Most of the stories have many things in common and they all go something like
this.
This is the story of “Drag Out Hollow”.
The legend of drag out hollow involves a secret hide out, wild
parties, moonshine stills, gangsters from Chicago, and lots of money.
This sounds pretty interesting right?
But is any of it true? More than that is any of it even possible? After interviewing
dozens of people, and asking hundreds more if they have heard of “Drag
out Hollow” we have come to understand that this local legend is well
known to many of the folks who live in and around Kampsville. Many of the stories
have similarities.
Calhoun County at the turn of the century
In 1900 Calhoun County Illinois was a thriving, prosperous farming community conveniently located at the convergence of two great rivers, and not far from a 3rd.
The Illinois River spilled in to the Mississippi at the southern tip of Calhoun County. A few miles south of that the great Missouri meets the mighty Mississippi also.
Apple orchards dotted the hills and Steam powered paddlewheel boats were are often seen navigating the rivers around Calhoun every day.
The 19th century was a time of national expansion, European migration, and industrial revolution.
The folks who lived and worked in and around the county had all the luxury and amenities that the 19th century had to offer. Blacksmith shops, livery stables, hot plate restaurants, and even a horse powered fairy boat.
In the cores of only a hundred years Calhoun County Illinois went from a distant out post on the western frontier to vibrant and thriving community.
Many small towns all along the rivers thrived during this time. Through out all of the 19th century rivers were the super highway of there time.
But as some people looked back at the old century, and reminisced. Others were looking ahead to the new century. Things were changing fast. In the big cites like St. Louis and Chicago people were driving around in Automobiles. Gas light lamps were being replaced with electric lamps. And the telegraph was being replaced by the telephone. It was a amazing time to be alive.
In 1901 the death of Queen Victoria marked the end of the Victorian era.
In America Theodore Roosevelt was the new president. He would steer the nation head long into the new century.
The people who lived in and around Calhoun County in the early 1900s were ready for the 20th century. The new century offered hope, prosperity, and there was talk of some day getting a bridge.
Prohibition 1920 to 1933
At the stroke of midnight, on January 16th, 1920, America went dry. It’s
hard to believe that a small number of politicians thousands of miles away in
Washington D.C. could make such a dramatic impact upon society all across the
continent. But that is exactly what happened.
Before prohibition became law Calhoun County Illinois was a peaceful farming
community. Nestled between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers the good people
of this farming community enjoyed the fruits of their labor and the country
style of life they lived.
The 18th Amendment, known as the Volstead Act, prohibited the manufacture, sale
and possession of alcohol in America. Prohibition lasted for thirteen years.
Calhoun County would never be the same.
There wasn't a place in the country (including your own home) where you could
legally have even a glass of wine with your dinner without breaking the law.
Seldom has any law been more flagrantly violated. Not only did Americans continue
to manufacture, barter, and possess alcohol; they drank more of it.
Even the people who have never drank a drop before in their life, now was tempted
by this forbidden elixir. Overnight almost everyone in the country became a
criminal. Ordinary people hid illegal liquor in hip flasks, false books, and
hollowed-out canes.
The jails and prisons around the nation soon became over crowded. The poor or
middle class was prosecuted much more than the rich, and powerful. Even though
they both drank the same illegal boos.
Another downfall of prohibition was that the illegally made products had no
standards. Deaths from poisoned liquor rose from 1,064 in 1920 to 4,154 in 1925.
things were not working out as planned.
The idea behind Prohibition was to reduce crime and poverty, and generally improve
the quality of life in America-- by making it impossible for people to get their
hands on alcohol.
Many women, notably the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, had been pivotal
in bringing about national Prohibition in the United States of America, believing
it would protect families, women and children from the effects of abuse of alcohol.
Prohibitionists hoped that the Volstead Act would decrease drunkenness in America
and thereby decrease the crime rate, especially in large cities. Although towards
the beginning of Prohibition this purpose seemed to be fulfilled, the crime
rate soon skyrocketed to nearly twice that of the pre-prohibition period.
Even prominent citizens and politicians later admitted to having used alcohol
during Prohibition. President Harding kept the White House well stocked with
bootleg liquor, though, as a Senator, he had voted for Prohibition. This discrepancy
between legality and actual practice led to widespread contempt for authority.
Over time, more people drank illegally and so money ended up in gangsters' pockets.
Although one would think that prohibition would enhance the difficulty of obtaining
alcohol, liquor was actually very easy to acquire.
Gangster controlled liquor created a booming black market economy.
The bootlegging business was so immense that customers could easily obtain alcohol
by simply walking down almost any street in the big cities.
Replacing saloons, which were all shut down at the start of prohibition, were
illegal speak-easies. These businesses, hidden in basements, office buildings,
and anywhere that could be found, admitted only those with membership cards,
and had complex alarm systems evolving look out’s, and informants. Demand
was very high for alcohol of all types. And were there is demand there must
be supply.
Just six months after Prohibition became law in 1920, women got the right to
vote. Suffragettes were on the front line of this landmark battle.
During this time in history it is rumored that a place in Calhoun
County called “drag out hollow” was part of a large bootlegging
operation. A bootlegging operation so big, and so complex that it attracted
the attention of not the law, put of gangsters in Chicago.
http://www.geocities.com/athens/troy/4399/
http://www.riverwalkjazz.org/site/PageServer?pagename=jazznotes_speakeasies
http://www.1920-30.com/prohibition/
The search for “Drag out hollow”
The legend of drag out hollow involves a secret hide out, wild parties, moonshine
stills, gangsters from Chicago, and lots of money.
This sounds pretty interesting right?
But is any of it true? More than that is any of it even possible?
In early January 2009 Full Flight Production’s sent a scouting expedition
into the remote hills of North Calhoun County to discover and document the actual
location of drag out hollow.
This is what we found.
The search for Drag Out Hollow began on a pleasant Sunday afternoon
in January 2009.
Our scout team was to meet in the small river village of Kampsville on Sunday
at one pm in the afternoon. How ever Steve Godar and I arrived a little early
and decided to explore the east panther creek road first on our own.
Steve had some maps with him that dated back to the 1920s and a global positioning
satellite tracker with him also.
With these instruments and a little luck we were hoping to find a road that
would take us to Drag Out Hollow.
We headed north on the great river road along the banks of the Illinois River.
We turned onto the road just north of East Panther Creek and traveled west.
There was much wildlife to see along the way and the Deer was abundant.
But after some early success and some promising leads we soon found our selves
at a fork in the road.
So we turned back to meet up with the rest of our production crew who were waiting
in Kampsville and then called for a local guide to show us the way.
What we found was surprising and unexpected.
After our January Reconnaissance of drag out hollow! It was then decided to pursue this story further.
Summer Paradise
Along east panther creek on the road to drag out hollow stands
many old farmhouses. Most of these old homes were built some time in the early
1900s. The people who lived in these modest farmhouses were good hard working
farmers. They raised livestock, worked the land, and harvested its fruit’s
and vegetables.
It can be almost certain that most of these hard working folks were good Christians
who attended church on a regular basis. They most likely did not have dancing
parties, fancy boat’s, new fangled cars, and they certainly did not drink
alcohol. They enjoyed the subtle wonders of a simple life, harvesting food from
the land.
A few miles away how ever, along the road to Kampsville were a cluster of beach
houses. These modest but comfortable summer homes were often owned by wealthy
people from the larger cites, like Springfield, Peoria, St. Louis, and Chicago.
These people would leave the hot cities for a summer vacation along the banks
of lakes and rivers.
There was no better spot to vacation in than the river valleys of Calhoun County.
This wooded county was surrounded by water on 3 sides. Getting to and from your
vacation home was easy and comfortable while ridding large paddle wheel boats
that transported goods and people up and down the rivers.
All along the northeast coast of Calhoun County in the 1920s the Illinois River
banks north of Kampsville was white and sandy. There were no levies built yet
at that time. So the river would almost never flood the Calhoun side of the
river. Know one knows how long these white sandy beaches were there. But they
diapered soon after the levies were built on the green county side of the river.
The summer days were warm and fun. Visitors living at the beach houses would
frolic and play in the river all day, pick neck along the sandy beaches, and
hunt for the best fishing spots they could find.
Then in the summers evening the river valley would cool down, and folks would
set around a fire, drink moonshine, and tell fishing stories about the one that
got away. Some times musicians would show up and stay as a guest at some of
the river cottages. Music would be played late into the night. Folks would dance
and sing. There was much fun to be had.
The people who would show up to these beach parties were a device group. Doctors,
lawyers, and businessmen from the big cities were most commonly seen. Many of
them would bring family or guests with them. But at the same time you could
see many musicians, artists, and riverboat captains from all around the local
area.
It was a good time and place to vacation, and it most certainly helped the local
rule economy.
Most all of these folks who vacationed and partied along the beaches were good
law biding people. But it has been rumored that more than a few of them were
gangsters.
Gangsters in Paradise
When talking to people about drag out there are many stories that are told.
Most of the really good stories involve gangsters. Is it possible that gangsters
would come all the way from the big cities to vacation here? What makes North
East Calhoun County a desirable place for gangsters to visit?
Most likely the gangsters who lived and worked in and around drag out hollow
were not the cut throat murders that most people read about in the news papers,
or see in the movies.
The gangsters who took part in the gang wars of Chicago and New York were enforcers
who guarded and fought over large urban areas were the illegal boos would be
sold to the end user. This was the most profitable part of the whole distribution
network. Millions of tax-free dollars would be collected in the cities. The
only time any of the big bosses from the city would come down is if there was
a problem with the manufacturing process or if there was a problem in the transportation
of their merchandise to the city’s.
The gangsters who lived and worked in and around drag out hollow were businessmen.
These men organized and ran a complex distribution network. It was there jobs
to see that the manufacturing would run smoothly and meet the ever-growing demand
from the large cities.
Most of the gangsters at this level of the operation would keep the book’s,
pay off bribes to politicians, and make sure that local law enforcement was
paid off as well. They would also count and collect the profits so they could
make pay roll.
Tomato garden
The story goes that some of the gangsters who were staying at
one of the cabins in and around drag out hollow would walk down and pick fresh
vegetables from the farmers fields and gardens in the summer time.
Many of the farmers who lived in and around panther creek new what was going.
But the folks who would visit and live in drag out pretty much kept to them
selves and never bothered any one.
So one day the farmer is working in his garden and one of these gangsters shows
up. He picks 4 or 5 tomatoes and then puts a rubber band with a $20 dollar bill
to a tomato stake.
The next day the old farmer sees the gangster, he walks up to
him and out of politeness he tells the gangster “listen I cant take $20.00
dollars for a hand full of tomatoes.” And he offers to give the money
back.
The gangster refuses, then smiles at the old farmer and say’s “
listen here buddy, if your going to want more than a $20 dollar bill for just
a hand full of tomato’s then were going to have a problem”.
The doctors on call.
Another story I heard was that there used to be a doctor who
was sent down from Chicago and was paid to live and work in Kampsville.
It seams that some times gangsters would get shot or stabbed while being involved
in a criminal act. They would need a place to lay low for a while and heal up.
But to have a hide out in such a rule location made it difficult to get to a
doctor. So successful operations would hire there own doctors, and nurse.
It is rumored that on more than one occasion doctors were sent down to drag
out to take care of sick or injured men.
Because they could not go to a hospital for fear of being arrested. These men
would require medical assistance at the hide out location.
A gangster stuck in the mud
In 1920 there was not many automobiles driving around Kampsville
yet. Most of the transportation was done buy horse and buggy. And most of the
farmer’s fieldwork was done buy beasts of burden.
That might be why there is a interesting roomer about a car getting stuck in
the mud with a famous passenger on board.
It has been said that Al Capone himself was seen visiting the beach near drag
out hollow, and even drove up the hollow to see the operation for him self.
One farmer tells that while working in the field with his team of horses a stranger
came up to him and asked if he would pull his automobile out of a creek. The
farmer obliged and pulled the automobile back onto the road.
When he was done pulling the car out one of the passengers walked towards him
with a generics sum of money. After insisting that he take the reward the stranger
thanked him and then continued on his way.
For many years it has been said that it was Al Capone him self. But in fact
know one will ever know for sure.
Matt Capps