The Bradley Boys
The Bradley Boys
1887 – 1969
My father-in-law, Robert E. Brown, a prolific storyteller, grew up in Bradley, South Dakota, a railroad town servicing the surrounding farming community on the eastern Dakota prairie. Although his childhood encompassed the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl eras, his anecdotes didn’t dwell on the hardships. Rather, he recalled and passed on fond memories of these years. Several of his stories recounted events regarding mischievous activities carried out by the males from Bradley. Boys will be boys.
Naked Burial
In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Over two million military age men from all over the country, including a large contingent from Bradley, served in the armed forces to fight on …show more content…
The escapades of that particular night lived on in the telling and the retelling of the tale for even future generations to enjoy. The naked burial at Prairie Hill Cemetery in all probability occurred in 1920 or shortly thereafter.3 Thus, the narrative couldn’t have enraptured our storyteller, born in 1926, until the victim suffered through at least a decade of “good natured” ribbing. It’s easy to imagine Robert, a mere boy, listening to his elders entertaining themselves at poor Clarence’s expense and becoming enthralled by the tale of a live burial during a dark and mysterious night in the town’s bone yard and ending with the caricature of a full-grown man dashing naked across farmer Martin’s …show more content…
Therefore, hiding stills on the prairie required imaginative solutions. In the countryside around Bradley, the moonshiners hid their stills in cavities hollowed out of haystacks. According to our storyteller, smoke drifting up and out of haystacks nullified the concealment.5 If the general population could easily identify the location of the stills, they apparently accepted the practice. Prior to prohibition, a smoking haystack would have brought neighbors running to extinguish the flames and save the crop. In addition, it seems as if the local law enforcement agencies ignored the smoke. This outward dereliction of duty may have been a result of a benevolent awareness that the white lightning provided much-needed income for the farm
1887 – 1969
My father-in-law, Robert E. Brown, a prolific storyteller, grew up in Bradley, South Dakota, a railroad town servicing the surrounding farming community on the eastern Dakota prairie. Although his childhood encompassed the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl eras, his anecdotes didn’t dwell on the hardships. Rather, he recalled and passed on fond memories of these years. Several of his stories recounted events regarding mischievous activities carried out by the males from Bradley. Boys will be boys.
Naked Burial
In 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Over two million military age men from all over the country, including a large contingent from Bradley, served in the armed forces to fight on …show more content…
The escapades of that particular night lived on in the telling and the retelling of the tale for even future generations to enjoy. The naked burial at Prairie Hill Cemetery in all probability occurred in 1920 or shortly thereafter.3 Thus, the narrative couldn’t have enraptured our storyteller, born in 1926, until the victim suffered through at least a decade of “good natured” ribbing. It’s easy to imagine Robert, a mere boy, listening to his elders entertaining themselves at poor Clarence’s expense and becoming enthralled by the tale of a live burial during a dark and mysterious night in the town’s bone yard and ending with the caricature of a full-grown man dashing naked across farmer Martin’s …show more content…
Therefore, hiding stills on the prairie required imaginative solutions. In the countryside around Bradley, the moonshiners hid their stills in cavities hollowed out of haystacks. According to our storyteller, smoke drifting up and out of haystacks nullified the concealment.5 If the general population could easily identify the location of the stills, they apparently accepted the practice. Prior to prohibition, a smoking haystack would have brought neighbors running to extinguish the flames and save the crop. In addition, it seems as if the local law enforcement agencies ignored the smoke. This outward dereliction of duty may have been a result of a benevolent awareness that the white lightning provided much-needed income for the farm