THE BIG STILL

Sometime late in 1928 the Wisconsin Syndicate established a reliable partnership within the Blooming Prairie community. In late 1929 they began to build a large still on a farm site six miles west of Blooming Prairie where a previous large still had been raided. The location close to Highway 30 and the dependable flowing well were perfect for alcohol production.
The still was built at night and the majority of activity took place at that time. There was a system of trenches, which were covered by boards and sod that connected the buildings and led out to where the cars were parked. This allowed the crew to move around and do work during the day without being seen. The crew dug in a line to pump spent mash into the nearby marsh. This meant no more hauling in barrels, a lot less work. The spent mash had its own noticeable smell and had an interesting effect on the water fowl living at the marsh.
The still started production in the spring of 1930. Local people did not work at this still. A handful of locals carried messages to and from the still, did some repair work and delivered hot meals on a regular basis. The still crew was kind of a nasty lot and didn’t allow locals to get too close. They were not liked and were referred to as gangsters and trash. One local said, “those guys were the type of people who would search their grandmothers coming and going.”
Barns and sheds were rented from local farmers for alcohol pick-up and placement of supplies.  Everybody was paid well for all services.
 
Dec. 5, 1932
Federal agents did not have to find anything, they had been paid for three years to stay away from the still and leave the trucks alone. A couple days before the “big raid” a greedy highway patrolman pulled over a truck hauling corn sugar in Mason City, Iowa. He tried to get a little more protection money out of the driver, but was told where to go. The angry patrolman started calling other law enforcement offices to inform the FBI about this truck. By the time the truck reached Geneva, too many people out of the network were curious about this situation. A quick plan was put together to get the still crew out and make the feds look good.
By late Sunday evening, the locals near the still knew about the coming raid and were warned to stay off the roads by the still. The still crew left safely and all were gone by 10 a.m. on Monday.
The raid was well planned to avoid accidents, misunderstandings and arrests. There never were any arrests and the still operation is not mentioned in later legal proceedings.
The idea that six federal agents went out that Monday evening in the dark of night to raid the still is basically ridiculous. In a real raid there would have been 12 plus well-armed men waiting out in a fairly large area, where they had already been working at night for about three years. In the end it really didn’t matter, they all had been gone since 10 o’clock Monday morning. This means it was safe for the two men referred to as “big shots” to lead the raid.
There were 60,00 gallons of mash and 2,000 gallons of alcohol were poured from the stills. Gallon tins of alcohol were piled high and set on fire. Two thousand empty tins were found and punctured by axes. It is obvious that this particular still was in no hurry to shut down production. This still operated for about two year and one half years.
“Most supplies were destroyed including 7,500 pounds of corn sugar just shipped in from Milwaukee. It is very possible this is the load of corn sugar that got stopped in Mason City.  They piled the corn sugar and used corn knives to cut the bags, then they threw kerosene on the pile. It didn’t burn very well and just made a mess. The locals were very angry since they felt that was food and should have been donated.”
“A sawed-off shotgun, a grim reminder left by the operator of the still who had formally made alcohol in Chicago made the federal agents shudder.”  They knew this from just one raid?  What was his name? (Sam Lewis). No arrests were made after this raid.
The article mentions the raids at Baraboo, Wis., which were supposed to have been the basis for the 45 indictments June 11, 1932. This was supposed to be “the biggest still ever found in Southern Minnesota,” yet roughly two months later nothing about the still is mentioned during arraignments on Feb. 6, 1933 in Madison.
We don’t know who wrote the article, but if one reads between the lines, he or she sure knew a lot.
(There really were no actual tunnels)
Note: “The boards that covered the trenches at the still were dug up in the early 1940s. They were thick and in good shape, so they were put to good use in the local area. One local farmer got a nice corn-crib out of this situation. The trenches were filled in afterwards.
 
The previous still
Sometime late in the summer of 1928 a perfect site for a huge still was found west of Blooming Prairie.  It appears that at least three parties were involved in a plan to get the current renter off the farm site and secure it for a huge operation. In the fall of 1928, the renter was approached several times by a fellow from St. Paul and a local man wasting to rent the barn for distilling. The renter said “no” until he was assured the feds were in the St. Paul man’s pocket and the very worst that could happen is that he would get a small fine and his organization would pay that.
The still arrived around Christmas time and distilling started by Jan. 15, 1929. The still was raided on Feb. 15, 1929. The renter was given a sentence of one year and a day in Leavenworth along with a $100 fine. The wife tried to make ends meet, but she and the kids were off the farm site by mid-summer 1929. It is very possible that the fall of 1929, financial arrangements were made with the site owner and construction of a huge still could proceed.
 
Sam Lewis
Sam Lewis, alias Sam Miller, was an alleged “big shot” Chicago still operator. Lewis was arrested in a major still raid in Brown County in July 1931. He was released after $10,000 heavy bond was posted. In the following months Lewis failed to appear in court. His attorney informed the court that Lewis was suffering from a kidney disease and his condition was critical and that was why he failed to appear. The court gave Lewis an order to appear either in Winona or Mankato by June 21, 1932 and be examined by a government doctor. If he didn’t appear by that date, the $10,000 bond would be forfeited. Lewis never appeared.
 
New Year’s Eve 1929
On Dec. 31, 1929, 18 federal agents arrested eight alleged liquor sellers during an afternoon raid in Blooming Prairie. Four of those “sellers” were arrested in Coggin’s Soft Drink Bar and the other four, two women and two older men were arrested in their homes. The eight arrests were the result of a month’s undercover work by a federal agent. (A whole month and only eight arrests?)
 
Steve Wencl is a Blooming Prairie historian who has done extensive research on this subject. Any questions may be directed to him at 507-583-7697.