Page 38 - Discover SPRING 2022

pastures. According to Charlie Walker, it was farm. By 1942, the war had rendered the
along this same seven mile stretch of 40 that CCC unnecessary, so the abandoned camp
Robert Mitchum shot a scene for the film was converted into a prisoner-of-war camp.
“Thunder Road” in 1958. It was a story about At first, there was no perceived need for high
Tennessee moonshiners, making this locale security, since the prisoners could not easily

particularly appropriate. flee outside our borders or assimilate into the
surrounding population. So they were put to
“They told Dad, Keep your cows and cars in
work, and this brought them to the Jefferson
tonight – we’re filming”, Charlie recalls.
farm in Penhook.

It’s no secret that Rt 40 was well-traveled
Joe and his brother were
by moonshiners; Joe
college students at the
remembers a cut through
time, working on the farm
in a hill on the farm
during summer break.
along Rt 40, where law
“My brother and I… were
enforcement officers would
hunting… and I guess the
perch their cars atop an
Germans were in the corn
incline that would enable
field, scaring the rabbits
them to accelerate quickly
out… we were down there
onto the roadway, in hot
hunting near them… and
pursuit of their quarry.
one of us shot, and one of
He also speculates that
the Germans climbed up
moonshining may have
on the fence and started
been even closer to home.
counting heads.”
“My father had a tenant
Young Lib Jefferson
farmer… didn’t make much
was the little girl who had
money… he was there five
tried to give the German
or ten years,” Joe says, with a twinkle in his
soldier a drink of water. It wasn’t the last time
eye. “Anyway, when he left, he bought a big
she upset her grandmother. “My sister and I
farm… he had to have a still somewhere… he
were teenagers or almost teenagers. Anyway,
didn’t make that money working the farm.”
we were quite interested in money and didn’t
Prior to the Second World War, there have any. So Daddy… would hire people by

was a Civilian Conservation Corps camp the day… and we approached him… begged
established in Penhook. The CCC was one and pleaded… and he finally let us work… my
of many New Deal programs designed to put grandmother about had a fit…”
people to work during the Great Depression.
Grandmother’s ennui was short-lived; the
The projects included building fences and
problem quickly solved itself. “We lasted all of
stone walkways in such places as the Jefferson
one day,” Lib laughed. “It’s a… horrible job…

36 Discover Smith Mountain Lake SPRING 2022