Hack Ayers Three Unforgettable Friends Hack On a lovely fall day in 2005, we were meandering behind truck traffic as we slowly climbed Pine Mountain just south of the Kentucky/Tennessee border. I was trying to find a special rock formation known locally as the Devil’s Racetrack, but was unsure how far south of the border we needed to be. At mile marker 147, the interstate peaked at 2,247 feet and within a fewmiles, we reached the exit which everybody who has driven I-75 remembers – Stinking Creek. But still no “Racetrack.” It was becoming late in the day, so we decided to spend the night a few more miles down the road at Caryville, and ask the locals for directions. We chose the Hampton Inn and, in the morning, met Hack Ayers, a gregarious Southern gentleman who was very much a legend in this mountain area. Born in Stinking Creek and a third-generation moonshiner (bootlegger), Hack knew the back roads better than any revenue officer and was able to show us his secret route through twisting and almost undriveable mountain roads, to the Racetrack. After checking in, it took us at least an hour to reach our room!The corridors of Hack’s hotel were fascinating. All of the walls exhibited his huge collection of original historical memorabilia from the Titanic first-class menu to newspapers with huge headlines declaring VE Day and the Bombing of Hiroshima. But the most unusual artifact had to be a framed brown leather jacket worn by his bootlegger father, “High Johnny” Ayers, complete with a bullet hole; here’s the story. On a sunny Cumberland Mountain day, High Johnny collected 25 cases of moonshine whiskey from a still and hid them in a chicken coop at the family farm. Since there was no school that day, he asked seven-yearold Hack if he would like to help. As they finished, High Johnny and Hack were ambushed by five armed and drunken revenue agents who allegedly opened fire, riddling the property with 32 bullets. One caught High Johnny just below his heart and Hack watched in horror as his daddy dropped to the ground, dead. A close examination of the displayed jacket shows the bullet hole just above the zipped chest pocket. Over the years, we got to know Hack, who shared many stories about his life in the mountains. To local folk, moonshining was not considered a crime; given the poor economy of the times, it was the only way to earn a living and put food upon the table. While dining out one evening, I felt something moving under the table and, before I knew it, I was holding a Mason jar of moonshine whiskey; Hack sat across the table with a look of innocence on his face. Later, he shared an old movie of his Gran’daddy’s last likker (sic) run; here are some outtakes from the film. Sadly, Hack passed on to the Big Still in the Sky in January 2020 and the hotel corporate office told the new owner to remove all corridor memorabilia, since it was not consistent with their corporate image. A sad loss to those I-75 travellers who have enjoyed Hack, his stories and fascinating inn decor. We have been driving Interstate-75 to Florida since the 1960s, starting in the early years when sections of the route were still under construction. Our normal “snowbird” drive took three days, but this changed substantially in 1992 when we started seeking interesting roadside stories for our new travel book, Along Interstate-75. It was during these in-depth research trips that we met our “Unforgettable Characters”...three special people whomwe would like to share with you in the following stories. Hack Ayers by Dave Hunter Over 30 years of I-75 research trips, Kathy and I have met many interesting people…but none as special or unforgettable as those in the following stories. 22 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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