Clyde May
Clyde May was born in Bullock County Alabama on September 18, 1922, to Annie Lilia May. Clyde never knew his biological father. In November 1928, Annie married Grover Marsh, and six months later gave birth to a second son. Both Annie and the newborn child died just a few days later. Not wanting to raise a child that was not his own, Grover Marsh left and abandoned six-year-old Clyde, essentially orphaning him. Clyde May was taken in and raised by his grandparents, Charles and Harriet May and was treated as a sibling by their other children and grandchildren. Clyde grew up during the Great Depression and was aware of the hardships his grandparents faced. Sometimes food was scarce, and Clyde would feel he was a burden and guilty because if they had not taken him in, the food he was eating could have been divided up between all the other children.
In December 1942 at the age of 21, Clyde May enlisted in the U.S. Army. While on leave in April 1943, he married Mary Cynthia Petty, and they would go on to have eight children. He fought in World War II, serving in the 77th infantry on both Guam and Okinawa. As he was traversing down a hill in Guam, he was wounded in both feet by machine-gun fire. Clyde was awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. While Clyde was in the Army, he divided his wages between his grandparents and his wife. When he returned to the United States in 1945, Clyde May met his first-born child for the very first time. Clyde May made it his goal to provide a comfortable life for his family, in hopes that they would never want for anything or feel like a burden as he had as a child.
Bullock County soil was unsuitable for most types of crops, but in 1950, Clyde bought a few hundred acres and started farming peanuts. Clyde also worked for the Bonnie Plant Farm and the Baggett Transportation Company. Still, not making enough money to support his family, Clyde turned to making moonshine to supplement his income. He used copper stills and a condenser of his own design and took water from natural springs along the “Chunnenuggee Ridge” that feed the Conecuh River. Clyde May used whole grain rye in his mash and let it ferment slowly and naturally rather than the more common method of using ground rye to speed up fermentation. May typically sold unaged whiskey but sometimes used baked apples to coat charred oak casks and aged the whiskey for five to six years. The apple-infused flavor is still a component to the modern version of Clyde May's "Alabama Style" whiskey.
Clyde May’s immediate family considered moonshining a family business that they never discussed with others. They knew it was illegal but believed it necessary for income and it was an important part of their folk culture. The boys carried water to the still, as well as the grain, sugar, bottles, and barrels. The girls cleaned used glass gallon jugs in which May bottled the moonshine. Clyde May made illegal moonshine for more than 40 years but was only arrested once. In 1973, May was arrested for distilling his whiskey illegally and served an eight-month stint incarcerated at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. Upon his release, he set his stills back up and continued his moonshine operation producing 300 gallons a week. The incident coined the Conecuh Ridge Whiskey motto of, "It's better to break laws than cut corners," a phrase attributed to Clyde May.
Clyde May died on January 31, 1990, and was buried in Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery in Union Springs, Alabama and his whiskey remains an important part of the Alabama palate.
Despite his passing, the passions, processes and traditions live on through Conecuh brands and in 2022, Conecuh Brands along with Clyde May’s grandson, Clyde May II, broke ground on a new distillery in Troy, Alabama, bringing the brand back to its Alabama roots. That distillery opened up in January 2025.
Contributed by: Kevin Hazard, Chicago, Illinois
with support from M. J. (Michael) Jacobs, Tennessee Whiskey Section Editor, Smyrna, Tennessee