The Past Could Save You in the Future
By Dr. G.G. Wilkins of Pittsfield, New Hampshire
The newspapers had many names for me throughout my life.
Dentist.
Saloon keeper.
Entrepreneur.
Coin stamper.
Trader.
Troublemaker.
I have been called all of those things and more.
What I have never been called is unprepared.
That is because I learned long ago that the past contains lessons that may someday save your future.
When most people hear the word moonshine, they picture an outlaw hidden deep in the mountains, operating a still beneath the cover of darkness. The truth is that moonshine played a much larger role in American history than most people realize.
For generations, moonshine was not simply a beverage.
It was commerce.
It was trade.
It was survival.
The word moonshine is believed to have originated from those who worked under the moonlight to avoid unwanted attention. Many of the early distillers were Scots-Irish settlers who carried their knowledge of distillation into the Appalachian Mountains during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
These people were not fools.
They were entrepreneurs.
Roads were poor.
Markets were distant.
Corn was expensive to transport.
A barrel of whiskey was easier to move and often worth far more than the grain used to make it.
The old moonshiners understood value.
That is a lesson worth remembering.
During my years operating Fort Wilkins in Pittsfield, I learned that a man who can create something useful will always have opportunities. Whether I was pulling teeth, selling bear oil, trading furs, advertising on coins, or operating one of my many enterprises, the principle remained the same.
Knowledge creates value.
A copper still is one of the finest examples of that principle.
Most people believe a still has only one purpose.
They are mistaken.
A still can be used to produce distilled water.
A still can create essential oils.
A still can produce perfumes, botanical extracts, flavorings, soaps, and many other useful products.
Throughout history, distillation has played an important role in medicine, agriculture, manufacturing, chemistry, and daily life.
One piece of equipment.
Many uses.
That is the kind of tool I have always admired.
The old moonshiners survived because they possessed skills.
They understood how to adapt.
They understood how to solve problems.
They understood how to create something valuable from ordinary materials.
In a world where many people depend entirely upon others, those lessons remain as important today as they were two hundred years ago.
Gold has value.
Silver has value.
Land has value.
But knowledge may be the most valuable asset of all.
A man who possesses useful skills can create opportunity wherever he goes.
That was true when the first settlers crossed the mountains.
It was true when I operated Fort Wilkins.
And it remains true today.
The world changes.
Human nature does not.
That is why the past may someday save your future.
— Alchemist G.G. Wilkins
Fort Wilkins
Pittsfield, New Hampshire