Ken Howard, founder of Doc Howard’s Distillery, and his grandson Joshua, who by the way is world renowned expert at Call of Duty, were about to add the yeast to a corn whiskey mash. Joshua, who was tall and sandy blond like his dad, stuck his finger into the eight inches of clear brown sugar water on the top of the mash and said, “Very sweet Grandpa, its going to ferment really well.” He then turned to his grandpa and asked, “Could you tell me again where the name Doc Howard came from? You are not a doctor.”

His grandpa leaned back and started, “Well, it started in 1794 when your great, great, great, – well let’s say a really great grandpa Benjamin Howard met George Washington. It was during the Whiskey Rebellion when your grandpa was a distiller in Western Pennsylvania. Grandpa Benjamin was a very successful farmer and your Grandma Martha, Benjamin’s wife, was a very good cook. So, it’s fair to say he had not missed any of his five daily meals, typical of farmers then, for many years. He was very rounded and short with a full head of graying red hair. He and about 600 other distillers did not want to pay the new tax on whiskey and even attacked some of the tax collectors. Alexander Hambleton and George Washington started the tax to raise money to pay the country’s debt from the Revolutionary War. Your grandpa and the other distillers in the area formed a coalition to resist the tax and the Federal Government sent an army, led by George Washington, to collect the tax revenues. This is the only time a standing President lead an army in the field.”

“What happened then?” asked Joshua.

Grandpa Howard replied, “Then things got interesting. At the end of a bayonet the distillers paid the taxes but not until there had been several negotiation meetings. During these meetings President Washington and your Grandpa came to respect each other. Your Grandpa also noticed that George’s dentures gave him a lot of discomfort and made speaking difficult. George never wore wooden dentures but instead wore dentures made from a metal frame with natural teeth attached. Your Grandpa offered to adjust the dentures since 20 years of making and repairing whiskey stills had given him considerable experience in tinsmithing and working metal parts. He did such a good job that Washington told him that he did better work than his doctors back in Philadelphia, slapped him on the back and called him ‘Doc’. Tall and majestic President Washington stooping to slap your grandpa on the back made quite a picture. When Benjamin’s friends heard Washington call him Doc, the name stuck and he was Doc Howard the rest of his life.”

Joshua looked puzzled and stated, “That is not the story my mom told me when I was younger.”

Grandpa Howard replied, “Well. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”