Found in Seminole Hills Project House

Whisky Still Embarrassing

A whisky still capable of sending most Tulsans on a binge quit operating here today in a home subsidized by federal funds and supervised by the city of Tulsa.

The home located at 1844 N. Quaker Ave., is part of the Seminole Hills experimental housing project.

Vice officers Gary Glanz, Larry Elkins, and Gene Keith "sniffed out" the brewing mash and raided the home of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Boyd.

In the attached garage of the three-bedroom brick home were found 600 gallons of corn whisky mash. A 100-gallon still -- which officers said was the largest they had seen -- was filled with brewing mash and set for operation.

Welfare Commodities were strews about the garage. Commodity flour -- mixed with water so it would harden -- was used to seal connections on the still, officers said.

Leroy Thomas, project administrator, arrived minutes later when officers were axing the 50-gallon barrels and dumping the mash.

"This is terrible for the project," he said. "I suspect they (the Boyds) will be moved out."

Thomas said the Boyds have lived in the development since the summer of 1964 -- when the project first began.

The home is part of a 100-unit development for low-income families. Funds for the houses are furnished by the federal government. They are set up by the Home Builders Association. The city owns the homes, and the city is responsible for their supervision.

Thomas said the Boyds pay 20 per cent of their income as rent -- with an option to buy if they can make the down payment. He said they have been paying $50 to $65 a month.

Boyd reportedly is a construction worker, Thomas said, "but I have a feeling he’s been lying to me. I think he’s unemployed."

The Boyds were booked into city jail on suspicion of operating a still -- a felony. Boyd is 36 and his wife, Guthrene, is 42. Also jailed was Curtis N. Maxwell, 49, whom officers said had been living in the home with the Boyds. They have no children.