Happy Birthday Clyde: A Tribute To My Grandfather
**Note: The following story was written by the grandson of Clyde May.**
There is a certain amount of responsibility that comes with bearing the same name of a man that impacted so many people in his short time on Earth. It is a responsibility that I think about daily. Not out of fear, but out of love and respect for the grandfather that I never got a chance to know.
Today, my grandfather would have turned 94 years old. Days like this are especially hard for me when thinking about just how badly I wanted to meet him. Fortunately, he left behind a lasting legacy.
He did not work tirelessly for self gratification or to impress others. Simply put, Clyde May put his family above all else, which tied into his decision to begin making moonshine. After all, life was not always good to a rural southerner, and life was not always good to Clyde. However, he was determined to make sure that his family had the best possible life.
I know this to be true just by talking to family members and friends about my grandfather. When someone shares a memory they had with Clyde, you can see in their eyes that they go back in time and place themselves in that memory. Every single memory or story is not only important to them, but it is also a blessing. They yearn to relive that moment with the man that meant so very much to them.
One of the greatest examples of my grandfather's compassion and care for his family can be found when you talk to Hubert Petty, Clyde's brother-in-law.
Times were hard when Hubert was a child, which is exactly why the only clothing he owned was a pair of overalls. That is until he moved in with Clyde and Mary C.
"Clyde carried me to town the next day and bought me five pair of tough-nut jeans, five shirts, underwear, and socks. That was the first time I ever had clothes bought for me," Hubert said as he relived that day in his mind. "I would not be the man I am today if it wasn't for Clyde."
Hubert later became Clyde's first true moonshine assistant, and, in the process, also became more like a son than a brother-in-law.
My grandfather's work as a moonshiner had that kind of effect on him. He saw what he could do for others by perfecting his craft and making it the best, so that is exactly what he did.
Moonshining turned what was an already honest man into an even more honest man. If anything, moonshining taught Clyde to focus solely on his business and not that of others. These qualities made my grandfather one of the most respected men in the community, which was made evident when he died on January 31, 1990.
Most people who attended the funeral had to do so from outside the church as the crowd was too big to fit everyone inside. A line of cars could be seen at least a mile down the road. There was not a shred of doubt that in some shape, way, or form, Clyde May had impacted every single person in attendance.
Tommy Paulk, a family friend and one of the pallbearers, wrote a letter to my grandmother after the funeral and said this about his dear friend:
"If Clyde May said he would do something, he did it. His reliability was absolute; he never came with excuses, even when excuses were plentiful and just. There are few people in this world about whom it can truly be said, 'His word is his bond, his handshake is worth more than all the signed contracts any lawyer can create.' Clyde was such a man."
It's hardly debatable that there was ever a man in the small community of Almeria, Alabama that was more revered than Clyde May.
I am proud to see that my grandfather's legacy can be continued through Clyde May's Whiskey. In all honesty, he would have not liked the attention because he certainly was not a boastful man. However, the world needs to know Clyde May because the world was a better place with him in it.
I will never be able to convey into words the impact that my grandfather has had on my life and the lives of my family members. He passed on his work ethic and love to my father, and I can hope that I garner a fraction of that same work ethic.
I am happy to say that I have an unbreakable bond with my grandfather despite never meeting him. The impact that he had on others allows me to get to know him and love him in my own way.
Happy Birthday Gran Gran!