bobbyc Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 BettyeJo needs no introduction here, I'm thinking she is one of the most enthusiastic members of the Straight Bourbon Forum.( splatters of applause) We had her do a shirt for the Daylily club I am in , things are a little hectic . I needed to pick it up so I was told by Boone to meet her at Heaven Hill to get it. I got there and asked for her , I was directed inside the building , everyone was on break so I'm in the lunchroom, She's not there, I'm directed further back yet, until I'm in the Bottling room all shut down , bottles of all shapes , holding Brown and clear liquid . The smell associated with this enterprise is not that overpowering to me . I have been in Jim Beam at Clermont with my Grandfather years ago. I know what a distillery smells like. ( Read Yummy) BettyeJo picks up with me at the back of the room , Amelia is outside in the car so I go get her. We're getting the nickel tour! And what a tour, BettyeJo pauses momentarily then starts us off basically where the whole process begins . We see an overhead walkway with tanks that hold the precious liquids, we watch the new glass loaded to the conveyors, The dump room , there were piles of char in the troughs. We saw where the EWSB is dumped and Proofed .She took us down each line, pointing out this or that. Pausing to introduce the people at their work stations, and make adjustments to the fast moving machinery.It was funny , I would notice someone had caught sight of us , then a benign grin would turn to a friendly smile. This Heaven Hill crew appears to be a happy group! Tonite they bottled Scotch, Vodka, Blended Whiskey, Some Brandies and Cordials. They were setting on some Evan Williams 7 Year by the time we were ready to leave.BettyeJo took us thru to the end , The cases glue up and on an overhead conveyor taken to shipping where they were Palletized and shrink wrapped. We went into shipping , looked into the trailers being loaded. The shipping department is interesting on a couple of counts. One is that while there is lots and lots of case goods here , If all of it were removed it would be replenished very quickly. Staring up at cases of Evan Williams stacked 15 feet in the air , The magnitude of it all is overwhelming. Someone, somewhere is drinking a lot of this product. ( multiply that times Jim Beam,times Barton, times Buffalo Trace , etc) The other thing is the value of it all . One would not have to toss a marble very far to exceed in dollar value , all the money that you will ever make in a lifetime. We stopped in the label room, where one could see boxes of labels piled high on shelves like a library. This is not a small room, but it is nearly full of labels of all the products that Heaven Hill runs. We looked through the books of the current ones and to look at them closely it could take hours. I saw a red Evan Williams label with Japanese writing on it. They have lots of " Cats and Dogs" as refered to in Nothing Better in the Market. She showed us the label for the coveted 28 year old Heaven Hill. The new label for Parkers Bourbon ( Japan Only) While flipping thru the book , we came upon the Old Fitzgerald label.Sally Vanwinkle Campbell wrote how Her Grandfather bought this label from S C Herbst for $10,000.00 I wondered how valuable those words on a piece of paper had become by the time Max Shapira got them. Watching all that machinery work with orchestrated precision( BettyeJo will be the first to tell you it isn't always that way) then to think you have to have someone who can fix any part of it. I'm looking at it and thinking , they better get someone in here that knows what they're doing. Me and Amelia was standing there beside her! Thanks BettyeJo . Oh yeah the shirt is nice too! The fellow who takes care of the labels worked at the distillery before the fire at Heaven Hill, he has distilling experience under his belt . He spoke of the work that he used to do there. Very interesting insights. Another thing we saw was Country Music Singer John Michael Montgomery's picture on the wall that he sighed and dedicated to the worker's there. He is a Hunter friend of the husband of one of BettyeJo's co-worker's. She said he got a Lear Jet and took bottles of Elijah Craig 12 YO up on the maiden flight! 2 women were working on 18 Year Old Elijah Craig, One told me that if she owned the place she would present me with a bottle of it, I told her I would gladly accept. I told her I hoped she'd made it to the top! Can't Wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boone Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 Hey Bobby, Ya left out my favorite part...The Christmas lights in the shop!... The guys decorated the shop with Christmas lights that someone had thrown away...they replaced the fuses and they are now the official mechanic's shop decorations...After they were finished hanging them...I ran over and turned out all the lights...at the same time CCR was playing (midnight special) on the stereo---We have a awsome sound system in the shop---I turned it wide open...and burn it up ...Practically everybody and their brother came back there to watch... and join in ...Hmmmmmmmm...not gonna tell anymore...Bobby knows...but don't ya tell... Needless ta say...when we work we work...but when it's calm...and that's starting to be a little rare ...We take advantage of it .. Shinnin in Kentucky, Bettye Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowdery Posted December 17, 2002 Share Posted December 17, 2002 Bobby, I think you wrote the perfect three word description of Bettye Jo. It's almost a haiku: BettyeJo pauses momentarily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyc Posted December 18, 2002 Author Share Posted December 18, 2002 Yes, when she pauses it is only momentary, how about 2 words, BettyeJos' Wired! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boone Posted December 21, 2002 Share Posted December 21, 2002 Our Christmas dinner was last night...It's a big catered event and it's also a very stressful time for the "Seasonal Help"...They are waiting to find out if they have a job...All of em, have been on "trial" since August 15th...working for a measly 7 dollars a hour...and ya won't know iffin ya got a job until December 20...If they get the job---entry level (laborer or line help) at Heaven Hill is $15.00 ---I think?...It's been too long for me and I'm not for sure what the exact amout is....Shoot...when they hired me I think that the entry was around $8.00....That's the way they always do it...They hired 14 people...It's a happy day for a lot of em and it's a really sad night for the rest...Going home to your family ----5 days before Christmas---without a job...Now, for me, that's just a little tough to take...I wish em well... Heaven Hill will shut down for the Holidays...Most everyone is "OFF" from work for two weeks...except for the mechanics and a few others doing inventory...I am one of 6 mechanics (night shift) at Heaven Hill...They will hire 4 more mechanics...two for day shift and two for night...This job bid was on the "Board" last night...I thought some of ya might like to see what a "Union" top level, job bid looks like... Bettye Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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