Coming To Atlanta

In 1930, Raymond Parks' uncle convinced him to come to work at his service station and garage at Hemphill Avenue and State Street in Atlanta. Not long after, Raymond bought him out. Photo courtesy Eddie Sample

Uncle Miller’s Garage, known as Northside Auto Service and gas station, known as Hemphill Service Station, were at Hemphill and Kontz Avenues (now Atlantic Drive) in northwest Atlanta.  Raymond bought half interest in the business.

“The work was hard but honest,” Raymond joked.

However, come nighttime, the enterprising 16 year old had his personal graveyard shift.

“I would head to Dawsonville right after we locked up, load 60 gallons in my T-Model, come back through Tate, Georgia on Highway 5,” he told us.  “At the creek I’d wash the dirt and mud off so not to attract attention, then drive to Marietta and blend with any morning traffic into Atlanta.”

Netting about 30 cents a gallon, he bought out Uncle Miller.  He later bought a farm in South Georgia and moved his family out of the mountains.

“They needed a change of climate,” he said.

In 1932 he retired from his red eye shuttles.

“I quit the delivery business after two years,” he said.  “By then we were just running our own stills from South Georgia, and I let others do the driving.”

“By 1936 we shut down that business completely,” he continued.  “Prohibition was over and we added a package store at Hemphill (Northside Beverage).  I needed to concentrate more on more important matters.”

By 1938 he expanded his ventures to include the “novelty” business, which included the placement of such things as pool tables, jukeboxes and cigarette machines throughout the metro area.

So at the tender age of 21, young Raymond Parks left his moonshine days behind.