# How did Bo and Luke Duke make a living? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722 "2015-03-22T23:25:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/41 "2015-03-24T02:06:59Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > The show’s creator said their parents were killed in a car crash, but it was never discussed on the show. > > I guess that means Daisy’s parents were in the same car with Bo and Luke’s parents. 😕 Also Coy’s and Vance’s. Makes you wonder why Jesse was the only sibling not in the car. #insidejob ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/42 "2015-03-24T13:30:30Z")
And as mentioned earlier, none of them were siblings. That never made sense to me even as a kid. Why aren’t Bo/Luke/Daisy, Coy/Vance simply two sets of siblings and cousins instead of five separate cousins? Were all ten parents in the same car? Although, to be fair, the parents dying in a car crash only seems to apply to Bo and Luke, the whereabouts of the rest are simply unknown. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/43 "2015-03-24T14:19:26Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I am embarrassed to say I know this much about The Dukes Of Hazzard…but when I was in high school, I thought it was awesome. Anyway…Bo and Luke worked with Uncle Jesse on the farm. And when Tom Wopat and John Schneider left the show for a while on a contract dispute, Bo and Luke went off to race NASCAR. Uncle Jesse and Boss Hogg used to be partners running moonshine. Uncle Jesse was known far and wide for the quality of his recipe, and when Boss Hogg started getting power hungry, he and Jesse had a falling out and Boss had him arrested for running an illegal still and Bo and Luke for running shine. The whole Duke family would have been behind bars if Uncle Jesse hadn’t struck a deal with the US government to never run a still again as long as Bo and Luke stayed out of jail. So the Dukes had always had a farm, and that became their source of income. I wonder what I’d have room for in my head if I didn’t have this stuff in there… You slide over car hoods and jumped in open car windows didn’t you ? 🙂 So did I. But an old white beat up Chevy Chevette ain’t the General Lee by any stretch of the imagination. And a VW bug is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/44 "2015-03-24T14:20:48Z")
It helps if you make the connection that the titular “sons” disappearing from Fred MacMurray’s California household correspond roughly in age to “Bo” and “Luke” (and later “Coy” and “Vance”). One imagines a regular stream of “cousins” being shipped to “Jesse’s farm” in a remote area of the California Inland Empire in the little known Hazzard County south of Indio (hence why mountains can often be seen in the background) after they’ve become too old to sell the high potency biker meth produced by “Uncle” Jesse in high schools across the greater Los Angeles area. “Bub” and “Uncle Charlie” are there to control distribution and keep them in line while the technically competent “aeronautical engineer” Steve Douglas oversaw the entire operation and perfected his process of creating a product with extremely high purity ad clarity which was dubbed “Moonshine” by the customers who couldn’t get enough of it. The “Duke boys” made regular distribution runs which inept competitor “Boss” Hogg attempted to prevent by appointing as sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (a not-to-distant cousin of First Mate Gilligan of the eponymous Pacific desert island) whose profound incompetence posed no genuine threat to this operation. The meth product–unseen in the show due to censorship of the day–was transported in the floorboards of the General Lee, while Jesse’s scratch farm served as cover to procure the various precursors and solvents needed to manufacture both the methamphetimines and the copious amount of explosives used by the Duke clan to battle their enemies, while the smell of fertilizer and pig shit covered the odor from manufacture. And everything Douglas did, he did for his “family”. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/45 "2015-03-24T15:50:31Z")
Weren’t they involved in highway reconstruction as well? (At least until the French revolutionaries catch up with them.) > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [Alot not say anything?](http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html) Well that explains alot. ---
**Author:** ![C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C.Montgomery_Burns)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/46 "2015-04-08T01:04:56Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You slide over car hoods and jumped in open car windows didn’t you ? 🙂 > > So did I. But an old white beat up Chevy Chevette ain’t the General Lee by any stretch of the imagination. And a VW bug is even worse. I used to have to haul water in the back of my dad’s pick up truck, and got a kick out of jumping in through the window because the platform I stood on while filling the tank was at the right level. I also wrecked the same pickup truck (without the water tank) around the same time by trying out the bootlegger’s turn from the show…it didn’t go right and I got in a loooottt of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/47 "2015-04-08T16:54:31Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You slide over car hoods and jumped in open car windows didn’t you ? 🙂 I tried sliding over a car hood once and fell off. I’m such a klutz. :o ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/48 "2015-04-09T00:04:45Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > C’mon, they sold pictures of Daisy washing the General Lee. “Come on, safety pin, pop!” ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/49 "2015-04-09T03:33:20Z")
> [@C.Montgomery\_Burns](#): > > I used to have to haul water in the back of my dad’s pick up truck, and got a kick out of jumping in through the window because the platform I stood on while filling the tank was at the right level. I also wrecked the same pickup truck (without the water tank) around the same time by trying out the bootlegger’s turn from the show…it didn’t go right and I got in a loooottt of trouble. [Was it awesome?](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/patchbunny/LJ%20Posting/mr%20burns_zpszx82foaz.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2015, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/50 "2015-04-09T11:09:32Z")
I, of course, watched it for [Flash](http://media.theindychannel.com/photo/2012/10/24/TV-pets---Flash--Dukes-of-Hazzard-jpg_1351091280164_316912_ver1.0_640_480.jpg). RIP James Best (Roscoe). Dagnabbit, you will be missed. ---
**Author:** ![\_mostly\_Harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/9d8465/32.png) [@\_mostly\_Harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_mostly_Harmless)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/51 "2015-04-11T02:46:10Z")
They made money by being good ol’ boys. Isn’t that how everyone does it? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/52 "2015-04-11T05:35:07Z")
A [General Lee](http://www.makkinga.ca/article/parade-of-lights-2013-144.asp) moved in on the small farm at the end of my road last fall. Unfortunately, there’s no sign of a Daisy Duke yet. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/53 "2015-04-11T07:34:50Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It helps if you make the connection that the titular “sons” disappearing from Fred MacMurray’s California household correspond roughly in age to “Bo” and “Luke” (and later “Coy” and “Vance”). One imagines a regular stream of “cousins” being shipped to “Jesse’s farm” in a remote area of the California Inland Empire in the little known Hazzard County south of Indio (hence why mountains can often be seen in the background) after they’ve become too old to sell the high potency biker meth produced by “Uncle” Jesse in high schools across the greater Los Angeles area. “Bub” and “Uncle Charlie” are there to control distribution and keep them in line while the technically competent “aeronautical engineer” Steve Douglas oversaw the entire operation and perfected his process of creating a product with extremely high purity ad clarity which was dubbed “Moonshine” by the customers who couldn’t get enough of it. > > The “Duke boys” made regular distribution runs which inept competitor “Boss” Hogg attempted to prevent by appointing as sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane (a not-to-distant cousin of First Mate Gilligan of the eponymous Pacific desert island) whose profound incompetence posed no genuine threat to this operation. The meth product–unseen in the show due to censorship of the day–was transported in the floorboards of the General Lee, while Jesse’s scratch farm served as cover to procure the various precursors and solvents needed to manufacture both the methamphetimines and the copious amount of explosives used by the Duke clan to battle their enemies, while the smell of fertilizer and pig shit covered the odor from manufacture. > > And everything Douglas did, he did for his “family”. Was this in any way connected with “Kate” and “Joe” who ran the Shady Rest Brothel, uhm, Hotel? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![VeryVickie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47c2d/32.png) [@VeryVickie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VeryVickie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/54 "2018-08-08T17:43:54Z")
I just watched the first episode. BTW Daisy, Luke, and Bo are all cousins. So their parents 6 adults would’ve been in the same car accident?? Uncle Jesse clearly states ‘the DUKE family made corn wiskey moonshine for 200 years . . . before there was a Federal government to say otherwise. And they paid taxes on the corn crop.’ Luke says Uncle Jesse will not take any government assistance - I think that means he doesn’t have SS?? BTW several years later due to contract renewal issues Bo & Luke are replaced by 2 more cousins. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/55 "2018-08-08T20:43:54Z")
Coy and Vance Duke are not to be spoken of. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/56 "2018-08-08T20:44:50Z")
> [@VeryVickie](#): > > I just watched the first episode. BTW Daisy, Luke, and Bo are all cousins. So their parents 6 adults would’ve been in the same car accident?? Uncle Jesse clearly states ‘the DUKE family made corn wiskey moonshine for 200 years . . . before there was a Federal government to say otherwise. And they paid taxes on the corn crop.’ Luke says Uncle Jesse will not take any government assistance - I think that means he doesn’t have SS?? BTW several years later due to contract renewal issues Bo & Luke are replaced by 2 more cousins. Cousins Coy and Vance. So we have five people who are the children of five brothers. (I’m charitably assuming none of these Duke children is the child of an unmarried Duke sister.) Plus a sixth living brother, Jesse. What the hell happened in the Duke family a generation ago that wiped out five brothers and their wives? ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/57 "2018-08-08T21:10:59Z")
Well, they could have gotten into some bad 'shine… Seriously, if Uncle Jesse is youngest, then his siblings might well have been at life expectancy at the time of the show, so with a few accidents and some other bad luck, he could be the last of his generation. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/58 "2018-08-08T22:43:19Z")
Can’t think of a good zombie joke, so I will respond to this: > [@Sitnam](#): > > With the plethora of road construction on nothing but gravel roads and bank robberies in Hazard, I guess Boss Hogg makes his money in construction kickbacks and the Duke Boys get a taste of the bank theft after apprehension. According to _Mad Magazine_’s parody of the show, Boss Hogg owned the car dealership that supplied new cars for the Hazzard County sheriff’s department. Every time Roscoe or Enos wrecked a car chasing the Dukes, Boss Hogg cashed in. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722/59 "2018-08-08T22:55:35Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Whatever their line of work, it obviously didn’t pay enough for wardrobe. > > Of course, they wouldn’t change if they could. 100% worth the resurrection for this joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-bo-and-luke-duke-make-a-living/715722.md?page=2)