Places
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Places 1
Brown’s Supply was a local landmark in the Candler NC area for many years. It still stands today (as of this writing). As a child my father used to take me with him when he would go there to get various necessities for his gardening. He would always visit with people he knew while I occupied myself playing in the big bins of dried beans. Many good memories for myself and others are rooted in and around Brown’s Supply, a local treasure.
Places 3
Overby’s grabbed my attention from a photo somewhere in my past. I’ve created it here much as the photo showed it. Somewhat like Brown’s it took me back to somewhere from my past.
Places 5
Mail Pouch Barns were quite common in West Virginia and several nearby states. Much like “Rock City Barns”, a travelling painter would offer to paint a barn that could be seen from the road in exchange for the advertising; much like a billboard. For many years this advertising means was very common in the mountains. I have drawn several mail pouch and rock city barns, but this one has a bit of a story. I drew if from a photo someone had given me and like many other drawings, I threw this one on the pile of finished works. Sometimes later, my friend Steve sent me a photo via email suggesting I draw it. I sent him back the finished image in a few minutes with the question “Is that fast enough for ya?”. So this one should probably be the “Is that fast enough Mail Pouch Barn”.
Places 8
Driving to various places north of Asheville took me by this church in the Ivy, NC community. Driving by at highway speed, I was always taken by the unique character. I stopped some point, took a quick photo and proceeded to make this pen and ink based on that snapshot. The “new highway” now takes one on a different route, bypassing this unique place. Like so many other things in life, the new ways forget the old ones. Some day I hope to drive the “old road” to see if it’s still standing.
Places 2
My “day job” for many years required me to travel. As I drove around in North Carolina I captured photos of churches here and there that seemed unique or for some other reason caught my attention. This is a collection of some of those churches.
Places 4
A Mail Pouch Barn drawn I think from my imagination. Many of these barns, sheds, and odd buildings were sprinkled about the landscape around one of my favorite places on earth: Roane County, West Virginia. This one always brings fond memories of good times spent with good friends.
Places 6
Rock City Barns were for many years were a common sight in the areas around Western North Carolina. Rock City was a popular tourist attraction located near Chattanooga, TN. From atop Lookout Mountain, a part of the Rock City attraction, one can see (on a very, very, very clear day) seven states
Places 7
I lived in Western North Carolina for many years and never knew Francis Mill existed until my granddaughter Holly featured it as a part of her college studies at Western Carolina University. It still stands today much as you see it here just east of downtown Waynesville, NC, Francis Mill s working grist mill actually producing fresh corn meal for sale on occasions. Holly became attached to the place and often volunteered there for various fund raising events. I worked on this drawing off and on for over three years before I finally decided it was done. It’s incredible how you never notice all the details in something until you try to draw it.
Places 9
I was told about the “Lev Barn” by my friend Steve. Below is the story as told by Steve, which really makes the drawing complete:
The Lev Barn or Lev House sits in a little Ritchie County, West Virginia hollow “up Spruce Creek, near the head.” It originally sat about 50 yards down the hollow, near the year-round spring that trickled down the hill. But that was when she was actually a house and not a barn.
Built sometime in the late 1880s by a feller name of Eleven Riddle. Eleven was one of twelve, so they named him for which one he was - eleven. Name was shortened to “Lev” by the local folks. So, when Lev first built it, it was a house and it was Lev’s house so they named it so. The Lev House
American Chestnut, Red Oak, White Oak and Beech trees, harvested from timber stands around the farm, were downed with a cross-cut saw. Then the logs were made into timbers -some almost 30” top to bottom. The logs were hand hewn right where they fell then skidded to the building site using teams of oxen and work horses.
That’s a little bit of facts, spun around a lot lore. History you’d call it. Cause history is nothing more than the story told most often. My friend Steve told me the story. I told you the story. You liked the story and, apparently my drawing. So you’ll tell the story to other people when they stop to look at the drawing, and eventually this story becomes history because … it’s the story most often told.