Old Glory in an abandoned farmhouse, Symsonia, Graves County, KY. (Please click on photo for larger image).
The Flag of the United States of America is, and has been, a symbol of freedom and strength, recognized worldwide. Countless men and women have fought and died to protect the values it represents, and sometimes the flag itself. It still stands strong this Fourth of July holiday.
Restored farmhouse, Pickaway, Monroe County, WV. (Please click on photo for larger image).
Statue of President Abraham Lincoln with Old Glory flying above, Hodgenville, LaRue County, KY. (Please click on photo for larger image).
Rural folks tend to be proud of their country. They still have the values of their ancestors. Its God, country and family. They still look after their neighbors, and keep their community strong. When the “Star-spangled Banner” plays at the Friday night ball game, they stand, take off their hats, and place their right hand over their hearts. It’s the American way.
I won’t go into a long history of the American Flag, or our country’s history. Not that it’s not worth repeating, but numerous books have been written and there is no way of covering even the basics, without writing volumes. Some have sadly disrespected the flag and our county. I won’t go into that either. This is not about them, or politics.
As I have driven around the back roads of the country, I have noticed that Americans like to show their pride by displaying Old Glory at their homes, barns and businesses. These photos were taken over the last couple of years in West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky.
Happy Independence Day, America!
(Left to right) House with garden gnomes holding flags, Golo, KY; Gothic Revival Home, Greenville, WV; Painted barn in Lindside, WV; Happies’ Automotive Repair, Lindside, WV; Barn with flag, Monroe County, WV; Log tobacco barn, Pittsylvania County, VA; Flag and church, Alderson, WV.
Carpenter’s Grocery in Wythe County, VA., is a true old-fashioned country store. (Click on photo for larger image).
I saw the old country store on my right, as I drove by it on Route 100, just south of Barren Springs, Virginia, in Wythe County. I turned right on a narrow, single lane gravel road hoping it would take me to the store, rather than having to turn around. In a minute, or so, I was in front of Carpenter’s Grocery, and Sam Carpenter, who has owned the business since the early 1970s, was sitting in a padded chair on the porch. A fawn pug was taking a nap at his feet. I walked up the weather worn steps that had seen countless traffic over the years. Mr. Carpenter introduced himself and asked me to have a seat in a chair beside him. A country gentleman sitting in a chair on the other side of the porch told me it was Sam’s 90th birthday. I wished him a happy birthday and asked him if I could get his picture and a few shots of the store.
Sam Carpenter, owner of Carpenter’s Grocery (left), his pug, and myself on the porch of his grocery. (Photo by Debra Bell. Click on photo for larger image).
Customers leaving Carpenter’s Grocery as Sam Carpenter, the owner, sits in his chair on the porch, (Click on photo for larger image).
My wife, Debra, walked up and suggested that she get a picture of us both. I handed her my Leica, and she snapped a picture, while we were discussing how so many things were better in the old days. After a while. I got up and wandered into the store. I flicked on a set of light switches on my left, when I walked in the door. Suddenly, a country store from a time gone by became visible. The products were modern, of course: potato chips, sodas, various snacks, and beer in a cooler in the back. There was an old fashioned meat cooler and butcher scales. A wood, or coal burning stove was at the back of the store, with several chairs nestled around it. A wanted poster of Jesse James was framed, and said to be the real deal.
And pugs, there were pugs wherever you looked. One novelty sign noted, “Warning! Overly Affectionate Pug on Duty.” There were ceramic pug figurines, photos, and even a wood burned plaque showing a pug. Daisy, our pug, was in the truck, and my wife decided to get her and introduce her to Mr. Carpenter’s dog. Daisy walked up, checked out the fawn pug and both decided that they would rather be napping.
Sam Carpenter at the door of his 200 year old country store. (Click on photo for larger image).
There’s a lot of history to see behind the counter at Carpenter’s Grocery. (Click on photo for larger image.).
After a conversation about pugs, we sat and talked mainly about the past, and how many things were better in days gone by. Mr. Carpenter, an ex-coal miner, explained that coal dug and carried out from from deep shafts, is of a higher quality and burns better than coal from strip mines. He also mentioned that he didn’t care for electric cars and recounted that a someone in the area had bought one and had to rid of it because it wasn’t what they expected. He noted that the coal mining jobs are gone, and the world is changing, and not necessarily for the better
The store, over its 200 year history had served its community as a general store, mine company store, post office, and doctor’s office, among other callings. I got up from my chair on the porch, again wished Mr Carpenter a happy 90th birthday, snapped a few more pictures, and got back on the road. I hope to visit again, soon.
Larry Mustain, owner of Reed’s Mill, quite unexpectedly open up the mill and invited us in. (Please click on photo for larger image).
It was Memorial Day, and clouds perfect for photography had developed in the West Virginia sky. I knew they wouldn’t last long. I had several locations I wanted to visit. My wife and I loaded the Armada with our pug and French Bulldog, Daisy and Dolly, and headed to the north end of Monroe County, WV. We would stop at Second Creek first, and work our way back south across the county, and shoot what the light and conditions would allow.
A second Creek farm. (Please click on photo for larger image).
Remains of the old sawmill at Second Creek. (Please click on photo for larger image).
By the time we go to second Creek, the clouds were already giving way to blue skies. We stopped, and I got out and snapped an image of an old farm and we moved on. A minute late we pulled up to Reed’s Mill, a grist mill, which has been in operation since 1791. I snapped a few images of the old mill, which I had shot before. We didn’t spend a lot of time, as I was hoping to make it to Pickaway and Union for more photo opportunities. We drove on, and in a half-mile, or so, I pulled the truck off the road at an intersection, where we turned around and pointed the truck in the other direction. I stepped out and snapped a few images of an old house in a field with a couple of cows in high grass. A red SUV had just passed, and I saw it turn around before it got to the curve in the road.
The SUV stopped beside me, and I walked over. An older gentleman dressed in overalls and wearing a baseball cap, rolled down the passenger window and introduced himself. We soon started talking about the history of the area. He explained that the old building I was shooting was all that remains of an old sawmill. Then, he casually noted that he owned the old grist mill we had just stopped at, and suggested that we follow him over. I knew I would have to abandon plans for other photos, but I didn’t care.
Reed’s Mill as it looks today. (Please click on photo for larger image).Corn crib at Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).
Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).
Larry Mustain pulled in to the mill, got out of his truck and and unlocked the mill door. I told him we had our dogs in the truck and he suggested that we bring them in. He took a seat in a white plastic chair near the front of the establishment. We chatted for a while, and learned more about the history of the area, and the mill. We talked a little about current affairs and places we have lived. He handed me a little booklet with some information about the mill. It included traditional recipes for some of the stone-ground grains processed there, including buckwheat grits, Reed’s Mill multi-grain corn bread, and Zelma’s West Virginia corn-pone, among others.
Mr. Mustain kindly allowed me to snap his photo, and suggested that I walk through the dimly lit mill for some more pictures. The only light was streaming through the windows and a few bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling, which I yanked on a string to turn off and on.
Broom making machinery inside Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).
Broom making machinery inside Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).
I set my ISO high and apertures wide-open on my Nikons. With slow shutter speeds, I braced for each exposure the best that I could.
An old broom factory is in the back of the building. It was started by Everette Hogsett in the last half of the 19th-century, and has been operated, using the same pre-Civil War machinery made in Schenectady, New York, by various broommakers since. The equipment was designed to clean the seeds off broom corn, cut it to a uniform length, wrap it to the handle, soak the hurl and clamp and stitch the broom. The hand-made brooms are high quality, as Mr. Mustain pointed out that some made in the 1940s are still in use in the mill.
Milling equipment inside Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).Equipment inside Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).Equipment inside Reed’s Mill. (Please click on photo for larger image).
The mill itself started as McDowell’s Mill in 1791. Archibald McDowell also had a saw mill, and blacksmith shop at Second Creek, among other holdings. The community grew, and the grist mill, which has gone though several owners, remained in operation. It’s not a full-time mill anymore, but they continue the tradition of turning out hand processed corn, wheat, rye and buckwheat, stone ground into a final product. They continue to raise the same heirloom corn on the property that has been grown there for well over a century.
American Marvel grain grinder, which hasn’t been fired up in many years. (Please click on photo for larger image).
American Marvel grain grinder, which hasn’t been fired up in many years. (Please click on photo for larger image).
As we were leaving, Mr. Mustain opened a refrigrator and handed me a bag of cornmeal produced at Reed’s Mill from “Bloody Butcher” corn grown on the property. Bloody Butcher is a native variety of red, purple orange and white grains. They also process “White Flint” corn, which has been in the family for more than a century.
We thanked Mr. Mustain for the cornmeal, and for kindly taking time to show us Reed’s Mill. It made for a memorable day, as well as some great photos, which I otherwise would not have got. I hope to make it back when I have a little more time to document the mill and take some high quality photos.
“Bloody Butcher” cornmeal. (Please click on photo for larger image).
