This week on Inside Appalachia, a pair of former miners found love shoveling coal and shaped a life making wooden spoons. We learn about treenware. Also, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood shares stories, and a bit of advice. And, group bike rides are a way to socialize and get outside. But here in Appalachia, newcomers are met with steep hills.
This week, a pair of former miners found love shoveling coal and shaped a life making wooden spoons. We learn about treenware.
Also, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood shares stories, and a bit of advice.
And, group bike rides are a way to socialize and get outside. But here in Appalachia, newcomers are met with steep hills.
Stan and Sue Jennings turned a conversation about a passion into a business.
Photo Credit: Zack Gray/Allegheny Treenware
For 30 years, Sue and Stan Jennings have run Allegheny Treenware, a West Virginia company that makes wooden kitchen utensils. But they started off as a couple of coal miners. And when they weren’t underground, they talked about what else they could be doing.
Folkways Reporter Capri Cafaro visited the Jennings.
Hanging Out With NASCAR Legend Leonard Wood
Straight from the source at The Wood Brothers Racing Museum.
Photo Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Stock car racing’s roots run deep in Appalachia. Some of NASCAR’s early stars came straight from the lawless moonshine runners of the 1920s and 1930s, but NASCAR’s oldest continuous racing team had nothing to do with moonshine.
Mason Adams visited with Leonard Wood at The Wood Brothers Racing Museum in Virginia for stories and wisdom.
Exploring Morgantown On The Back Of A Bicycle
The ad-hoc Morgantown Social Rides aim to get cyclists onto the streets to explore the city in a new way.
Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
With spring, lots of folks are heading out to the woods or the rivers, but one group in Morgantown, West Virginia is taking to the streets – on their bicycles.
WVPB’s Chris Schulz grabbed his helmet and tagged along to explore his city in a new way.
Sovereignty At The Museum Of The Cherokee People
BPR’s Lilly Knoepp (left) spoke with Museum of the Cherokee People Director of Education Dakota Brown and Director of Collections Evan Mathis at the Appalachian Studies Conference on Friday March 8, 2024 at Western Carolina University.
BPR Senior Regional Reporter Lilly Knoepp spoke with Brown as part of a panel at the Appalachian Studies Association conference in March and sent us an excerpt.
——
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by The Dirty River Boys, Charlie McCoy, John Blissard, Sierra Ferrell, and John Inghram.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editors Nicole Musgrave and Mallory Noe Payne.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
On a foggy morning, Angela Wynn heads into the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Normally, she’d be starting a day of work as a housekeeper here. But today, she’s at the school for a different reason. She’s here to learn how to cut out wood blanks from Richard Carter, a longtime Brasstown Carver.
This story originally aired in the March 3, 2024 episode of Inside Appalachia.
On a foggy morning, Angela Wynn heads into the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Normally, she’d be starting a day of work as a housekeeper here. But today, she’s at the school for a different reason. She’s here to learn how to cut out wood blanks from Richard Carter, a longtime Brasstown Carver.
The Brasstown Carvers were once so celebrated that in the 1930s, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt purchased some of their carvings as state gifts. Today, only a handful of Brasstown Carvers remain. But a dedicated teacher, an enthusiastic student and a supportive community are helping to keep this local craft tradition alive.
Wynn pays close attention as Carter flips through a binder of photos, diagrams and instructions. Using this pattern book as a guide, they’ll use a bandsaw to cut out wood shapes to carve into animal figurines.
Finished and in-progress carvings sit in front of a box of wood “blanks” or “patterns.” Carter is responsible for cutting out all the blanks for the Brasstown Carvers. The carvers then carve, sand, buff, finish and detail each figurine to arrive at the final product.
Photo Credit: Stefani Priskos/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Wynn began learning to carve about a year and a half ago, after moving to Brasstown from Florida. She had tried different crafts before, but this just felt different.
“I was instantly hooked,” Wynn says.
Well, almost instantly.
“The first carving night, I absolutely was clueless and I didn’t even know where to start,” she says. “I could see what I wanted to do, I just didn’t have the nerve to do it.”
Then, Wynn got some help from Carter.
“He was very generous with his praise on my first carving,” she says. “I look at it now and … it’s pretty sad. It was a squirrel. I still have it. I laugh at it now.”
There’s a long tradition of whittling and woodcarving in Brasstown, but being an official Brasstown Carver is a special honor.
“People want to know, ‘How quick can I get to be a Brasstown Carver?’” Carter says. “And it’s not quick.”
Big Carving Dreams? Start With Tiny Beavers
Some of the Brasstown Carvers’ signature carvings are “least ones” — tiny animal carvings that stand under two inches tall. Carving small is hard, which is why “least ones” are on the list of carvings that aspiring Brasstown Carvers must master. Wynn carved this pig and “gossiping goose,” two classic Brasstown animal patterns.
Photo Credit: Stefani Priskos/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Now 73, Carter grew up near the Folk School and has been a Brasstown Carver for almost 50 years. He says each aspiring Brasstown Carver has to complete a checklist of challenges to prove their skill and consistency. One of those challenges is carving “least ones” — tiny animal carvings that stand under two inches tall.
Carter and Wynn compare “least one” beavers. Carving side by side allows Carter to give Wynn feedback and demonstrate techniques in real time. It also encourages ample chit chat — another time-honored woodcarving tradition.
Photo Credit: Stefani Priskos/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Wynn has already successfully produced a “least one” goat, bear, goose and pig, among others. Today, she and Carter are carving tiny beavers out of basswood. As they work, Carter shows Wynn some shortcuts and tricks.
Wynn says she’s learned a lot from carving — including patience.
That’s something I can relate to on a personal level. I used to work at the Folk School, and I attended the carving nights that the Brasstown Carvers hold every week. I loved chatting with my neighbors while my hands were busy, but it was hard for me to see anything in the wood. I usually felt like I was getting nowhere.
But Carter says Wynn showed promise from her very first carving night.
“We watch people in here and we can tell when they’re going to be able to do real well and she does real good,” Carter says.
Being able to visualize the animal that a block of wood “wants” to become is key — and it’s one of Wynn’s favorite parts of carving.
“For me, the joy is just finding the animal in there and making it my own,” she says. “It’s just like a little surprise every time.”
Carter agrees.
“I know one of my great friends, he was here a month ago,” he says. “He took a bird home with him. And he brought it back last week and it was a little gnome.”
Although Brasstown Carvers all work from the same patterns, Wynn has enjoyed seeing her own personal style emerge as her carving skills have progressed. She has also developed her own original carving patterns, such as these walnut-shell hedgehogs on display at the John C. Campbell Folk School’s craft shop.
Photo Credit: Stefani Priskos/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Carvings Fit For A Future Queen
Brasstown Carvers Sally and Clarence Fleming carve on the porch of their house in Brasstown, North Carolina, circa 1935. Sally was known for carving pigs with curly tails. Brasstown Carvers hailed from around the region, including the nearby communities of Warne, Gum Log, Pine Log and Martins Creek.
The Brasstown Carvers were started by Olive Dame Campbell in the mid-1920s, a few years after she co-founded the John C. Campbell Folk School. The carvers were encouraged to carve what they saw — typically animals — and they became famous for their realistic figures. According to Caroline Baxter, the Folk School’s craft shop manager, the Brasstown Carvers program was part of Campbell’s larger vision of an economic future for Appalachians that didn’t require moving away from home.
“One of [Campbell’s] goals was to provide economic development for the carvers, give them a way to make money in the season where their fields were not being worked and they kind of had downtime,” Baxter says.
For many Brasstown Carvers, the earnings that they received from carving served as an important source of supplemental income. To express their gratitude, in 1947, the Brasstown Carvers organized a letter-writing campaign to Murrial “Murray” Martin, who was the carving instructor of the John C. Campbell Folk School from 1935 to 1973. In 2024, revenue from selling carvings is still a meaningful source of “side money” for Brasstown Carvers, although the money doesn’t stretch as far as it did in the 30s, 40s and 50s. The letters also mention other benefits of carving such as friendship, community, a meaningful and productive artistic hobby – which remain important to Brasstown Carvers today.
Photo Credit: Doris M. Reece/Courtesy Western Carolina University, John C. Campbell Folk School Records
The Brasstown Carvers soon began selling their work in shops across the country. By the 1930s, says Travis Souther, the Folk School’s archivist, Brasstown Carver fame had reached the White House.
“Some of those woodcarvings were purchased by [President Franklin D. Roosevelt] and Mrs. Roosevelt,” Souther says. “They were later given as gifts to a young lady who was living in England at the time.”
The young lady? Future Queen Elizabeth II.
There’s a legend in Brasstown about a family that was able to purchase a house during the Great Depression with the money they earned from carving alone. For today’s Brasstown Carvers, carving is still a meaningful source of extra income, but the earnings don’t stretch as far as they did during the carvers’ heyday. For one thing, carving requires immense hand strength and physical stamina, and many of the carvers now are in their 70s and 80s. For Wynn and Carter, carving is also something they fit in between other jobs and home and family responsibilities.
“It’s only side money now,” Wynn says. “I would love to be able to carve full-time, but I’m not to that point.”
A New Generation Of Carvers
These days, Wynn is more than just a student of Carter’s. At age 53, she’s the newest official member of the Brasstown Carvers, representing a new generation. To support her continued training, the North Carolina Arts Council recently awarded Carter and Wynn a folklife apprenticeship grant. Wynn says she looks forward to passing on what she learns to the nextgeneration of Brasstown Carvers.
On Thursday nights, the Brasstown Carvers host their free weekly carving night at the Folk School. It’s a place for experienced carvers to spend time together and talk shop.
A collection of Wynn’s “least ones” carvings at different stages in the carving process. From left to right: a wood blank of a goat; a carved and sanded bear; a finished pig and “gossiping goose.”
Photo Credit: Stefani Priskos/West Virginia Public BroadcastingEvery Thursday night, Brasstown Carvers, Folk School students and staff, and Brasstown locals of all ages gather for the Folk School’s community carving night. Attendees get to know each other as they try their hand at a new or long-loved craft.
Photo Credit: Stefani Priskos/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
It’s also a place for newcomers to try out carving. Carter and Wynn especially want to encourage young people to come.
“We got a young one, a nine-year-old, coming tonight, so hopefully he’s excited to get into this,” Carter says. “I’ve got a six-year-old at home that wants to do it, but I’m trying to hold out on that for a while. I may give him a bar of soap and something to let him work on.”
As the newest Brasstown Carver, Wynn has some advice for beginners:
“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be intimidated,” she says. “Just give it a shot. You never know what you can do until you try it.”
——
This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts and culture.
This week on Inside Appalachia, rock climbers with disabilities have found a home in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, which offers some pumpy crags… Climbers have also been working to make West Virginia’s New River Gorge more inclusive. And a master craftsman, who makes one of a kind whitewater paddles remembers some advice.
This week, rock climbers with disabilities have found a home in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, which offers some pumpy crags…
Climbers have also been working to make West Virginia’s New River Gorge more inclusive.
And a master craftsman, who makes one of a kind whitewater paddles remembers some advice.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
The mountains of Appalachia are home to some killer rock climbing, but they’re also accessible for some groups who’ve felt excluded in the past.
Adaptive sports reporter Emily Chen-Newton covers athletes with disabilities. She brings us this story, exploring why climbing festivals are making a home in Appalachia.
Removing Racist Language From Rock Climbing
In West Virginia, one of the most popular climbing destinations is the New River Gorge. Advanced rock climbers continue to pioneer new climbing routes there. The first people to climb these new routes are called “first ascensionists.” And they get the privilege of naming the routes. But what happens when dozens of those route names are plainly and clearly offensive?
In 2020 and 2021, Zack Harold followed the story of a climber at the New River Gorge who wanted to make the sport he loved more inclusive for his son.
Crafting A Classic Paddle
Jon Rugh with his wooden paddle at the New River near Blacksburg, VA.
Credit: Clara Haizlett/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Appalachia has several huge rivers — the New River, the Youghigheny, the Pigeon — so, it’s no surprise whitewater paddling is popular across the region, but it wasn’t all that long ago that modern paddlers first started exploring these rivers, designing their own gear and even building their own paddles. Some of those DIY paddle makers became master crafters.
Folkways Reporter Clara Haizlett followed one.
——
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Sturgeon Creek, Anthony Vega, Oakfield, the Delorian, Biba Dupont, Marissa Anderson, Tyler Childers, Jerry Douglas and John Blissard.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
This week, we’re airing an encore episode of Inside Appalachia. We’ll meet a man who makes wooden turkey calls. We’ll also meet people who make wooden paddles by hand and custom-decorate each one, and a man who repairs cuckoo clocks. Finally, we’ll travel to some of the most beautiful spots in Appalachia to find wildflowers, like Dolly Sods and the Canaan Valley of West Virginia.
This week, we’re airing an encore episode of Inside Appalachia.
We’ll meet a man who makes wooden turkey calls, but these aren’t just any turkey calls. Painter Brian Aliff doesn’t call himself an artist, but he intricately paints his turkey calls, which are now collectors’ items.
We’ll also meet people who make wooden paddles by hand and custom-decorate each one, and a man who repairs cuckoo clocks.
Finally, we’ll travel to some of the most beautiful spots in Appalachia to find wildflowers, like Dolly Sods and the Canaan Valley of West Virginia. And we wonder — are these areas becoming too popular?
These stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
When you need to check the time, where do you look? Most people turn to their phones or digital watches. These days, it seems like every electronic device has a clock function in addition to whatever it’s supposed to do, but it hasn’t always been this way. Not all that long ago, marking the passage of time was the job of one device — a clock.
Folkways Reporter Zack Harold spent some time with Carl Witt, a man in Fairview, West Virginia, who learned how to repair clocks after crossing paths with the late Charles Decker. Witt, a welder at the time, decided to retire and went on to start his own clock repair business — Curiosity Clockworks.
Dolly Sods Hosts Wildflower Pilgrimage
Dolly Sods is federally protected public land — full of rocky ridges, soggy bogs and beautiful views. It’s also the site of an annual nature walk called the West Virginia Wildflower Pilgrimage. The event attracts wildflower and birding experts from around the country and was most recently held in May of this year.
Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams made the pilgrimage in 2021 from his home in Floyd County, Virginia to Dolly Sods in West Virginia’s Canaan Valley.
Paddlers Design Their Own Gear
Appalachia has several huge rivers: the Gauley, the Youghiogheny and the New River, just to name a few. Whitewater paddling is popular in the region, but it wasn’t that long ago modern paddlers first started exploring these rivers, designing their own gear and even building their own paddles. Some of those DIY paddle makers are now master crafters and their work is in high demand.
Like many Appalachian traditions, turkey calls go way back. Historically, they’ve been used as a hunting tool, but one West Virginia artist has taken it to the next level. Brian Aliff makes hand-crafted, prize-winning decorative turkey calls. These pieces are functional and they’re becoming collector’s items, but it took a while for Aliff to think of himself as an artist.
Folkways Reporter Connie Kitts talks with Aliff on this week’s episode.
Increase In Tourism Puts Strain On Local Infrastructure
Tucker County, West Virginia, has seen a surge of new visitors from Washington, D.C. in the years since US Route 48, also known as Corridor H, opened. The growing number of visitors is good for business, but it’s also straining the resources of a county with just one stoplight and 7,000 year-round residents.
Mason Adams visited the towns of Thomas and Davis in Tucker County, West Virginia and has this story about managing growth and resources against the backdrop of expansive natural beauty.
——
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Dinosaur Burps, The Chamber Brothers, and Wes Swing. Bill Lynch is our producer, but Roxy Todd originally produced this episode.
Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
If you’ve ever driven in a rural area, you may have seen a wooden quilt block hanging on the side of a barn. There might just be a story behind that block.
If you’ve ever driven in a rural area, you may have seen a wooden quilt block hanging on the side of a barn.
Despite the name, barn quilts can be found on just about any building, not just barns. There are more than 300 of the colorfully painted barn quilts sprinkled throughout Western North Carolina — and that number is growing.
When Candace Wingo and her husband moved to Haywood County, North Carolina from Texas a few years ago, Candace knew she wanted a barn quilt to become a fixture of her farm.
“I’ve always wanted a barn quilt,” said Wingo. “I wanted to do something that would honor the Carolinas and being here, so I picked the Carolina Lily.”
Wingo commissioned a local barn quilt designer through the Haywood County Arts Council to create the massive 8 by 8 foot block. Most barn quilts are 4 by 4 feet.
Barn quilts usually riff on an existing quilt pattern. Artists tweak patterns to make the final piece completely unique. The reasons people put up barn quilt blocks are likewise unique. Some designs reference a person’s or place’s history, while others are purely aesthetic.
Putting a barn quilt together is usually a labor of love. In Haywood County, barn quilts are painted by volunteers for the Haywood County Arts Council. In each 4 by 4 foot block, there could be about 40 hours of painting, dozens of layers of paint between all the colors and the work of multiple community members.
The barn quilt concept can be traced to Appalachian Ohio. Quilter Donna Sue Groves put up the first barn quilt in 2001 to honor her mother. If you look hard enough the barn quilts can be found just about anywhere in the U.S. There are official programs in more than 40 states.
Sometimes individuals do paint their own barn quilts, but it’s common for community members to commission the blocks from local artists or art councils, just like Wingo did.
Candace Wingo
/
Courtesy
Candace Wingo and her sister Glenda Kilgore helped paint the Wingos’ Carolina Lily barn quilt.
A former designer herself, Wingo knew she wanted to be involved with the process of designing and painting her block. With the help of barn quilts designer Lauren Medford, Wingo’s dreams of having a quilt block grace her red barn came true.
“Lauren was so familiar with it all. She did the research on if the design has been duplicated. She would send me her suggestions and I would tweak it. It was a real fun group effort with her,” Wingo said.
The duo designed the largest quilt block Medford had ever designed. The result was an 8 by 8 foot block featuring an adaptation of the traditional Carolina Lily pattern.
Candace Wingo
/
Courtesy
The last panel of the Wingos’ Carolina Lily quilt block is going up.
Wingo’s barn quilt features eight Carolina Lily flowers, four on the outer perimeter and four on the inside. The red flowers have angular petals, made of triangles and trapezoids. Wingo said the design was inspired by her surroundings. She and Medford worked to pull in colors from Wingo’s barn and from the rest of the farm. In it, you’ll find reds, greens, black and white.
It took months to come together, but Wingo knew she was in good hands with Medford. Medford is a Haywood County native, and no stranger to quilt blocks, or quilting.
“My great-grandmother made quilts her entire life,” Medford said. “But my grandmother fell out of the sewing tradition, and my mom didn’t [sew] either.”
When some of Medford’s great-grandmother’s quilts were passed down to her, she decided to take a quilting class and fell in love.
“I made my first quilt, which was very fun. And it is very mathematical and technical, which I enjoy because I like hard lines and graphic aesthetics, so it was kind of a good fit for me,” Medford said.
For Medford, working with unique designs is gratifying, and she appreciates the connection community members often have to the quilt blocks they commission. She remembers one in particular that a woman’s family members commissioned for her.
“Her sister and husband had us make a design based on her cross stitch, and it’s very intricate,” said Medford.
Medford cites other unique barn quilts in the area. A Haywood County dentist, for example, has a quilt block with a repeating rifle pattern outside his office in honor of his family’s rifle-making traditions.
1 of 2 — Gillespie Rifle Block.jpg
The rifle quilt block outside of Dr. Michael Gillespie’s dentist practice in Waynesville, North Carolina was designed in honor of his family’s tradition of making Gillespie rifles. At first glance, the quilt pattern seems to be a rose, but if you look more closely brown and black rifles appear.
Lauren Medford / Courtesy
2 of 2 — Gillespie block close up_folkways.JPG
A closer look at Dr. Gillespie’s rifle-patterned barn quilt.
Lauren Medford / Courtesy
There are others, too. One barn quilt depicts a man under water. It’s called “Dead Man in the Creek.” It was designed to remember the namesake of the Fines Creek Community in Haywood County. The quilt depicts Vinet Fine, who drowned in a nearby creek in the late 1700s.
Haywood County Arts Council
“Dead Man in the Creek” pays homage to Haywood County history. The barn quilt references the namesake of the Fines Creek Community, Vinet Fine.
The idea behind that barn quilt is morbid, but they have not always told stories in such a literal way.
When barn quilts first started popping up, most of them featured traditional geometric shapes and patterns, like stars. But over the years, people have gotten more expressive with barn quilts. This is something that intrigued volunteer barn quilt painter Linda Lappe.
“[Painting barn quilts] is just being part of the community and the history and the culture,” Lappe said. “A lot of our quilt patterns are very traditional, yet we have people who come in and design for specific quilt blocks.”
Part of the fun of having a barn quilt is that the organizations in charge of local barn quilt block programs create maps and guides, or “trails,” for people to follow in a certain area. Quilt enthusiasts, tourists and whoever wants can drive or walk along the quilt trails to see how people express themselves through the wooden blocks.
You never know what you might stumble upon while following a barn quilt trail. Ultimately, community members can be as creative or traditional as they want when they choose a barn quilt, says Medford.
“It could be like, ‘I just like the color blue, I want a blue star,’ or it could be really meaningful. There’s not really an overarching theme other than that quilt blocks speak to Appalachia and craft and tradition,” said Medford.
——
This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts, and culture.
Lots of people live with common household objects like furniture, silverware, and rugs. But for many of us, we seldom think about who makes these items, or where to turn when they’re in need of repair. One man in Kingsport, Tennessee has been building and repairing carpets and rugs for over 50 years. For Jerry Machen Sr., the business not only provides him with a livelihood, but also an outlet for expressing creativity and an opportunity for discovery.
I Fell In Love With Carpet
In their two-room workshop in downtown Kingsport, Jerry Machen Sr. and his wife and business partner, Linda Machen, are picking out colors for a custom butterfly rug.
Jerry designed the rug and created a template out of butcher paper. The future rug will be one big butterfly in a mix of pastel colors, with hints of mustard yellow and deep brown. As they work, Jerry tapes small pieces of yarn to the template to see how all the colors work together.
“Beautiful!” Jerry said. “God might hire us to make new butterflies.”
The Machens have owned their business for over 50 years. They named it Agape Carpet and Rug Specialists of America.
“Agape is a Greek word. It means God’s unconditional love,” he said. “I guess the reason why I can create and do the things that we do is His love for us, and me loving exactly what I do.”
Jerry’s love for carpet started in the mid-sixties. He was in his twenties and was working at a furniture store creating custom draperies.
“That was my first love,” he said. “And then they needed help in carpet installation. So I fell in love with carpet.”
Watch this special Inside Appalachia Folkways story below:
Jerry learned the ins and outs of installing carpet while at the furniture store, but eventually he struck out on his own. With every installation job he did, Jerry always saved pieces of scrap carpet in case his customers needed repair work done. After a while, he had so much scrap carpet, that he rented out an entire house to store it all in. Linda was not very happy about this.
“See I didn’t know about the house for a little while,” Linda said. “That was interesting. He caused a little stir.”
“My wife came in one day and said, ‘Get rid of it all. You’ve gotta get this place cleaned out,’” Jerry said.
But Jerry didn’t want to just throw all the scraps away. He thought he could make use of them. One day, he saw a painting of a mountain scene and he got an idea. He decided to recreate the painting with scraps.
“I said, ‘I can do that in carpet.’ I’d never built one before in my life,” he said. “But in my mind I thought of it over and over again that I could build that.”
Linda came home to find Jerry working in a frenzy on the kitchen floor.
“I walk in from work and my whole kitchen floor is covered with pieces,” Linda said. “And he’s gonna put a picture together. And I’m like, ‘Is it gonna be done before I have to start supper?’”
At this point it was the 1970s, so Jerry was working with pieces of shag carpet in vibrant hues of blues, oranges, reds, and soft pinks. He hand-sewed all the pieces together from the back. And he was surprised by the outcome.
Nicole Musgrave
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
The first pictorial wall hanging that Jerry Machen Sr. created in the 1970s hangs in the front room of his workshop. Jerry created the carpet art by sewing scrap pieces of shag carpet together by hand.
“When I turned it over, I was amazed at how it looked,” Jerry said. “It was actually beautiful.”
After creating that mountain scene, Jerry began sewing one-of-a-kind rugs and wall hangings for customers. He has created hundreds of designs, including horoscope signs, landscapes, animals, and logos. For Jerry, it’s a thrill to bring an idea to life.
“I love working with my hands,” he said. “If you can build it in your mind, you can put your hands to it and you can put it together.”
It’s More Artwork Than It is Work
Over the years, the business has turned into a family affair. Along with Linda, Jerry works alongside his grandson and his oldest son, Jerry Machen Jr.
In the back room of the workshop, the buzz of the clippers rings out as Jerry watches Jerry Jr. shave down the edge of a piece of carpet.
Once the edge is straight and neat, Jerry Jr. uses an air compressor to blow the tiny scraps out of his way. Finally, he sews on a strip of fringe to finish the edge.
Jerry Jr. explains that along with installing carpet and creating custom designs, they also do a lot of restoration work.
“The restoration is a big part of the business,” Jerry Jr. said. “A lot of people have rugs that’ve been handed down from generation to generation. And bringing those back to life is pretty amazing.”
Nicole Musgrave
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Jerry Machen Jr. folds over the corner of a piece of trim on a runner rug. Jerry Jr. has been around the rug and carpet business all of his life and is accomplished in carpet installation and restoration.
But the Machens don’t just clean and repair rugs that customers bring in. Sometimes, Jerry will find rugs that people have thrown away. He’ll bring them into the shop to give them the new life he feels they deserve.
“I can tell a real good rug, so when I find a good one, of course I’ll stop and pick it up,” Jerry said. “I like to solve it. I like to go and make it whole again. Instead of trashing it and throwing it away, I like to repair it or build it back.”
Much like the custom design work, the restoration work is an opportunity for Jerry to put his creativity and problem-solving skills into motion.
“Everyone of them tells a story,” Jerry said. “There’s not one rug — especially hand-knotted or tufted — that is the same. Everyone is different. So you have to find the method that they used, the knot that they used to even repair it. If not, it’s gonna show up. So it’s a learning process everyday.”
Jerry’s not the only one at the shop who finds creative fulfillment in the installation and restoration. Jerry Jr. does, too.
“It’s more artwork than it is work,” Jerry Jr. said. “It’s more creative. You have a chance to expand your imagination on doing different things. And actually it’s a lot of fun.”
Linda feels similarly.
Nicole Musgrave
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Linda Machen (left) and Jerry Machen Sr. (right) choose colors for a custom butterfly rug. Jerry designed the rug and made the template.
“I didn’t even know I had any creative abilities,” Linda said. “But I was good with colors and I was good with shapes.”
If You Have A Gift Then The Gift Should Keep On Giving
Jerry continues to teach others about the art of carpet design and repair. In 2021, he was awarded a Traditional Arts Apprenticeship grant from the Tennessee Folklife Program. Through the grant, he is mentoring Stacy Kimbler on how to create pictorial wall hangings, using a tufting gun.
Today at the shop, Stacy is working on a honeybee design. He stands at a 7 foot tall, wooden frame that has a piece of white cloth stretched over it. He holds the tufting gun up to the cloth, and as he pulls the trigger, yarn shoots into the cloth at high speeds, creating the tufted design. Jerry stands nearby and gives advice on how close together the tufted rows should be.
“Yeah, you can go over top of it, it won’t hurt it,” Jerry said. “Just go and fill it in in the middle. The tighter the better.”
Nicole Musgrave
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Jerry Machen Sr. (right) looks over the honeybee that his apprentice, Stacy Kimbler (left), has designed. Stacy designed the honeybee and used a tufting gun to bring it to life, a technique he’s learned through his apprenticeship with Jerry.
While Jerry values passing down his knowledge of carpet art to others, he acknowledges that there’s always more he can learn, too.
“If you have a gift then the gift should keep on giving,” Jerry said. “I think it’s very important to just keep what we have and learn from it. I don’t know everything and I’ll never know everything. But I’m willing to learn each and every day.”
And after all these years in the business, the possibility of discovering something new is what keeps Jerry going.
——
This story originally aired in the Aug. 26, 2022 episode of Inside Appalachia.
This story is part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
The Folkways Reporting Project is made possible in part with support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies to the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Foundation. Subscribe to the podcast to hear more stories of Appalachian folklife, arts, and culture.
