Local artist unveils latest calendar
Local artist and museum curator Monty Wanamaker’s new 2008 calendar is now available. The much anticipated calendar is filled with six original artwork designs by Wanamaker.
The limited edition calendars are priced at $20 each and can be purchased at the Southern Museum & Galleries at 210 E. Main St. They will also be available at Martin-Glenn Glass Company, Hargrove Office Supply and Antiques and The Arts.
The featured works, which are suitable for framing include:
The Missionary Baptist Church of McMinnville was organized in June, 1838 with a membership of 10 individuals. With a growing congregation, the group purchased a lot in 1878 on the east side of Spring Street and built a beautiful little brick church. William H. Magness was a large contributor to the building fund. The building was converted to the Smith Hotel in the 1930s, and later was razed to make way for G&M Grocery.
Warren County native Hubert Hillis purchased a rustic building in Depot Bottom from his cousin and opened his country store about 1958. Hillis stacked the shelves with old-fashioned products like Spam, sardines, crackers, mustard and cheese, and served bologna sandwiches and other simple delicacies at his legendary lunch counter. He and his wife were in business for some 43 years prior to Hubert’s death in 2003, after which the store was purchased by Mike Crowe. In July, 2006 Butch and Sandy Young purchased the store and opened their Depot Bottom Cafe, keeping the Hillis Grocery tradition alive.
Records show the grist mill, which was located on the Collins River in the Shellsford community, was established and in production as early as 1804. It was up and running soon after the arrival at the ford of John Shell, where his son Christian owned and operated the mill and tavern nearby in 1807. The area rapidly became a flourishing community with one of the county’s earliest churches and cemeteries in existence before Shell’s death in about 1827. It is believed the mill continued to operate to some extent throughout the years of the Civil War, and closed permanently in 1956.
One of the most familiar landmarks in McMinnville has been throughout its existence the statue of Hebe. Dedication of this memorial fountain took place May 20, 1915, and was donated by Laura Davis Worley in memory of her parents Capt. O.W. and Mrs. Davis. Hebe is the creation of Danish sculptor Bertel Throvaldsen (1770-1844) who worked in Rome and practiced the style of ancient Greeks in his works. The statue underwent a thorough restoration by James R. McGaw before being reinstalled in the park in 2006.
Born Oct. 11, 1932 in the Dibrell community, Dottie West was the oldest of 10 children. From the earliest years of her life, she lived with the dream of one day being part of the famous Grand Ole Opry. She realized her long-held dream and joined the Opry in 1963, and enjoyed great success as a singer-songwriter, with her most creative years in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. She won numerous awards, including the coveted Grammy award for her song, ‘Here Comes My Baby,’ the first ever awarded to a woman in country music. She lost her life inan automobile accident in 1991. The watercolor portrait was painted from a photograph probably taken sometime in the 1970s.
The magnificent two-story Gaffin house is located on Sparta Highway, and has a long and illustrious past. Known as the Walter Gaffin House, it is known that by 1805, Joseph Colville, was in the area and built a two-story log home at the site. The logs were covered many years later and the colonial-style portico was added. After selling their farm in 1906, Walter Clark Gaffin and wife, Lucy Dodson Gaffin, purchased the property and in 1912 moved their family to the home where they lived out their lives. The home was sold at auction in 1993, and was later purchased by local attorney Dale Potter.