Occasional Threads – Ellen Guerrant

Ronnie’s Country Store, 642 N. Cherry St., Winston-Salem NC

We came across this gem not far from the Arts District in Winston-Salem by accident several years ago. Going to Ronnie’s Country Store the day before Easter has since become a tradition.

The store was originally the W.G. White Grocery until 1994, when Ronnie Horton purchased it.  Stepping through the front door, edged with fresh produce,  is like stepping back in time.  Old-fashioned candies, purchased by the pound, wait in wooden cheese hoops.  Whole country hams hang from rafters in the back of the store, while pickles of all types (including pickled egg varieties) and jams and jellies line the walls. Mops and brooms are nearby.   Canned goods such as Spam and pork ‘n’ beans and beanie wienies are well stocked as are several types of corn meal and grits.  Old-timey glass bottled grape, strawberry and orange soda pop await in a cooler. Barrels hold peanuts and dried beans of all types while country antiques adorn walls and hang from the ceiling.  Along with whole country hams, customers will find ham slices, ham hocks, ham meat (and almost sold out that day) fat back, the favored green bean flavoring of southern cooks.  Tomato plants, marigolds and gorgeous dahlias were available out front.

Mr. Ronnie Horton was there the day of our visit and very kindly consented to having his picture taken with my DH.  He was also gracious enough to allow this blog post about his establishment.

Treat yourself to a visit to Ronnie’s, truly a treasure. It’s just a block from the convention center.  I wish we’d had time for a visit to the nearby Rescue Mission thrift store.  Just look for the illuminated cross and Jesus Saves sign a block to the northeast.

For more photos of Ronnie’s, click here:  http://www2.journalnow.com/list/gallery-ronnies-country-store/gallery/

“Hold on My Heart….Throw Me a Lifeline ”  is a healing quilt for my family.

“We Fix Broken Hearts” was created to honor those who heal.  It is a collage of a broken heart being put back together, piece by piece.  The hand images were traced from those of my son’s cardiologists.

Twist and Shout

I spent a lovely morning recently with the Lincolnton NC Piecemakers guild.  They were a gracious and attentive audience for my “Journey of a Quiltmaker” trunk show.  The presentation follows my evolvement from traditional quiltmaker to one whose works speak for me.  My quilts come from my heart and soul.

Everyone pitched in to help pack up quuickly.  After all, we were headed to The Lincoln House for lunch. laughter and good conversation.    Food and laughter?  I’m IN!

Thanks, Piecemakers, for your hospitality.  I had a great time.

All photography courtesy of Fran Love

This beautiful California poppies piece is shown by its maker, Kay Dellinger.  It was created in a Lenore Crawford class.

I spent this morning with the Piecemakers Quilt Guild in beautiful Lincolnton NC.  Mist was still rising from the Catawba River as I headed to the foothills of the Blue Ridge.  I should have planned better and taken a day to enjoy the mountain color.  The leaves are gorgeous.

I was greeted warmly by Fran Love who helped unload my “trunk show.”  I think quilters always enjoy seeing and examining the actual quilts.  We had a great time together seeing lots of my work and members’ show and tell.

I was thrilled to see long-time friend  Doris Phillips in the audience.  Doris was one of the first to welcome me to the Charlotte Quilters Guild when I was a new member many moons ago.  A quilter extraordinaire whose pieces are always perfectly square and hug the wall, Doris is a master in that regard.  I’m sorry we didn’t get our picture taken together.  Next time……

Following the meeting, a bunch of us gathered at The Lincoln House for lunch.  Thanks, everyone.  It was such a fun day!

A few of the great quilters from the Lincolnton Piecemakers Quilt Guild.

The Winged Ear -

known to my sisters and me as “the flying cob!”

Made in Sycamore IL – the town of my birth.

I’m a child of the Prairie, having grown up in the Land of Lincoln.  The home of our 16th president is also home to prime topsoil and an iconic logo, the Winged Ear of seed corn producer  DeKalb Ag  (now MONSANTO).

I found this metal license plate addition at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet  in Pasadena CA.  Its shape was instantly recognizable, but  I was shocked to see it was made by the J. V. Patten Company in Sycamore IL.   I was born in Sycamore and grew up on a 200-acre farm near there.   Here I was in CA, where I’d flown with my then 10-month old son to visit family, when I found this treasure.  Small world, indeed.

I don’t remember what I paid, but price didn’t matter.  I’ve had this “flying cob” for over 30 years and have never seen another.

The DeKalb Ag played a very important part in my life and the life of many Sycamore area teens, as it gave me my very first job.  I lusted after this job, as it promised money, but more importantly, a good tan.  After my first day of walking up and down corn rows detasseling certain plants, I wondered what I’d been thinking.  Dead tired, mosquito bitten and sunburned, hands rough and raw, I drove my 1949 Plymouth home and fell into bed.  At dawn, it began again.  For two solid weeks I detasseled, becoming hardened to reaching for a tassel and instead grabbing a handful of corn borers.  Eeeeeew!  I learned to shake it off and move on.

As the days wore on, all of us got smarter.  Our wish for the perfect tan turned to straw hats, long sleeves and jeans, gloves and zinc oxide.  Oh my.  It was one of the hardest jobs I ever had, but I did it for three summers running.  The money at the end was more than I’d ever had at one time in my life.  I still remember my first purchase – a beautiful periwinkle rabbit hair sweater.  I spread it out on my bed to admire, caressing its softness, thinking it was the prettiest sweater I’d ever seen.  Was it worth it?  Oh my, yes.

P.S.  A Google search revealed the symbol was designed in 1936, inspired by the winged horse logo of Mobil oil.  The initials of Arlie Pearce, a commercial artist who fine-tuned the original design, are hidden in the kernels.  I haven’t found the elusive AP on my plate, but the old double-sided field signs have them.  Newer ones are marked with DC, the company now making the ears on masonite.  For more history of the well-recognized flying cob, click here:  http://www.bunnweb.org/dekalb/3-5-08.htm