Spring In Sautee Nacoochee

Photo by me, April 2014.

Spring was just arriving in the second week of April 2014 in the valleys of the northeast Georgia mountains and the mountaintops were still bare and on the highest peaks that day there was snow and lots of wind. I had visitors from Canada with me and they must have brought the cold with them from the north as we traveled around the state. That morning we stopped in Sautee Nacoochee in White County, it was a place I had not been in nearly twenty years.

Sautee Nacoochee is kind of a special place in the north Georgia mountains for it strives to be a community that celebrates the arts and history and does not consider itself a tourist trap like the nearby town of Helen.

Photo by me, April 2014.

We stopped in at the Old Sautee Store that has served the valleys of Sautee and Nacoochee since 1872. Like many old country stores this had also served as the post office for the community until the middle of the 20th Century. Today the store has a small museum in the front portion with some interesting relics of the past and the rest of the place sells food, housewares and local novelty. That particular day it was great to get warmed up by the fireplace.

My real destination that day was to visit the Sautee Nacoochee Center and the folk pottery museum. My guests were not necessarily museum types like me but I thought I could sneak in a place of interest to me and maybe expose them to some of the history and arts of the area before we went on to do activities more their style.

Photo by me, April 2014.

Some years ago I had seen a show on public television about pottery and it had mentioned the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia so it had registered in my mind that I wanted to visit when I had the opportunity. I love pottery and have since I was a child when I would unsuccessfully try to make objects out of the gray clay in the hills behind my house or in crafts projects at school. I never made anything beautiful or collectible like anything close to resembling what is on display at this museum.

Photo by me, April 2014.

Face jugs. Photos by me, April 2014.

The collection at the museum includes pieces from the famous Meaders Family of Georgia. The Meaders became well known in the pottery world for making what are known as "face jugs." Their pieces are so prized and highly collectible that they sell for exorbitant prices and can be found in the Smithsonian.

Photo by me, April 2014

Photo by me, April 2014.

It helps to have a sense of humor to appreciate face jugs I believe. Some of the faces are humorous, some are ugly or fanciful and some are scary and grotesque.

Photo by me, April 2014.

Photo by me, April 2014

Not all of the pieces in the collection are face jugs. There are plenty of other decorative pieces of pottery on display too.

Photo by me, April 2014

I particularly admire the more decorative pieces.

Photo by me, April 2014

Snakes and roosters seem to be a common theme in the folk pottery world.

Located next door to the pottery museum is the Sautee Nacooche Center which serves as the cultural centerpiece of the valleys. It is located in a former school and contains a museum focusing on local history, a theatre for live performances and a gift shop with unique and beautiful art pieces from local craftsmen. This was the one place I had been to before when an ex of mine had spent the summer nearly twenty years ago working in the theatre program.

Photo by me, April 2014.

In the museum there are items such a miner's helmet from a gold mine, a hand dug canoe and other displays that give you a good idea of what earlier life was like for people here.