WILLIAM HENRY CHRISCOE: 1857-1944 (2nd in a Series)
- The Calla Jewel Chriscoe Hussey Interview -
Philip E. Burrow
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Long fascinated with the life and times of his great-grandfather William Henry Chriscoe, an early North Carolina potter, the author set out to interview the few surviving grand-children who knew and loved him.
This particular book, part of a series, is focused on the recorded question and answer interview with Calla Jewel Chriscoe Hussey, who is approaching ninety years of age. Pictures of Chriscoe's pottery shop and farm outbuildings are featured, as well as details of how his old log structure was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC (and later displayed there). Calla Jewel also recounts, sometimes humorously, what it was like to grow up in a self-sufficient home during the Great Depression of 1929 and the early 1930s.
ISBN: 194300708X (paperback) / Published by: American Legacies Press / Published Date: 2018
As the son of Seagrove potter Joe Owen, I read with great interest this book about potter W.H. Chriscoe, who was friends with my grandfather Rufus Owen. Unfortunately my grandfather died before I could meet him. However, this book helped me to better understand what men like Mr. Chriscoe and my grandfather faced to make a living for their families. The author connected the dots between several Seagrove families that lived and worked in the Seagrove area that was most interesting. I grew up hearing about the Chriscoe potters but never understand the details before this book by Philip Burrow. I like the author's writing style because he makes the story real and heartfelt. I recommend this book to any pottery collector and also for anyone who had relatives that lived during the late 1800s to the mid-1900s in rural America. I found myself humbled by the harsh conditions Mr. Chriscoe and others faced so many years ago! I passed my book along to a Chriscoe friend in Atlanta who was very excited to receive it.
Nostalgic interview with enlightening information relevant to the times and people of this era.
I was enthralled in the reading of this book and interview. I could envision not only the subjects in the interview, but was transported to another time of yesteryear and the details of one's lifestyle at that time. It was a bittersweet journey, reminding me of the closeness and warmth of that time frame, but also reminiscent of the hardships with which these people lived on a daily basis. The book personified this great-grandfather of the author, filling in gaps of the old gentleman's personality, which was the author's intent. It was very readable and left me wanting to read more.
Important folk history, now preserved.
As people like Calla Jewel Chriscoe pass on, it becomes increasingly important to preserve their memories for future researchers. Not only does this interview preserve Ms. Chriscoe's recollections, but the reader will also gain insights into this subject from the questions of the author. Recommended for any student of the pottery traditions of the Seagrove area of North Carolina.
This was a very interesting book to read. Lots of good pottery information among families. Was of interest to me because of living in the pottery community and loving pottery.
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As a teenager, I either read or heard that "Variety is the spice of life." It became my mantra. Over the years it has led to good and bad behavior and sometimes not in that order.
I gave it an acronym, VSL. Perhaps this VSL affliction, as I've sometimes called it, is why I was a chicken farmer, pot washer in a bean factory, leather cutter in a shoe factory, sock boarder, and newspaper reporter before the age of twenty-four. After college, I went into the U.S. Army, became a banker, insurance salesman, and finally a newspaper publisher and bookseller for the past thirty-two years. Writing and publishing is the only work that has truly satisfied me, even as frustrating as it is at times.
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