“We’re all pieces of God and we all have that little God-Light inside us.” ~ Dolly Parton
the store
I’ve been awful sick this week, but today was the perfect way to end that streak. I had to run up to West Liberty to take down the photo exhibit that went up in early July. I sold three pieces from the show, and on my way home, I dropped one off with my buddy Steve Sargent, whom you met just after the artist’s reception. He bought “James” (below). James Lykins, one of Cannel City’s elders who frequented the Cannel City post office, was kind enough to let me photograph him when he stopped by to get his mail almost exactly 10 years ago. Everybody remembers James, and everyone who has ever seen the photo of him gasps, in part because it’s James, but also because it’s the Cannel City post office. Both are, or were in James’ case, beloved, and I think it gives them a feeling of comfort to see them preserved in a tangible way. Steve’s father-in-law is cousin Roger Finch, who owns Luther Reed’s store at Caney (we all call it Luther Reed’s even though Luther hasn’t owned it for decades). Roger, and now Steve and his wife, Jessica, have been putting together a museum on one side of the store. In that museum is Caney’s old post office interior, which looks exactly like the Cannel City post office’s interior that James is standing behind. It warmed my heart to see it. I couldn’t be prouder to have James’ photograph in the store for all to enjoy and remember two local institutions. Making it all the better was the incredible conversations Steve and I have had in the last month about our shared history in the county. I love so much that he and his family are doing all they can to preserve what little we have left, from the store to the ephemera inside. Plus, it’s a completely functional country store, from cold Nehi pop and fried bologna sandwiches to cans of Vienna sausages, cigarettes, and motor oil. You can get it all while you take a tour down memory lane. It’s a shining star in Morgan County.
keeper
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