Early Bird Press, Wytheville, VA (2026)

08/21/2026

Summer Postcard Series
Queens K**b
Friday, 08.21.2026

10/10 - I always loved this quote by Annie Dillard:
“The mountains—Tinker and Brushy, McAfee’s K**b and Dead Man—are a passive mystery, the oldest of all. Theirs is the one simple mystery of creation from nothing, of matter itself, anything at all, the given. Mountains are giant, restful, absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it, folded, and not throw it back as some creeks will. The creeks are the world with all its stimulus and beauty; I live there. But the mountains are home.”
― Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Memoir of Nature, Observation, and the Seasons in Virginia
I found this author when I went to college at Virginia Tech a few years ago. Twenty actually, but we don’t need to go into counting the years. What I found through the years was that I come from a very special town. Appalachia is also very unique. It’s cool to be Appalachian now, but in those years I didn’t even really know I was Appalachian! Doesn’t everyone have a garden and know how to work with their hands? Turns out, they do not. Some of my fellow VT students thought my accent was from Georgia! Nope, I am not southern, but I was from only about an hour away. I was surprised when they didn’t believe me. Blacksburg is an interesting part of SWVA, so that makes sense. I would then take them to the Christiansburg area to listen to the accents and they started to understand.

It took leaving Wytheville to see how special it really was. I suggest everyone leave the county every now and then to gain some perspective, learn how we could improve but also that sometimes “we shouldn’t change a thing!” Wytheville has certainly changed a lot since I was dying to get out of this town as a 17 year old. There are a lot of people who were able to look to the future and see what our little town could be. They have really worked hard to achieve these things. It takes a lot of bravery and persistence to make big changes in a small town. You’ll always have people who like it just the way it is! Don’t change a thing. I can see all the positive changes Wytheville has made and know why I was ok with moving back here 4 years ago. I’m so glad Andrew and I live here now. It’s nice being close to family and having a sweet community and neighbors.
Wherever you call home, you will always carry parts of it with you and long for it when you’re away…with good memories and some not so good. Growing up in a small town certainly builds character. So, to finish off the Summer Postcard Series, here’s the view from my porch. Queens K**b, where one of my very best friends grew up! Good times were had out in this part of town, driving around late at night and just goofing off. I don’t think I’m ever moving again. Thank you for going on this artistic & thought provoking journey with me. I learned a lot about our town’s landmarks and history and hope to continue with more art in the future! I will also work on my writing style. I do love a run-on sentence, so thanks for your patience on that.

These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12 : : Set of 10 note cards $20

08/15/2026

Summer Postcard Series
Jackson Ferry Shot Tower
Friday, 08.14.2026
9/10 - The Shot Tower is our featured piece for this week. I took Andrew to see the tower and Foster Falls back in 2015 and we were able to climb to the top, and somehow I had never done that before! It’s crazy how you can be from a place and not experience it all until you’re trying to show someone else what your town is like. I’m glad we were able to see it, it has an intriguing history. I’ve always liked to see it as I’m driving by or biking on the trail.
I was asked to draw the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower for West Wind Farm Vineyard & Winery many years ago. My art is featured on their labels, which is just so cool. Thanks to David & Jason Manley and the Hric family! Please go see that beautiful site and check out their website too: https://westwindwine.com. My sketches are on the Heritage Reserve, New River White & New River Red! I remember sitting under the giant interstate bridge to do the drawing. I was perched on some giant rocks just hoping not to see a giant interstate bridge SNAKE! Thankfully it was a peaceful time and a nice spot to draw with the beautiful New River flowing nearby.

Here’s some history on the Shot Tower for your brain cells:
Click this link to learn more: https://historicvirginiatravel.com/shot-tower-state-park/ I pulled some info from an article by Katie - Published: August 11, 2023 - Last updated: July 7, 2025
“If you have driven by the tall brick tower on I-77, you probably thought it was a defense tower for a skirmish in the Virginia Mountains. But it wasn’t! Read on to hear the fascinating details about Shot Tower State Park and why you want to make a quick stop to this historic destination. Shot Tower State Park preserves the Jackson Ferry Shot Tower which manufactured lead shot for more than 30 years. It was the first factory to mass-produce ammunition shot in America.
The state park is about 10 acres large, and is located at a trailhead onto the New River Trail.
The Shot Tower was created by Thomas Jackson, an English immigrant that was hired by Moses Austin who was looking for people to work with lead and mining.
Jackson brought the trade secret of “drop shot” from England. The unique process of making drop shot had been perfected by Englishman William Watts of Bristol. It consisted of pouring melted lead through a sieve of very small holes at the top of the tower.
As the lead droplets fell down the shaft, they became round pellets and dropped into a large bucket of water at the base of the tower to be collected.
The unique tower was built over five years, with 75 feet underground and a 75-foot tower above ground. It was completed in 1807.
The small shot produced was privately used for shotguns and killing wildlife. The Shot Tower operated until 1839. Shot Tower State Park is located south of Wytheville along I-77 in Austinville, VA. Shot Tower Historical State Park is managed as a part of the New River Trail State Park.
Visitors can walk down the ramp to the platform at the base of the tower. From the deck, you can see a beautiful view over the New River and the highway in the distance. The grounds are open year-round from dawn to dusk.
When the building is open in the Summer (Friday-Sunday), you may enter the tower and look down the 75-foot shaft in the rock below.
You may also climb the stairs 75-feet to get to the top of the tower and see the views from above.
A small display of photos and lead shot is located inside the tower.
Picnic tables are found on property, as well as an entrance to the New River Trail.”
These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12

08/08/2026

Summer Postcard Series
Skeeter’s & More 🌭☕️🌿
Friday, 08.07.2026
8/10 - This print is what I would call the Skeeter’s Block on Main Street. We’ve got Wytheville’s own Skeeter’s World Famous Hotdogs and Home of the Skeeter-Dog, The Grind, First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Foundation and Museum and P.R. Sturgill Fine Jewelry. I remember going to Skeeter’s back when Elizabeth and Irene worked there, ordering my “just ketchup” hot dog on a steamed bun. I have to laugh when my nephews order the same now. My order has gotten more exciting with ketchup, chili and slaw now. What a great place. We are glad it is still around and serving up hot dogs. It’s always a hoot to text my sister a hotdog emoji 🌭 and see if she’s also craving a hot dog for lunch!
We also find ourselves at The Grind quite often. The Grind has tasty food and drinks and a very friendly staff that we receive coffee grounds from around 3 times a week. That’s usually around 15 gallons of compost for our soil building enterprise for our garden. They also roast coffee and sell bags of that! Yummy, what would we do without our coffee. We owe a big thank you to the Grind for helping us out with our soil and compost.
These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12

08/01/2026

The Wytheville Training School Cultural Center
Friday, 07.31.2026
7/10 - I knew this place was cool, but now I know so much more about it and if you read this, then you will too. Let’s go! The Wytheville Training School Cultural Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2000 with the mission of preserving the historic Wytheville Training School. Originally built in 1883 for African American children, the school remained operational until 1952. Within the Cultural Center, we house an African American Heritage Museum that features photographs, narratives, and memorabilia, showcasing the history of African American education in Wythe County. Operating hours are Monday-Friday 1-6 pm and every first and third Saturday 11 am — 3 pm! Admission is FREE and donations are accepted.
Andrew took this photo of a map in the museum which surprised us, and involves the USPS.
This is a map of the Roads and Locations of Bus Routes to the school. The route from Bland County to the school in 1939-1952 was in a Bland mail truck to Wytheville over the mountain and down 52.
HISTORY
In 1865, following the Civil War, the Freedmen's Bureau joined with numerous Northern church and civic leaders to successfully encourage teachers to travel to the South to educate newly freed slaves. Such was the case in 1867 in Wytheville, Virginia, where the Freedmen's Bureau rented four rooms below a Tazewell Street printing office and established a church and school for former African-American slaves. At the same time, the Freedmen's Bureau encouraged the construction of another building, at the corner of Fifth and Franklin Streets, to take the place of the first school.
In 1883, two Wytheville groups, trustees of both the Evansham School District and the Franklin Street Methodist Episcopal Church, purchased the Freedmen's school.
To meet the needs of Wytheville's growing African-American population, the new leadership erected a larger school on the site, known today as the Wytheville Training School.
Within the next two years, Wytheville's African-American community decided to construct a church next door to the new school. As workers built the new Franklin Street Methodist Episcopal Church, African-American citizens used the school as an education center, as well as a site for weddings, socials, funerals, and other occasions.
Later named the Wytheville Training School, the facility welcomed African-American students in the Wytheville area and was a key institution for educating African-Americans in Southwest Virginia for more than 80 years.

These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12
All proceeds for these sales will go to the training center as a donation from all of us. Get your prints and notecards today! Let’s help them with their awesome mission, stated below:
Our Mission
• Preserve, collect and utilize artifacts and other materials of historical significance relating to African-American and rural education in Wythe County during the years of segregation.
• Foster a sense of history by enabling audiences to draw strength and perspective from the past and impart a purpose to the future.
• Increase citizen participation and access to computer and telecommunications technology and education.
• Provide educational programs for adults and after-school tutoring/enrichment activities for youth.

07/25/2026

Big Walker Lookout Big Walker Lookout
Friday, 07.24.2026
6/10 - A sweet attraction
Summer postcard series, honoring my hometown of Wytheville, Virginia - Big Walker Lookout - I always thought Big Walker was in Bland, but as it turns out…it is in Wytheville! I just love this little spot, it’s been in the biz for over 75 years. That’s quite the achievement. It was one of my sweet little (Betty E. Elmore) Momma’s first jobs. She tells tales about the old SNAKE PIT! She said Mountain Men would “come there with burlap sacks full of God only knows what kind of snakes!” As the website states, you can “experience down home hospitality and charm inside the Country Store. We offer hand-dipped Virginia Homestead Creamery Super Premium Ice Cream, country fresh fudge, FREE mountain top music from May – October, and so much more!” You can climb the lookout tower if you dare, I can tell you that the views are fantastic! Definitely stop for an ice cream. I took Andrew there for one of our early dates. We climbed the tower and then climbed the shot tower the same day. It was the great tower tour of 2015. This is just the kind of roadside attraction we need more of these days, glad the snake pit is gone though. YiCK!
These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12

07/17/2026

Train Trestle on High Bridge Road & Old Stage
5/10 - Summer postcard series, honoring my hometown of Wytheville, Virginia - Coolest train trestle ever, at the intersection of High Bridge and Old Stage. It’s wonderful to see something like this that was built a long time ago. When I look at the carpentry rosettes in the corner of a window of an old home, details on an old wooden staircase, or a rock wall that was made hundreds of years ago; I am just amazed at how much skill people had back then. Not a ton of mechanization, simple tools, strength and skills. They made things that worked and that would last a super long time. I hope people still admire things that took time and brains to build. Scarred hands and tired bodies. I like to think there are still people who work like this, may they teach some impatient young person how to do that work, and may that young person grow up to be glad they were taught!
These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12

07/10/2026

The Big Pencil
Friday, 07.10.2026
A super cool landmark
4/10 - Summer postcard series, honoring my hometown of Wytheville, Virginia - Wytheville Office Supply - Main Street - You can’t go through downtown Wytheville and not notice the 20 foot big pencil! It’s one of my favorite things about Main Street, so I’m glad it is still there. I can no longer peruse the aisles of the Supply Store for stationery or try out all the different pens anymore. It was a great store run for years by a lovely family. I borrowed some information from an article written by Jeff Simmons on July 1, 2024 to share some history on this business.
End of an Era - Tennessee company to acquire Wytheville Office Supply - Wytheville’s big pencil is staying but the retail store it symbolizes is closing. On July 1, Tennessee-based A-Z Office Resource will acquire Wytheville Office Supply, a family owned company that’s been supplying pens, paper and personalized service to Virginia and surrounding states since 1948. … Started in 1948, Wytheville Office Supply moved to its current spot in 1985. Through the years, the company has grown, adapted and thrived, offering 80,000 different products to banks, businesses and local governments. : : These art pieces were made to eventually go into a retro vending machine at the Eclectic Pearl called Gallery on the Go - coming soon!
5x7 framed - $20 : : 5x7 print $10 : : 3.5x5 postcard - $5 : : Set of 5 note cards $12

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