Hi, Folks! Meet Miss Polly as I call her. Mrs. Polly Gott to be exact.
When looking at her life history, Polly could be considered a bit of an anomaly. The reason I say that is because Polly and her husband Peter moved here from New York in 1960 at a time when a lot of Appalachian people were moving north as part of the Hillbilly Migration.
It was a time when most of Appalachia was still extremely isolated and its people were secretive & wary of “outsiders”.
Most roads were still dirt and a lot of the old 19th Century Appalachian customs, beliefs and lifestyles were still intact.
Burley Tobacco, Religion and making Moonshine still reigned supreme.
Polly, trained at The Brooklyn School of Art and Peter, who studied at Cornell University, made the unlikely move to northern Madison County, North Carolina. They were in search of peace and solitude, mirroring Irish & German immigrants who came 150 years before them.
Polly designed their log cabin, drawing the basic design. Together with Peter, they handcrafted their Appalachian Dovetail Style home with Polly doing a man’s work. Although it did not have indoor plumbing or electricity, it is a work of art to behold.
Polly cooked on the old wood cook stove, cleaned, chopped wood and performed other rigorous tasks which most women today would not relish. Polly, however, loved it.
Polly gave birth to her children here, reared them here, living up to all her responsibilities. All the while, she forged her own identity as a prolific and talented water color artist. A hand built log cabin serves as her studio on a tranquil meadow just above their home.
After more than 55 years in Madison County, Polly is as much a part of Appalachia as the land itself.
Y’all have a great week!
