Selling A Lifetime Of Curios To Make Ends Meet
Denny Powell's curiosity shop near the entrance to the Organ Cave tourist attraction on Route 219. Photo by Michael Williamson/The Washington Post
RONCEVERTE, W. Va.--The store's Coke sign, painted with a haphazard hand, is what drew our eyes from the road. But once inside, it was a carnival chalkware figurine – the kind fairs once gave out as cheap prizes – that lured out Michael's wallet.
The miniature statue was sitting among other oddities in Denny Powell’s curiosity shop, built by his father in the 1940s as a small grocery store and now filled with random items for sale.
A closer look would reveal many were from the life Powell once led.
Memorabilia of Dale Earnhardt, the famed late NASCAR driver, was everywhere. Powell worked as a mechanic at one of Earnhardt’s dealerships and spoke of “Dale” as if he knew him, as if he were an old friend he was proud to know. "I can take you to the house and show you my employee handbook if you like,” Powell told Michael.
Most of the items in the shop don’t bring in much money, but Powell said the sales help supplement his income now that he’s disabled. His customers are mostly people on their way to the Organ Cave, the tourist attraction and former Confederate soldiers' hideaway on Route 219, travelers who tend to be forgiving of the way he mans the store, or rather, doesn’t man it. He usually opens the doors in the morning and leaves a sign outside that offers customers the choice of honking the horn, knocking on the door at his nearby house or calling him.
Most items bear no price tags. Powell instead gauges the value of the item and the memories attached to it on the spot. When Michael saw the statue, he imagined its place among the cheap carnival prizes he collects and asked Powell his price.
“I'd like to go cheaper, but I need to get $5 for it,” Powell said. “That's how much money I blew at the state fair to win it when I was a kid."
Denny Powell holds the carnival chalkware figurine he sold to Michael. Photo by Michael Williamson/The Washington Post
By
Theresa Vargas
|
June 11, 2009; 8:50 AM ET
Save & Share:
Previous: In W. Va., A Dance To Say We'll Be All Right
Next: In Union, A Choice Between Baby And Car
Posted by: mlc2 | June 11, 2009 2:49 PM | Report abuse
I grew up in the rural south, have driven similar roads for years. These stories are not unusual, this has been the norm for many people for many years, recession notwithstanding. My guess? If Michael and Theresa had traveled these road three year ago in the height of the boom, the stories would have not been significantly different.
Posted by: figjam | June 11, 2009 10:02 PM | Report abuse
Virginia isn't traveling around the country ... but you are in the country. Howzabout Little Five Points in the city of Atlanta. An eclectic mix of folks that includes a rather large homeless population. Store called the Junkman's Daughter, has a huge flying saucer crashed into the front.
California is much more interesting once you get away from LA and SL which have become almost stereotypical ...
I prefer traveling around Italy ... :-)
Posted by: periculum | June 12, 2009 12:52 AM | Report abuse
I was so enjoying the writing that I was shocked when it was done. I wanted to read more!!!!
Posted by: cindypie3 | June 12, 2009 5:02 AM | Report abuse
Excellent piece!!! Great photos!!! Mr. Powell seems like one of those tragic charcters from a Flannery O'Connor short story.
Posted by: williambrown15 | June 12, 2009 5:09 AM | Report abuse
I agree with the posting of 'cindypie3'. The story was just beginning to have a life an then just stopped. The photograph of Denny Powell is very good - really captures the mood.
I hope the author finds time to add to this blog - or at least takes more time with future posts to tell a complete story. As you continue on your travels, suggest spending time in the mountains from SW-Penna down thru Georgia. You will find a number of people in similar situations but with very different stories. To quote a line from an Alabama song "Well somebody told us Wall Street fell - But we were so poor that we couldn't tell"
Posted by: Disbelief | June 12, 2009 7:05 AM | Report abuse
Yep, that's life here in West Virginia: disabled people selling cheap carnival curios bu the side of the road to supplement their government welfare checks. Never mind that where I live in West Virginia, the unemployment rate is less than half that of Northern Virginia.
Thanks for the stereotype.
Posted by: swmuva | June 12, 2009 7:56 AM | Report abuse
W. Virginia's unemployment rate for April 2009: 7.8% as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. I could not find W. Virginia's May number, the national unemployment rate for May is 9.4%. I doubt W. Virginia's rate shot up 1.6% in one month so their rate is at least 1.2% below the national average. This is only one barometer what are other ones saying?
Posted by: mirebay | June 12, 2009 8:41 AM | Report abuse
Nice article, thank you. I hope that you gave him more than $5 for the figurine - as well as the pictures you took of him for this article.
Posted by: cananlow | June 12, 2009 9:09 AM | Report abuse
The pictures say it all. Great photography.
Posted by: 4mattb | June 12, 2009 10:03 AM | Report abuse
Great pics, good article. Could have delved deeper into Denny's story. 1st: those who don't know that Virginia and West Virginia are two very different, seperate States should look at a map once in a while. 2nd: Yes, WV is regularly characterized by the "hillbilly" or the "New Deal" stereotype. But that's not what this story was about. Theresa and Michael never mention the economic climate of the area, only that Denny is now disabled. They were merely describing their experience. There is absolutely no propogation of any stereotype or speculation on Denny's lifestyle in this article: Kudos! Taking a closer look may have made for a more satisfying read, but I believe the authors would rather you wonder how much more satisfying would it be to go visit Denny and see for yourself.
Posted by: KJR1 | June 12, 2009 10:29 AM | Report abuse
That particular chalk "Sailor Girll" chalk doll has a value (depending on the collector) ranging from $75 to $150!
I have a Chalk Black Man with corn-cob pipe my mother got when she was 5 yra. old at the Gallia County Fair in Gallipolis, Ohio in 1938, which (to me) is priceless! I've had offers as high as $400.00 for it.
(That $5.00 he paid for the Sailor Girl is almost 'theft'!
Jerry F. Abbott. Fort Payne, AL
Posted by: littlemose3 | June 14, 2009 3:19 PM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
Kudos on the photography in this series. I am enjoying the writing, but the pictures are really wonderful.