[Tryon, North Carolina Craft Festival Old Mill, 1970s]

this is a box of wild flowers ferns all sorts of things collected from nature and you'd be amazed what can be done with them we are going to have somebody show us some things that can be done and she's Bertha Smith from Tron North Carolina and Bertha first of all what do you call this artwork that you're doing well my name for this is press flowers or press Flora because I use leaves grasses and all sorts of things but it does have a Japanese name the Japanese name is oshibana so that both of them the same really both means now you start with collecting the wildflowers of course and then you have to dry them they are pressed dried I drive between the newspapers placing between newspapers and under heavy weight until dry and then that's when they can be used for and cards for example then you have orange Cosmos and from that came something like this yes just in our class in your class and how do you get them on that what's this stuff this is we use a white glue any glue that dries clear and they're for the background which is a mat board and this is to be used under glass and this the glass will be the glass will protect the flowers yes well let's take a look now I'll put that right on top that some of the things you've already done um unless I don't know where to start Why not start with the big one let's bring it back in now tell us this is a little different isn't it yes these are placed under contact paper which is a self adhesive paper and you make your Arrangement you reverse paint on this uh your foreground is done first and then your background you build in and then it's applied to a mat board and then covered with this protective no that's that's the covering that you have to begin with oh I see and then it can be framed or uh glass can be placed over this or it can be without glass I think here's one over here with glass isn't it well this is all what is this a plastic background with the contact paper over that's beautiful those are violets the Confederate and the blue violet just Exquisite and here's one I think must be from nature just wow this is a trout lily which is blooming now in the mountains and I have used the leaf off the Bowman's root and also some Queen Anne's Lace is added around for just a little addition now what well here's a colorful one oh this is put onto a plastic yes it's a little cover you could use for miscellaneous purposes and I have just added this is done with contact paper over of course over the Violet now this makes a permanent finish now you use rice paper for some things you know here's a piece of the rice paper we could look at it's very it's very thin in there oh there went our glue all right now let's see what um what other types of things do you have here like this well this is done with uh you glue the this happens to be Ragweed by the way and it is just glued down on the Note Paper and then a little accent of your India ink drawing which makes uh it's the own individual um liking for that and here's one that you have put inside of a little Mandarin this is applied just to your background paper which is ink drawing paper and this is just glued on with no covering over it then this wouldn't be used with glass over this is for the Note Paper yes this is an old paper idea is that a violet no that's your little uh hollyhock the little uh miniature I call it the miniature hollyhock but it retains color very well well you have to start a year or two ahead to collect quality of all your plants don't you so you have things to work with collecting all year and there is never a time that you can't collect something only maybe January and February well we certainly thank you for sharing this beautiful work with us it's been a pleasure to see it thank you toasting one two three four test testing one two three four run good level test one two three four testing one two three four testing one two three four going to be ready missed a lot of to make everything just absolutely magical as far as I'm concerned here you tell me all of this runs by water yes the water wheel is 16 feet high four feet wide and produces 17 and a half horsepower and are you able to adjust some way how much water goes through yes we are hooked up with a with an old buggy wheel that we control the water flow by just a little gate up in the lake oh I see and you always have plenty of water I have plenty of water what feeds you like Springs it's spring fed oh boy that's good enough to drink isn't it yes it is how in the world did you happen to to decide to go into something like this well it's just something I wanted to do I've always been interested in water power and it's I started out with the water wheel it was purchased in 1916 it was at the old Hayes Mill on Highway 191. and from there well I just got interested in it you gathered more old things and put them together yes it took me about a year to collect everything of course now I've had quite a bit of help there's Mr Suber in Greer South Carolina that has a water meal he can come up and help me Mr Silver's at Mars Hill Mr lowing down in Polk County well you had a lot of interested people also man up above Brevard Mr Nicholson he come down and and give me pointers on how to grind and what to do so well now well we buy it from local farmers and do you import any sort of species other states yes our corn is grown locally but now our weeds and rice triticale all the other grains well most of it come from the Midwestern states do you um when a farmer comes in and and has some corn to grind you take a toll is that what you call it well we can take toll uh we have an old total box that was used years ago and uh 1 8 of a bushel is what is what the military what was what the military that's what you are the Miller yeah and you've got your family helping you out too yes it's it's a family affair that's good it's uh now what uh what kind of products do you uh do you make it I know many things well other than the corn you make all these things you got samples here yes we we grind organic whole wheat flour hard winter wheat and also soft wheat for pastry flour we grind Rye flour triticale soy oats barley Millet rice and you just grind about everything yeah we grind just about everything we also grind uh wheat crack wheat for Biltmore wheat hearts yes and Biltmore we crack the wheat and also make a baby seal which is which is organic baby cereal well that's wonderful now you've shown me here one way that you mark it how else do you Market these things well we we also grind for health food stores oh I see yes as far as I know I'm the only one that's that's grinding organic grain here previous to that they had to order the grain from New York or out west somewhere do you sell much right here we sell quite a bit yes we do well that's that's really good we also have Miller sweet brand this we get from a Roller Mill because we grind a whole grain of flowers I see and but we we have uh we have Miller's brand try to kill brand soybean brand you've got everything from the looks of the shelves everything and you just readjust a few belts in there and turn the water the right duration and the way you go that's right well this is certainly an interesting Enterprise and looks like a very healthful way of living well well we enjoy it we really do we've enjoyed being with you well I've enjoyed having you