Kelly Royall’s art: preserving history

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

As most of you who read this piece on a regular basis are bound to know, The Record suffered a devastating fire in March of 2004.  We are doing our best to turn that old corner on Fourth and E streets into something positive by developing it into a park, and plans are now being made in earnest for our first music festival, ChickenFest, to be held Memorial Day weekend on May 26 and 27.

In the nearly two years since the fire, we have been located on Main Street in North Wilkesboro in a building which has housed, among other businesses, the old Roses store and for a number of years Bill and Bobbie Burke’s jewelry store.  While I miss the old place, we get a lot more traffic here, and I truly enjoy the company. 

People wander in all the time thinking we are running an antique store, and that has been the beginning of many a fascinating conversation.  Occasionally, someone from out of town would get a bit miffed to find nothing was for sale except a subscription to The Record, but we are usually able to explain that our office is our little attempt at preserving the local history and that usually gets them talking about their town or their stuff and all is well.

And, speaking of company, this past week Robert Beshears dropped by the office carrying a couple of pieces of art.  Now, on a given day, I don’t jump at chances to buy art, but these were special — both were from buildings that are no longer standing, and both were done by long-time Wilkes resident and artist Kelly Royall.  Kelly’s talent as an artist covers many areas, but one thing he has done that I especially enjoy involves old buildings and sites in Wilkes and surrounding counties.  In fact, a few years ago, Kelly hosted a show of his art featuring Wilkes businesses as a fund-raiser for the Rainbow Center.

Robert Beshears had a ten-inch square pen and ink drawing of the old Hulcher Brothers building which for many years was a thriving feed business that anchored the end of the old “A” Street in North Wilkesboro.  After the so-called Redevelopment Commission oversaw the destruction of A Street’s buildings, Hulcher Brothers was for years the lone survivor, a beacon of history at the end of what is called the Central Business District Loop. I find this particular piece of art interesting to own because I climbed all through that building as a boy selling newspapers, among them Betty Baker’s Wilkes Record.  Also, I have this vague recollection of hearing my older brothers, Carley Jr. and T. A., talk about an old Chevrolet junker of a car they owned in the early 50s.  The most memorable thing about this car was its “mechanical brakes,” which apparently were somewhat prone to failure.  Add to this the fact that my brothers must have always driven like bats flying out of hell, and you can figure how they ended up sliding through the stoplight and straight through the garage door at Hulcher Brothers one evening.

To be honest, I don’t know if they got away with that one or not — let’s ask them.

But, back to Kelly Royall’s art.

Through the years, to his great credit, Kelly Royall has made something of an avocation of preserving, through his talent as an artist, old structures and businesses throughout western North Carolina.  He has used oils, pastels, charcoal, and, like the Hulcher Brothers piece, pen and ink.  I spoke with Kelly yesterday, and he was able to remember doing pieces similar to Hulcher Brothers on City Café, the J. Frank Pearson building, Beech’s Café, Riley’s Stock Market, and Amy’s Café — all in North Wilkesboro.  He also told me of doing pen and inks of the Smithey’s Hotel and the old Culler’s Market in Wilkesboro.  Incidentally, I am talking about the original Cullers when Clegg and Dessie were located across from Gray Brothers (now Joe Campbell’s  Wilkes Antique Mall).  Honestly, I am convinced that wonderful old Cullers Market was for many years the largest tourist attraction in Wilkesboro.

I am extremely proud to have acquired the Hulcher Brother’s piece and I am grateful to Robert Beshears for bringing it by.  I am also curious as to the whereabouts of the others I listed above and others Kelly may not have even remembered.  I would like to take photographs of as many of them as possible to hang in the Record offices, and, who knows, perhaps we could borrow them and put on an exhibit for the general public to enjoy.  We could even call it our “Reunion Exhibit.”

I have only touched the surface of the wide-ranging body of this type of artwork that is out there by Kelly Royall.  He has provided a priceless service to the preservation of the area’s history, because so many of these buildings have been destroyed as the years have gone by.  It is a unique legacy, and one in which Kelly Royall can and should take tremendous pride.