1.NolanClarenceBEAVER, born 13 September 1916 in Cherokee County, NC; died 01 August 1998 in Cherokee County, NC. He was the son of 2. LutherMarcus LeeBEAVER and 3. PollyAnnBROWN. He married (1) DixieASHE 23 December 1940. She was born 15 February 1924 in Cherokee County, NC, and died 02 July 1992 in Gastonia, Gaston County, NC. He married (2) livingELKINS 30 November 1946 in Chatsworth, Georgia.
Notes for Nolan Clarence BEAVER:
Nolan was a master carver, master story teller and unofficial historia n of Cherokee County NC. He could tell you things bout the resident s that would amaze you. I think he knew just about every graveyard i n the country and just about who was buried there. His carving reside s int he John C Campbell Folk School Museum, the North Carolina Stat e Museum, the Smithsonian and households all over the world. Much o f the collection belonging to the NC Museum at Raleigh was willed to t hem by two elderly sisters who collected carvings done by Nolan BEAVER . He loved to carve and loved to talk. Someone at his wake remarke d that wherever he is, the is carving and talking. But the thing tha t really shows Nolan as he was is a remark made by a fellow carver. * Lots of people like to talk, but the difference is that Nolan was wort h listening to.* The carvings by Nolan BEAVER are some of the most be autiful, most sought after and most collected to come out of the Joh n C Campbell Folk School at Brasstown, NC. In the 1980s he began hi s new line of *thumbnail* carvings - thoroughly detailed, perfectly ca rved miniatures about the size of your thumb nail. The quickly becam e one of the most popular of the Folk School's lines. Of the miniatur es, one of the most popular was his design of a pig with wings - *Whe n pigs fly*. Even though his retail line of miniatures originated i n the 1980s, I have a miniature goat carved in 1933. Nolan began carv ing during the Great Depressions as a way to earn a little money. H e said he soon learned that no only did it pay better than farming, i t was easier. However, considering the detail and the beauty, I hav e my doubts that carving could have been easier than farming. He purc hased his first pocket knife, a tin one, for 10 cents. Throughout hi s career, the pocket knife was his preferred carving tool. And if th e pocket knife didn't do what he needed it to, he just altered the kni fe to fit his needs. Nolan lived many places and followed many vocati ons. In NC he worked for Firestone Mills where they manufactured tire s. In CA he worked for Lockheed. He carved in Tombstone Arizona wher e he earned the nickname *Chips* Beaver from the speed with which th e chips flew as he was carving. He called one piece he created whil e out west *Cochise*. It is an Indian on a horse. The wind is blowin g from behind, spreading the Indian's hair forward, as well as the hor se's mane and tail. The Indian holds in one hand a tiny bow with tin y arrows. Int he other hand is the leather rein that goes to the hors e's mouth. There are three of these in existence - one owned by his w ife, one owned by his oldest son and the last donated to the Smithsoni an by the original purchaser. Nolan lived a rich full life and live d through many wonders and innovations. He lived under 11 presidents . He saw the Lindburg flight, the great stock market crash, Hindenber g disaster, great depression, formation of the United Nations, the bir th of Israel, the opening of Disneyland, the rise and the fall of th e Berlin Wall. He saw Alaska and Hawaii added to the union, the Cuba n missile crisis, the assassinations of both Kennedy's, the assassinat ion of Martin Luther King, the shooting at Kent State, the death of El vis, Three Mile Island, the taking of the Embassy in Iran, the Challen ger explosion, the onset of aids, the dissolution of the USSR He live d through six wars. After Pearl Harbor he was the first person in Ash eville NC to try to enlist. He was turned though due to a bleeding ul cer. He witnessed amazing leaps in technology - insulin, polio vacc ine, eradication of small pox, penicillin, computers and then persona l computers and lap tops, the discovery of Pluto, radar, jet engines , the atomic bomb, DNA, transplants, transistors, Sputnik, the laser , a man on the moon, superconductivity, genetic engineering. But wit h all he saw and all he did, all the lived through, his grandson sai d it best *Grandpa lived a long life and he was HAPPY with what he acc omplished in that life.*
More About Nolan Clarence BEAVER:
Burial: 04 August 1998, New Martin's Creek Baptist Church, Cherokee County, NC
Occupation: Master Carver
