{"id":57328,"date":"2018-08-29T03:58:25","date_gmt":"2018-08-29T07:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=57328"},"modified":"2021-09-05T15:40:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-05T19:40:39","slug":"gilbert-gib-lewis-community","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=57328","title":{"rendered":"GILBERT “GIB” LEWIS Community"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pine Mountain Settlement School
\nSeries 09: Biography – Community Residents, Staff\/Personnel
\nGilbert “Gib” Lewis Community<\/h5>\n

GILBERT “GIB” LEWIS Community
\nPMSS Maintenance Worker, c. 1952-1975<\/h2>\n
\n
\"GILBERT

Cabin and paling fence. Series VII-52 Children & Classes. [elem_002.jpg]<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

TAGS: <\/strong>Gib Lewis, Gilbert Lewis, Elijah Gilbert Lewis, Arwilla Creech Lewis, Columbus Creech,\u00a0Adrian Metcalf, broom-making, Craig Evan Royce, Country Miles Are Longer Than City Miles, chair bottomers, farmers, William and Sally Dixon Creech, Emily and Robert Lewis,\u00a0Craig Evan Royce<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"GILBERT

“Gib Lewis.” VII 63 Life Work Maintenance, Farm, Grounds. VII_63_life_work_001-34.jpg]<\/p><\/div>\n

Gilbert “Gib” Lewis and his wife Arwilla Lewis first lived in a cabin just below the road along Isaac’s Creek, a short distance from the base of Pine Mountain.<\/p>\n

Gilbert, through Arwilla, a Creech descendent, was one of four recipients of land that Columbus Creech<\/a> acquired in 1928 from Intermountain Company. The land originally belonged to Adrian Metcalf until 1890 when he sold many of his tracts, including the original PMSS tract, to Asher Lumber Company.<\/p>\n

GILBERT LEWIS: Farmer, Craftsman<\/h3>\n

\"GILBERT

Gilbert “Gib” Lewis, c. 1976. Image courtesy of Craig Evan Royce. [pmss-lewis_gilbert.png]<\/p><\/div>Gilbert farmed his land most of his life, but In later years, he became known for making “the finest brooms in America — certainly, the most pleasing to the eye,” according to Craig Evan Royce in his book, Country Miles Are Longer Than City Miles<\/em><\/a> (AuthorHouse, 2007). Using broom corn that he raised in his garden, he produced about 30 brooms a year, selling them mostly to his surrounding community. Royce writes:<\/p>\n

The brooms are made of only the hardiest broom corn strains — rich purple, gold, orange, tan, and black — and have handles of the finest natural black walnut. They have been known to last for years with constant use.<\/em><\/p>\n

Besides broom-making, he was equally skilled and respected as a chair bottomer, weaving strips of bark from the hickory tree to form the chair’s seat.<\/p>\n

GILBERT LEWIS: At Pine Mountain<\/h3>\n

According to PMSS History Summaries<\/a>, he worked in the School’s Maintenance Department from school years 1952-1953 until 1974-1975.<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Gilbert Lewis married Arwilla Creech in Harlan, Kentucky, on April 5, 1914. They had six sons (Herbert, Owen, Darwin, Elmer, Arnold, and Omer) and two daughters (Eva and Una).<\/p>\n

Arwilla (“Arwilly” or “Arwillie”) Creech Lewis<\/strong>, born in 1895, was the granddaughter of William<\/a> and Sally (Dixon) Creech<\/a>, who envisioned education for the mountain youth and\u00a0donated their land for Pine Mountain Settlement School. She was well-known for her beautiful dahlias, bouquets of which graced the flower tables at the 1944 Community Fair<\/a>. She died in 1975.<\/p>\n

Elijah (“Gib”) Gilbert Lewis<\/strong> was born on November 30, 1891, “at the mouth of Elliot’s Branch, Kentucky, just a little below Big Laurel late in 1891 and … never left the mountains.” The oldest of four children of Emily and Robert Lewis, a farmer, his siblings were Stacy R., Elic, and Henry. He died in 1983.<\/p>\n

See Also:
\nCREECH FAMILY<\/a>
\nOMER LEWIS Student and Community
\nLEWIS FAMILY<\/a>
\nWILLIAM & SALLY CREECH FAMILY<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

GILBERT “GIB” LEWIS: Gallery<\/h3>\n\n\t\t