Bluegrass Stripper
Hi Jewell.
My name is Carl Blount, Jr. and I was born in Nicholas Co on the old Taylor-Mathers farm just outside Carlisle.
I attended Booker T. Washington School in Henryville from 1949 to 1957 when our class was integrated in with Carlisle High School.
I went there through the ninth grade and my family moved to Lexington and I graduated HS there in 1961.
The bluegrass strippers that are mentioned in the History of Nicholas County are not a very well known item,
however, they were very ingenious in their design. During the afternoons after school
Mr. King employed me to paint his bluegrass strippers.
He was a very unique individual but very good to work for.
He paid very well and insisted that every hour I come upstairs and get some fresh air because "it's not good for your health to breath those paint fumes for very long".
He had a unique way that each stripper must be painted.
When painting the inside, I had to make a half moon semi-circle about two thirds of the way down the handle.
It could not be painted all the way because the seeds would stick to the painted surface in the warm climates.
A few years ago, I think it was out in Kansas, I ran across one of his bluegrass strippers in a museum of old farm implements.
I also did some work for his during the summer months and again he was insistent that you stop and rest a while.
My mother performed some house work for his sisters and they were the same way.
I recall mother saying that Miss Jenny King would make her lay down and take a nap because she didn't want her to get too tired.
I will never forget these extremely nice people.
I have always wondered about them and if they had any relatives still living in that area.
Wouldn't it be nice if employers were that thoughtful today!
Sincerely,
Carl Blount, Jr.
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