GIB LEWIS

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: Biography – Community Residents, Staff/Personnel

GIB LEWIS (b. 1891), PMSS Maintenance Worker,  c. 1952 to c. 1975

TAGS: Gib Lewis, Gilbert Lewis, Elijah Gilbert Lewis, Arwilla Creech Lewis, Columbus Creech, Adrian 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, Craig Evan Royce

VII 63 Life Work Maintenance, Farm, Grounds part I

“Gib Lewis.” VII 63 Life Work Maintenance, Farm, Grounds. VII_63_life_work_001-34.jpg]

Gib Lewis and his wife Arwilla Lewis lived in a cabin just below the road along Isaac’s Creek, a short distance from the base of Pine Mountain.

Gib was one of four recipients of land that Columbus Creech 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.

Gib 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 (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:

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.

Gilbert “Gib” Lewis, c. 1976. Image courtesy of Craig Evan Royce. [pmss-lewis_gilbert.png]

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.

Gib Lewis was born “at the mouth of Elliot’s Branch, Kentucky, just a little below Big Laurel late in 1891 and … never left the mountains.”

According to PMSS history summaries, he worked in the Maintenance Department at the School from the school year 1952-1953 until the school year 1974-1975.

Gib Lewis married Arwilla Creech in Harlan, Kentucky, on April 5, 1914. They had six children: Eva, Herbert, Omer, Una, Elmer and Owen.

Arwilla (“Arwilly” or “Arwillie”) Creech Lewis, born in 1895, was the granddaughter of William and Sally (Dixon) Creech, who envisioned education for the mountain youth and donated 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.

Elijah (“Gib”) Gilbert Lewis was born on November 30, 1891, the oldest of four children of Emily and Robert Lewis, a farmer. His siblings were Stacy R., Elic, and Henry.

See Also:
CREECH FAMILY
WILLIAM & SALLY CREECH FAMILY
 LEWIS FAMILY

GIB LEWIS: Gallery

Title

Gib Lewis

Alt. Title

Gilbert Lewis : Elijah Gilbert Lewis : E. Gilbert Lewis ;

Identifier

GIB LEWIS

Creator

Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY ; Isaac’s Creek, KY ; Elliot’s Branch, KY ;

Alt. Creator

Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ;

Subject Keyword

Gib Lewis ; Gilbert Lewis ; E. GIlbert Lewis ; Elijah Gilbert Lewis ; Arwilla Creech Lewis ; Arwilla (Arwillie or Arwilly) Lewis ; Pine Mountain Settlement School ; Columbus Creech ; Adrian Metcalf ; Intermountain Company ; Asher Lumber Company ; broom-making ; Craig Evan Royce ; Country Miles Are Longer Than City Miles ; chair bottomers ; farmers ; William and Sally Dixon Creech ; Emily and Robert Lewis ; Craig Evan Royce ; Country Miles Are Longer Than City Miles ;

Subject LCSH

Lewis, Elijah Gilbert, — 1891- ?.
Pine Mountain Settlement School (Pine Mountain, Ky.) — History.
Harlan County (Ky.) — History.
Artisans — Kentucky — Biography.
Education — Kentucky — Harlan County.
Rural schools — Kentucky — History.
Schools — Appalachian Region, Southern.

Date

2018-08-26 aae

Publisher

Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY

Contributor

n/a

Type

Collections ; text ; image ;

Format

Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet.

Source

Series 09: Biography – Community Residents, Staff/Personnel

Language

English

Relation

Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: Biography – Community Residents.

Coverage Temporal

1891 – 1975

Coverage Spatial

Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ;

Rights

Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Donor

n/a

Description

Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers created by or addressed to Gib Lewis clippings, photographs, publications, illustrations by or about Gib Lewis.

Acquisition

n/d

Citation

“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY.

Processed By

Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ;

Last Updated

2018-08-29 aae ;

Bibliography

Sources

1944 COMMUNITY FAIR DAY, AUNT SAL’S CABIN, Series 09: Biography – Community Residents. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. Internet resource.

“Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FW5W-1RM : accessed 27 August 2018), Gilbert Lewis and Arvillie Creech, 05 Apr 1914; citing Harlan, Kentucky, reference Pg 393, #28. Internet resource.

Royce, Craig E. Country Miles Are Longer Than City Miles: 30th Anniversary Edition. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2007. Print. PENDING PERMISSION.

“United States Census, 1900,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9HF-Q6D : accessed 27 August 2018), Gilbert Lewis in household of Robert Lewis, Magisterial Kentucky, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 72, sheet 4A, family 55. (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.) Internet resource.

“United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RHQ-LN4?cc=1810731&wc=QZF3-6MZ%3A648805301%2C650010401%2C6 48878503%2C1589282370 : accessed 27 August 2018), Kentucky > Harlan > District 4 > ED 24 > image 31 of 36. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002). Internet resource.

“United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5X-G9FC : accessed 27 August 2018), Elijah Gilbert Lewis in entry for Omer Lewis, Kentucky, United States, 13 Jan 2012; from “Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 – Today)” database, GenealogyBank.com. Internet resource.

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