GILBERT "GIB" LEWIS Community

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Community Residents, Staff
Gilbert “Gib” Lewis (1891-1983)
Arwilla Creech Lewis (1895-1975)

Cabin and paling fence. Series VII-52 Children & Classes. [elem_002.jpg]

GILBERT “GIB” LEWIS Community
PMSS Maintenance Worker, c. 1952-1975

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

GILBERT "GIB" LEWIS Community : 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]

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.

Gilbert, through Arwilla, a Creech descendent, 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.

GILBERT LEWIS: Farmer, Craftsman

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

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 (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.

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.

GILBERT LEWIS: At Pine Mountain

According to PMSS History Summaries, he worked in the School’s Maintenance Department from school years 1952-1953 until 1974-1975.

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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).

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. She died in 1975.

Elijah (“Gib”) Gilbert Lewis 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.

GILBERT “GIB” LEWIS: Gallery

: 1430 “Gilbert [Gib] Lewis House.” [045_VI_FN_pg4_027.jpg]

: “Fred Lewis, Gib Lewis” VII 63 Life Work Maintenance, Farm, Grounds. [VII_63_life_work_001-37.jpg]

: “Jess Patterson (lft) and Gib Lewis (rt) .” VII 63 Life Work Maintenance, Farm, Grounds. B-1924. [VII_63_life_work_001-36.jpg]

: “Bill Creech, Gib Lewis, Columbus [Creech], Henry [Creech] Stir-off.” Maple sugar stir-off at the maple sugar camp. [kingman_071c.jpg]

: [Arwilla Lewis] Mrs. Gib Lewis, October, 1946. [nace_1_064a.jpg]

: Creech Sunday School and Church, February 1945. Taken by Robert Starbuck. (Front Row) Jean Cornett, Ola Mae Cornett, Charleen Cornett, David Barry, Kathy Barry, Frank Barry. (Second Row) Mrs. Charles Cornett, Dodd Lewis, Lester Cornett, Bobbie Hill, Barbara Wilder, Darwin Lewis, Mrs. Gib Lewis, Mrs. Omer Lewis, Mrs. Barry. (Third Row) Brit Wilder, Margaret Nace, Henry Creech, Owen Lewis, Mary Wilder, Mr. Pinke, Dorothy Nace, Mrs. Henry (Delia) Creech. (Last Row) Ella Wilder, Elmer Lewis, Mr. Gib Lewis, Mr. Alex Lewis. [nace_1_066a.jpg]

Title	Gilbert “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- 1983. Lewis, Arwilla (Creech), — 1895 – 1975. 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 Gilbert Lewis clippings, photographs, publications, illustrations by or about Gilbert 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 ; 2021-08-18 hhw ; 2021-08-05 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 Arwillie 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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