Janet and I traveled to Old Hemlock the home of the late George and Kay Evans near Bruceton Mills WV on Saturday for an open house tour. The house has been maintained exactly as it was when George and Kay were alive. I have most of George's bird hunting books and also have a large collection of his magazine articles on grouse and woodcock hunting so I had some idea as to what to expect, but to see it all first hand was a delightful experience. From the old Remington typewriter he used to type his stories on to the cut glass bowls that held wishbones from every grouse he ever shot over his Old Hemlock setters it was pure nirvana for a bird hunter.
George was a very talented musician and had this piano custom made for Old Hemlock and played classical music most evenings before dinner.
This old percussion rifle hanging in the long room has an interesting story. Kay's father was a doctor for a large lumber company in WV. The wife of one of the lumberjacks took deathly ill and after several weeks of constant care Kay's father nursed her back to good health. The lumberjack had no money to pay for the time Kay's father spent with his wife so offered this gun as payment which her father excepted.
The fireplace in their bedroom with the 1st edition of all of George's hunting books and George and Kay's mystery novels.
This is an old letter from Melvin Heath an old lumberjack from Davis WV that guided George and Kay when they first started to hunt the Canaan Valley. It says "if you want to hunt woodcock you had better come up this week, they are on the move". George wrote several interesting stories about Melvin and his life in the Canaan Valley.
A sculpture of Old Hemlock Ruff's head George made from a sandstone from the old barn's foundation.
I didn't take near enough pictures for I was in awe of the history this old house held. If your a bird hunter and especially if you hunt behind Ryman-type setters you need to make the trip to Old Hemlock to "drink in" the history of one of the greatest bird hunting authors that ever lived.
