Windmills are an enduring
part of the American scene. New, high tech wands are sprinkled across
the Eastern Washington landscape, turning many glistening blades to provide
service to remote areas as well as communities and cities around the Northwest.
Their gleaming presence is an awesome sight.
But I search for an older, more nostalgic
form of American windmill. I have found them in Oregon, Washington,
and California. No doubt, as I eventually travel across this great
nation of ours, they will turn up in the hills, valleys, and plains of
nearly all the states of the union.
"I have found them in Oregon,
Washington and California"
My first painting of a windmill was of one
located near Elkton, Oregon. Standing in a tangle of blackberry brambles
and nearly obscured by tall trees, there she was! Her softly patinaed
red blades were gently rotating in an early summer breeze. I spent
as much time as possible photographing the windmill, focusing as closely
as my camera would allow to get the details of its architecture.
It was a delight to paint this wooden structure in gouache. Her muted
tones were a pleasant counterpoint to the colorful background.
Heading south on highway 101 recently, my
husband, Ed spied another old wooden windmill near Klamath, California.
It was early on a golden morning. We stopped and took a lot of pictures.
Close-up shots of the structure assured me that I would be able to paint
it accurately. Both of these wonderful windmills were soon printed
in limited edition and on my website.
It was then I heard from John Cox. Mr.
Cox lives in Southern Oregon, not far from Medford. He purchased
one of my windmill prints, and through e-mail correspondence, I learned
that he collects, restores and repairs vintage metal |
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windmills. My husband and I were invited
to visit his ranch to meet him and research his collection.
In May of 2002, we drove to Eagle Point, Oregon
and met John. The day was stormy and huge thunderheads loomed on
the horizon as we neared the ranch. Mr. Cox met us with pleasant
greetings and immediately escorted us to the "windmill field".
There before us were his seventeen 90 to 100 year old windmills of differing
sizes and shapes. As John talked about each one, I took notes
as fast as my pencil could fly. Ed took pictures. Gusts of
wind set the slashing blades to whirling on the working windmills.
( For practical reasons, not all of them were set up.) In his twelve
years accumulating these towers, John Cox has become quite an expert on
them. He told me of their manufacturers, how one differs from another,
the date they began service, and more.
"(Mr. Cox)... collects, restores
and repairs vintage metal windmills"
There was the 10' Gem, (the only complete one known to exist.);
the circa 1900 Steel Star:; the Mast Foos & Co. Imperial;
and my favorite, the Hummer Elgin with 10' span. (She is a steel
vaneless section mill with a chicken perched atop of the counterweight.)
His knowledge was impressive, his windmills exquisite. As we stood
and talked, the wind picked up and we headed for his covered porch.
Suddenly a flash of lightning flamed the dark sky, followed almost instantly
by a deafening clap and roll of thunder. Hailstones clattered everywhere
and the working windmills responded in a furious blur of activity.
What a glorious display on a memorable day! Reluctantly we
said goodbye to John and filled with fresh ideas for paintings, continued
on our journey.
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