During Apple Arts, Apple Festival weeks
Visitors who stop by the Gilmer Chamber’s Downtown Ellijay Welcome Center between Oct. 11 and 20 will be greeted by a display that pays tribute to a late Ellijay man who’s been described as reclusive, brilliant and ahead of his time.
An artfully adorned bicycle ridden for many years by RT Henson will be displayed along with information about the self-taught artist and inventor.
The display will be up in time for the downtown Apple Arts on the Square festival beginning Saturday, Oct. 12, said Henson’s nephew, Danny Tibbitts.
“It will be up beginning that Friday before (the festival) and all week long until the last weekend of the Apple Festival and Apple Arts,” he added.
‘An advanced guy’
Henson, who passed away in 2007, had a fondness for incorporating found junk and discarded items into his artwork, sculptures and homemade contraptions.
Several of those creations, like a record player built from spare parts and a homemade weedeater comprised of a blade, broomstick, handle and light switch, were exhibited during past public tours of Henson’s self-built Ellijay home and workshop.
The creations, some of which are akin to the recycled art genre that’s become more popular in recent years, were not made for public admiration, but simply for the enjoyment of their creator, Tibbitts confirmed.
“I don’t think he ever sold any of his art. He’d do a sketch for someone, tear it out and just give it away,” he added.
A lifelong resident of Ellijay, Henson served in the Army as a switchboard operator and was stationed in Germany until the mid-1950s. After returning home, he worked various manufacturing jobs. Despite having dropped out of high school, he was able to discuss such advanced subjects as mechanics and astronomy.
In an interview that took place after a 2009 tour of Henson’s home, Tibbitts said his uncle was regarded by some as troubled and by others as brilliant.
“He was my idol when I was younger. We weren’t that far apart in age, so we were more like brothers. A lot of folks who just saw him out in public probably thought he was off his rocker, but there was much more to him. Scientists are just now beginning to touch
on some of the stuff he was tapping into back in the ‘80s,” Tibbitts said then.
“To me, he was about a hundred years ahead of his time. Every once in a while, an advanced guy like that comes along who sees the world in a different kind of way than the rest of us are accustomed to.”
Bicycle man
Henson was able to drive, Tibbitts said, but a sturdy rust-colored bicycle eventually became his primary mode of transportation.
“He used ember-colored bull’s-eye shellac to put on a lot of stuff. He liked the way it looked and it preserved the bike,” Tibbitts added. “He was late learning to drive, but he did drive at one time. He eventually went to the bicycles and the car (stayed parked).”
The bikes were also mobile canvases to which Henson attached such useful and unusual items as horns, whirligigs and tin cans for storage.
Sometimes he pedaled with a pair of metal-reinforced boots Henson said made the bicycle easier to maneuver.
“I’ve still got a set of those big high shoes. Honestly, he probably just wanted to see what people’s reaction would be,” Tibbitts said.
The RT Henson display will be up for public viewing during the welcome center’s normal business hours and Tibbitts will be on hand some of that time to talk with visitors. He will also have postcards that feature the bike for sale.
The Gilmer Chamber Downtown Ellijay Welcome Center is located next door to the Gilmer County Courthouse at 10 Broad Street in the brick building known to many locals as the Watkins House.