GILLSVILLE - Tiny Gillsville is a dot on the Georgia map and is home to fewer than 300 people. But on the first Saturday of October the art of its famed potters pulls people in from dozens of surrounding states to see the beauty and to shop.
While there will be dozens of pottery shows scattered across the community Oct. 3, the annual show at the Ferguson home, 6468 Old Gillsville Road, will be easy to spot. It will be the only show with a LifeSouth bloodmobile. The blood drive will run from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Ferguson show, which annually features 25 or more potters, will honor Bobby Ferguson’s art, a family pottery tradition now eight generations deep, and the tradition of giving blood.
The late Bobby Ferguson typically dressed in blue coveralls and a derby hat, and looked like he’d be more comfortable under the hood of a truck than a fancy art studio. But when he stood at his potter’s wheel magic happened. His work was eventually displayed at many museums and historice sites.
Ferguson was also a long-time blood donor. Back in 1995 he suffered an aortic aneurism and nearly bled to death. Blood donors saved his life, and from his bed in the hospital ICU he told his family, “Every one of you get down there and give some blood back.” And every year at the family pottery show, the family, friends and visitors do just that.
His daughter, Darlene Holly, works at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and is constantly reminded of the important lesson her father passed on.
“I see the results of it. Blood makes the difference on whether your loved ones take you home,” she said.
Then it was Christmas two years ago that Holly learned first-hand. After undergoing minor surgery she caught the flu, which led to coughing that ruptured her stitches, and she too woke up to see she was on the receiving end of blood, which further emphasized the importance of donating.
“We haven’t ever stopped,” she said.
Any healthy person 17 or older, or 16 with parental permission, weighing a minimum of 110 pounds may donate. A photo ID is also required. All donors will receive a T-shirt and complimentary cholesterol screening. For more information call LifeSouth in Gainesville at 770-538-0500.
Photo Caption: Potter Bobby Ferguson at the wheel. Ferguson was a long-time donor, who later in life received blood. The annual blood drive at his family’s pottery show is a tradition.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/9/336725/gillsville-blood-drive-to-honor-local-potter