St. John Mill/ Watauga
One step through the wide front door of the St. John Mill took me back thirty years. There was the smell of chicken feed and a creaky wooden floor. Natural light poured through the high old windows, and handwritten signs advertised a bin of axe and broom handles. I felt like a little girl who had fallen into an old book, maybe a Laura Ingalls mercantile, where time slowed down and invited me to browse.
Located in Washington County’s Watauga region, St. John’s Mill was founded in 1778. America was two-years-old when St. John’s began grinding life into our region. And now, over 200 years later, the mill is still operating -- making it Tennessee’s oldest business.
In our modern world, consumable product is often far-removed from its source. So, my kids found it particularly fascinating to look at the feed grinder process. Stacks of empty feed sacks lay waiting for the day’s fresh batch of horse feed or ground corn. Filled bags rested in neat stacks along the wall. We were enthralled with this life-size Rokenbok operation. We all put our faces into the tops of the different feed stacks and smelled the differences. The sweet feed was our favorite, reminding us somehow of molasses and the state fair.
As we stepped into the main room of the mill, we met a gregarious older gentleman with a wide smile. Ron Dawson, the owner, gave us a quick tour of his shop. There were homemade soaps, and quilts, and local honey, and sauces. His shelves were packed full of products made in our region. These were unique items made by people I could meet if I just called a number on the label. I like that.
While we were talking, Mr. Dawson pulled some coins out of his pocket. My kids enjoyed watching him transform two nickels back and forth into a half dollar, an old magic trick. Then, he taught them the secret to the trick, so they could practice at home. Before he had finished, a small crowd had gathered to watch the show.
When I asked Mr. Dawson about keeping a small-town business alive in a Wal-Mart world, he smiled. He said that his goal was to offer the type of products a bigger store could not; items that were grown out of the talents of our region.
As I packed kids back into our van and drove back to my modern life, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mr. Dawson’s coin trick. He had hidden a half dollar behind a nickel by holding the coins at a unique angle in his hand. The larger was hidden by the smaller. It was a perfect visual for St. John’s Mill. At first glance, his business seems small and simple. However, if you are willing to look a little further, you can find such greater worth. A small local provider is offering the richness of our community back to our community. That’s a treasure worth exploring from a different angle.
| Feature Story By Rebecca Reynolds | |
