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continued from page 1A “And that’s taken a lot off me,” he said. GROWING FAME Wallis Simpson is a World War II veteran, a former house mover, mechanic and farmer who started making his wind mills more than 25 years ago. The first windmills started simply enough. Simpson said he had a lot of junk left over from his business and didn’t want to just throw it away. So he made a whirligig and put it out in his pasture. “When I built it, I didn’t know anything about art,” he said. “I still don’t.” But as the pasture started fill ing up with whirligigs — some 60 feet tall, some 30 — the community and the art world noticed. People started driving by to see the whirligigs, especially in the evening when car lights illuminate the reflectors that Simpson attached to his cre ations. Whenever a newspaper story would appear or a televi sion crew would mention his whirligigs, more people would come by. Often they'd stop at the shop to talk to Simpson. As his popularity grew, Simp son started getting commis sions and built whirligigs for the North Carolina Museum of Art, the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. A num ber of Simpson’s whirligigs are placed throughout downtown Wilson, where a festival is held each November in honor of Simpson and his art. All of that brought even more fame to Simpson, who still sees visitors almost daily at his shop along Wiggins Mill Road. “I’ve met a lot of nice people,’ he said. Visitors come from across the country and even beyond. And since an article ran in the New York Times several weeks ago, the traffic has increased even more. Many of the visitors go away with a small, Wallis Simp son whirligig in tow. WORLD LOVES WHIRLIGIGS So why do out-of-towners drive for hours — map in hand or GPS turned on — to get a glimpse of Simpson’s mule drawn cart, twirling wheels and airplanes that make up the whirligigs? Brendon Greaves, public art and community design director for the N.C. Arts Council, said Simpson's artwork is easy to understand and enjoy by peo ple of all ages. Parents, grand parents and kids all know what this is, he said. And they like the whirligigs. “Their function is to attract and delight the viewer, and I think they are extremely suc cessful in doing that.” Greaves said people around here probably take the whirli gigs for granted and don't real ize how much they are revered in other places. “It’s become scenery instead of the vital cultural landscape that it is,” he said. Greaves, who's provided con sultation and advice to the park project planning committee, said part of the appeal is that Simp son is such a wonderful recycler in how he takes discarded items and creates windmills. “They transform the material, much of it from Wilson and North Carolina, into something that is art.’ Greaves said it’s important for someone to intervene now. The windmills have been degraded, he said, and it’s go ing to take an enormous effort to conserve them. The rust ing needs to be stopped and reversed, he said, and some need to be disassembled, sand blasted and repainted. It will take engineers, mechanics and physical laborers to put them back in good working order. “I don’t believe it’s too late,” he said. “I believe there’s still time to save these. But if no action is taken, they will only degrade further.” It’s reasonable to suggest that if visitors are willing to find Simpson's farm on the back roads near Lucama, they will do the same to find their way to his igigs when they are relo cated to downtown Wilson. “There is a cultural asset to Wilson residents and to North Carolina residents that these ob jects have value that is both aes thetic and monetary,” Greaves said. Wilson can harness these val ues for the greater good, he said, making the park an attraction that can benefit downtown Wil son, Wilson County and the state. “Wilson has a sense of place already, and this is only going to enhance it and bring people to the area,” Greaves said. Simpson is one of the most recognizable artists in the region, he added, and easy to appreciate, “His work is a fitting setting for the cultural vitality of the region. Kimberly Van Dyk, downtown manager for the city of Wilson, said she and those associated with the downtown area are keenly aware of the economic impact this project can have and the broader development that could come out of it. “We're very excited about that,” she said. Simpson said he and his fam ily hate to see the big windmills £ 0, “I didn’t really make ’em to get rid of ’em,” he said. But he knows if he doesn’t do some thing, they will continue to rust and eventually fall beyond repair. “Everything’s going to wear out,” he said, “I don’t give a damn who makes it.” Simpson is happy that some one will be looking after his creations and looks forward to seeing them refurbished. The goal for completion is the Whirligig Festival in 2012. “I'd love to see them,” he said. “I probably won't live that long. Simpson said it will be lonely on the farm without the wind mills that have become such a welcomed part of the land scape. But it might not stay empty for long. “If I live, I'll probably stick something else out there,” he said, a mischievous grin stretch lisa@wilsontimes.com | 265-7810 Barney Simpson speaks on behalf of his father, Wollis, at the proposed Wollis Simpson Whirligig Park. Keith Barnes | Times
Newspaper Details
Wilson Times
Wilson, North Carolina, US
Sat, May 22, 2010
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Tracey B.
NC, USA 21 Jun 2026
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