North Carolina's Vollis Simpson's Whirligigs

And, you can still go by Simpson's shop, where he created those neat whirligigs. It is located about 3 miles from Lucama, NC, going toward Wilson off Highway 301.

I understand, there are still a few of the whirligigs there, but in need of repair.

During World War II, he served as a combat engineer in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he operated a building moving company for awhile, then ran a farm equipment repair place.

--Cooter

Vollis Simpson's Whirligigs: Wilson's Whirligig Park Opening This November

Well, this just keeps getting deeper.

I looked up the Whirligig Park at www.wilsonwhirligigpark.org. and it is a site well-worth visiting, if not just to see some of Vollis Simpson's creations that will be featured there.

Some thirty whirligig will be in the park, which is located in downtown Wilson, N.C., scheduled to open in November, perhaps November 2-3 when the annual Whirligig Festival is held.

Spinning and Moving Gigs. --Cooter

Deaths: Whirligig Artist-- Part 2; Whirligig Park in Wilson, N.C.

Vollis Simpson built the contraptions at his machine shop near Lucama (by Wilson, NC) and until last year, nearly 30 were on display at his property, when an effort to restore them started.

Put this on your Road Calendar of things to do, the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park is scheduled to open in Wilson this November. I'll definitely check this out on one of my trips home.

He built his first whirligig while stationed overseas in World War II, but it was stolen. After a life of farming, he began building whirligigs in earnest in the 1980s. People, even from foreign countries, sought him out to talk about his creations.

For you Route 66 folk, one of his creations is at a shopping center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Four of them were on display at the 1996 Olympics.

Quite the Guy.  --Cooter

Deaths: Vollis Simpson-- Part 1: Whirligig Artist

VOLLIS SIMPSON, 94 From the June 2, 2013, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus. AP.

"Where others saw trash, Vollis Simpson saw whimsical, wind-powered whirligigs, creations with hundreds of moving parts that turned and twirled."

He made them from all sorts of recycled things and his work has been featured in "museums, backyards, dentist offices and the 1996 (Atlanta) Olympics."

Died May 31st. Lived and worked near Lacama, NC, in the eastern part of the state.

Some of the whirligigs are 50 feet high and weigh as much as three tons.

Always Neat to See Folk Art Along the Highway.  --Cooter