Articles & Stories
Bybee
Pottery: A 150-Year-Old
Business In Madison County
The Cornelison
Family Have Produced Treasures
Of All Sizes And Colors For Five Generations
Mr. Walter Cornelison, owner of Bybee Pottery, in southeastern Madison County, Kentucky, has been making pottery for at least 58 years and still works on the pottery wheel almost every day.
By Connie Miller - 2007
Monday,
May 28, 2007, 6:16 a.m. -- I am on my way to pick up my friend,
Karen, at our designated meeting place. We are going on a treasure
hunt, one of several that we make every year. We are going to
Bybee Pottery.
Bybee Pottery is located in the small town of Bybee in southeastern
Madison County, Kentucky. It is the oldest existing pottery west
of the Alleghenies. Pottery has been produced in the same log
building for over a hundred years.
6:45 a.m. -- We arrive at Bybee Pottery. There are several cars
already in the parking lot, although the doors do not open until
8:00 a.m. There is an unwritten rule that the first person there
is the first person through the door. Another unwritten rule
is that you can mark your place in line with any item that you
happen to have in your car: a book, a cardboard box, an umbrella.
I have seen stuffed animals, rocks, and ice scrapers on the line.
Karen and I mark our places with a pair of hiking boots.
The Cornelison family has owned Bybee Pottery for five generations.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Cornelison are the fifth generation, and
they can be found there most days. Mr. Cornelison is sometimes
on the potter's wheel or with Mrs. Cornelison helping in the
store, wrapping purchases in the newspaper that is in abundance
there. Their children, Robert, James, and Paula and
Paula's husband, Russell Gabbard, are on hand to help out. Bybee
also has several long-term employees. Harvey Conner has been
working there 42 years and Brenda Cole has been there 30 years.
Visitors can see Bybee pottery being made Monday through Friday.
Shelves are stocked on different days of the week, usually Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday.
7:30 a.m. -- There is movement in the store. They are unloading
the kiln and stocking the shelves. We all pile out of our cars
and look in the windows, oohing and ahhing over all the treasures
we see. There are mixing bowls, pitchers of every size, plates,
mugs, and bakeware of all sorts, in the traditional colors of
blue, green, and maroon, with a few new patterns thrown in.
The clay used to make the pottery is found in an open pit about
three miles from Bybee. History records show that this same clay
was mined by the first settlers of Kentucky then taken to Fort
Boonesbor-ough for making dishes there. After the clay is mixed
with water, it is ground in an antique pug mill, weighed to insure
uniformity then made into the desired form by the potter. After
drying completely, the pieces are glazed and fired in a kiln
heated to 2200 degrees.
Bybee Pottery, located at Bybee in southeastern Madison County, Kentucky, is the oldest working pottery business west of the Alleghenies. Dating back to 1809, Bybee Pottery has been a Kentucky tradition for over 150 years.
Most of
the visitors to Bybee are women. This morning is no exception.
There are about 12 of us in line so far, with more in line on
the other side of the building. We all trade stories of some
of our previous visits to Bybee. Some of the women here this
morning are from Irvine. They have a family reunion every Memorial
Day weekend then make the trek to Bybee on Memorial Day. They
said that tradition has been going on for several years. We all
talk about a favorite piece of pottery that we have acquired.
I have given Bybee pottery for gifts for everything from Christmas
to birthdays and weddings. It is always well received, usually
with an exclamation of, "Oh, look, it's Bybee." I have
bought so much over the years that my husband built two shelves
in our kitchen just to house it. One thing that I like about
my Bybee pottery is that it is so functional. I use every piece,
a favorite being a large mixing bowl with a handle and spout.
7:55 a.m. - The anticipation is growing. We can feel it in the
air. At exactly 8:00 a.m. the doors are unlocked and the rush
is on. Another unwritten rule is that when you find a piece of
pottery that you want to buy, you place it on the floor. No one
will touch anything on the floor. The stacks of pottery on the
floor grow as everyone finds something they must have. On this
trip, I am partial to several items that have flowers painted
on them. I get a couple of flower vases, a pitcher for my collection,
and other items too numerous to mention. I see another shelf
being built in my kitchen. Karen finds several things in the
color blue that she collects. Some peo-ple are Bybee "snobs,"
collecting only certain items in certain colors. Not me. I love
it all in all colors.
8:20 a.m. - The shopping is over and the shelves were nearly
empty at 8:20 a.m. Everyone moves to the middle of the store
where Robert "Buzz" Cornelison is deftly operating
the cash register, and Mr. Cornelison was wrapping each piece
and placing it in the cardboard boxes that are such a familiar
sight. By 8:30, our treasures are loaded in the back of my car
and we headed home, giddy with excitement over all our new acquisitions.
We are already planning our next "treasure hunt."
P. C. Miller, 3041 River Circle, Richmond, KY 40475; pcmiller_1@bellsouth.net, shares this article and photos with our readers.