The “Squirrel Picture”
The house at 102 W. William St., Salisbury, is the home of David and Jennifer Gammel and their two daughters, Ella and Lily. The squirrel picture came with the house. My son, Mike, refinished some floors in the house and immediately called me when he saw the picture.
The history of the “squirrel picture” in the upstairs room is as follows:
- The Artist – H.C. Derby drew the picture on November 4, 1924. He is listed in the 1921 Salisbury City Directory as a painter. By the 1934 Directory he was listed as an interior decorator. His brother was H. A.
Derby. In the late 1950’s, H. A. Derby’s job was caretaker at Parson’s Cemetery on N. Division St.
- The Resident – In 1924, the house was occupied by a George F. Sharpley and his wife, Nannie. His occupation was listed as the train dispatcher at the Union Station, which was built in 1914 and is still standing. Their phone number was 243 at the time of the drawing until at least 1932. By 1944, at the same address, under the listing of George F. Sharpley, the phone number was 2192-W. In the 1950 C & P telephone book, there is no listing for a Sharpley.
Mr. Sharpley was involved with the Masons and is listed in a program from April 27, 1928 as the Master of Ceremonies, as well as on the Reception Committee. He was the Junior Warden of the Salisbury Lodge of Perfection, A. & A. S. R.
- The Picture – Apparently the picture was drawn in 1924 for whatever reason. Maybe he was amusing a small child who was watching him paint and the child wanted to save the picture. It has been painted around ever since, leaving the picture intact. I have even heard that somewhere along the line someone bought a picture frame and hung it over the picture. The Sharpleys probably wouldn’t have acceded to the wishes of a child that was not their own, but there is no mention of any Sharpley children.
3 comments:
In a way this reminds me of the porcelain cat on the roof of Dr Sembly's house.That was on the corner of Church St and Rt 13.When the roof was re done the roofers were very careful not to damage or destroy the cat.People from everywhere knew about the "cat".I was born in 1952,and the cat was there when I went to Tiny Tot daycare on North Division St in 1957.Who knows how long before that the cat had been there?
It's nice that someone sees value in preserving these little slices of life like the wall squirrel and the roof cat.
Salisbury would be a much nicer place if more people cared about the little things.
I grew up in the building, decorating, painting, and paperhanging businesses with my grandfather and father. When removing wallpaper from many older homes we would find either a signature or a sketch like this one on the white plaster walls. Of course the craftsman was also responsible for any painting that need to be done before the wallpaper was hung. This like artists' signatures on paintings and other works of art were done by most of the paperhangers, as they say, "back in the day." They were proud of thier work and therefore signed it. Many of those old time painters/paperhangers were craftsman trained in Europe as was my grandfather. This brings back many wonderful memories of my days as the, Apprentice Boy! Thanks George
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