The Backroads Traveler: The Old Sautee Store

 

 The Old Sautee Store is just a few minutes from Helen in northeast Georgia.

The Old Sautee Store is the oldest operating general store in Georgia. Located in the Sautee-Nacoochee Valley, just minutes from Helen, it was a full-service country store selling food, clothing, seed, and farm equipment, and was also the post office from 1913 until 1962. The store interior has been preserved as a museum, with an original fireplace and merchandise displays to show the way things were a hundred and more years ago

The rest of store is quite up to date, with a modern grocery section specializing in a variety of cheeses, and even an ice cream shop.

In front of the store is an old-time gas pump. In order to dispense gas, the motorist had first to work a lever on the side of the pump, which brought gas from an underground tank to the glass reservoir at the top of the pump. 

The reservoir was marked in gallons, so when the desired amount of gas had been pumped into it, the buyer put the hose nozzle into his tank inlet and released the gas in the reservoir, filling his tank by gravity.

The counter and shelves of the Old Sautee store still look as they did a hundred years ago.

 

The photographs were made with a Canon EOS 5D Classic and a Canon EOS 20D.

 

 If you like my pictures, visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Click on the link at left for information about ordering original signed prints from the Rock City Barns book.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Text and photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2026.  

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    digital photography   travel photography    Canon EOS 5D Classic    Canon EOS 20D   Sautee-Nacoochee, Georgia    Northeast Georgia foothills    Georgia history    general stores

The Chicken Farmer of Cook County

 

Chicken Farmer Danny Gandy with pet rooster.

U.S. Highway 41, Cook County, Georgia

"This is not a fighting cock."

 

(Too busy to write, so I'm reposting a blog from December, 2020)

Traveling north through Cook County on U.S. Highway 41 after leaving his sick Honda with a mechanic friend near Hahira, Michael Largent and I noticed a small house beside the road with a yard full of the distinctive shelters often used by those who raise fighting cocks. Each shelter had a large and colorful rooster attached to it by a tether.

Danny Gandy's 

chicken farm. Although some of the

roosters appear to be free, they are actually tethered.

I thought it was a sight worth photographing, so we pulled off the road. In a few moments we were met by the affable Danny Gandy, owner of the establishment, who explained to us that these were not fighting chickens. It is not illegal to raise gamecocks in Georgia, but fighting them is. Nonetheless, the "sport" continues, with the law often looking the other way. 

Danny was very cooperative, allowing me to make as many photographs as I wished and proudly posing with his roosters, all the while assuring me that "these are not fighting chickens."

Despite all his assurances I somehow doubted if any of those roosters would ever see the inside of a WalMart freezer. But I wrote down Danny's address and sent him a print of the picture at the top of this post.

  

All photos Canon EOS 5D Classic, 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 EF lens.

If you like my pictures, visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Click on the link at left for information about ordering original signed prints from the Rock City Barns book.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Text and photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2026.  

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    digital photography   travel photography    Canon EOS 5D Classic    Canon 24-85mm EF lens    fighting cocks    Cook County, Georgia    U.S. Highway 41

James Ravilious: The Books Part II

A Corner of England was published by Devon Books in 1995. This book is very well-produced and, as far as I know, is the only book by Ravilious containing his color photography, for which he used Kodachrome 25 film.

I purchased my copy in 2015 and was delighted to find it had been signed by Ravilious himself. Amazon currently has used copies for $41.35.

The Heart of the Country is the oldest Ravilious book I have, and may be the first one published. With text by Robin and photographs by James, it was published by Scholar Press in 1980 with a foreword by Ronald Blythe. Amazon apparently still has copies in their used book section, with hardcover volumes at $114.95 and paperback editions for $82.20.My own copy is a well-worn paperback. It is large format, but not as large as Down the Deep Lanes or The Recent Past.  It shows that many of James' best-known photographs were made relatively early in his career.

Down the Deep  Lanes was authored by Peter Beacham with photographs by James Ravilious and published by Devon Books in 2000. It is a large book with many double-page spreads and very well printed. An excellent showcase for James' photography.

Amazon did not list this book, but I found a hardcover in used/very good condition at abebooks.com for $90. abebooks.com is an extremely good source for rare and used books. They have many books Amazon does not list.

 

  If you like my pictures, visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Click on the link at left for information about ordering original signed prints from the Rock City Barns book.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Text copyright 2026 Bruce Robbins. Photos by James Ravilious copyright The Beaford Trust, 2026.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    film photography   Leica photography     James Ravilious     England    Devon    English country life   documentary photography   southeast England rural culture    The Leica "glow"    Kodachrome 25

James Ravilious: The Books

When I became interested in James Ravilious and his photography I immediately began to look for books of his work. As best I remember, my first purchase was An English Eye, which I bought in 2014. I consider this the basic book about Ravilious and his work. Some good photos and lots of information about his life, his work, and his tools and techniques. Paperback copies (which is what I have) are available new for about $75.

 

The cover of The Recent Past, by James Ravilious.

This is the latest book of Ravilious photographs, as far as I know, and has the best reproduction of all his books. Whoever made the prints and did the scanning did an incredible job. Some of the reproduction from 35mm negatives look like they had been shot with a 4x5.

I bought my copy new from Amazon in 2020 for $36. Now, only used copies are available, and they start at $360!

Robin Ravilious wrote an excellent biography of her husband. From every indication their marriage was a true partnership. Robin understood her husband and was fully involved in supporting his work.

New copies of her book are still available at Amazon and other places, I'm sure. Amazon has new paperback copies for $22.71 and hard cover books for $84.76. Highly recommended.

Robin Ravilious reading. Photograph by James.

 Altogether I own six Ravilious books. We'll talk about the other three next time.

If you like my pictures, visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Click on the link at left for information about ordering original signed prints from the Rock City Barns book.

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Text copyright 2026 Bruce Robbins. Photos by James Ravilious copyright The Beaford Trust, 2026.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography    film photography   Leica photography     James Ravilious     England    Devon    English country life   documentary photography   southeast England rural culture    The Leica "glow"