Town Hall Moves to Zachary House

By Mike Barnhardt _{via the Davie Enterprise-Record}

COOLEEMEE – The town owns the Zachary House. The Mocksville/Cooleemee ABC board owns the town hall building here.

The town is paying rent, and the ABC Store wants to expand, so it made sense for the town offices to move to the Zachary House.

That move was planned for the beginning of October. But when Town Clerk Steven Corriher went to the office last week, a water line break had flooded the town hall.

Luckily, he had already boxed many of the documents and they were on a table. One box of old minutes was lost, but recordings of those meetings still exist.

“It’s been a dream of mine since I became mayor in 2015 to move to a building that we own,” Corriher said. “It just makes sense.”

The Cooleemee Historical Association is working with the town, and the town hall will occupy a front room of the Zachary House, what was once known as the recreation room. It will have its own entrance.

The town board will meet in the adjacent, larger room.

Corriher said all three entities are looking forward to the change. The town will own the space it occupies. The ABC Store will have room to expand. And the Cooleemee Historical Association hopes to benefit from increased exposure.

Jeff Hursey runs a successful heating and air conditioning business in Davie County and those who know him would say he is a soft-spoken guy.  I’ve never known Hursey to cause a ruckus about anything but his name has been spread all over the country and everyone is talking. 

 Last year is when it got started.  People were calling the 911 emergency call to say they just saw Big Foot.  When the dispatcher asked if they were on Pine Ridge Road they were told their call was one of many.

That was the start of a viral reaction on Facebook when a picture of Hurseys’s hand-carved Big Foot was posted and created national news all the way to Anchorage Alaska.

By owning a sawmill Hursey has always messed around carving stumps like owls, hobbit houses or small bears but he had never done anything big.

He saw a concrete bear near Dobson on the side of the road and it gave him the idea to carve one but bigger.

The Big Foot stump measured nine feet from the bottom to the top.  He had tacks for his eyes and they were covered with red reflective tape.  Drivers passing by at night surely got an unexpected surprise.

He admits it took him a while practicing to turn something out that looked decent.  Using a smaller saw with different tips helps create the details he needs. 

Not a lot of planning prepares him for the next project, he uses what he has on hand and once he gets in his mind what he thinks he can do with it, he goes for it.

Sometimes he burns the wood for accents and often preserves the wood with used oil.

The Flintstone car he made looks like an exact replica.  Not everything he does is chainsaw carving but more sculpture. 

Last September I drove by the site not knowing about the national interest and I was quite alarmed when I saw a huge spider with legs stretched over the split rail fence with orange fangs.   He was looking right at me and it gave me the sense he was coming straight toward me.  A big web was hanging behind his back.

Hursey had a lot of slabs lying around and decided to build a giant.  Og the Giant is 20 feet tall from his head to his bottom and another 20 feet for his legs and feet. His broad shoulders, long arms, big feet, and hands have a good proportioned scale.

Positioned between two strong pine trees for increased stability and strength he appears to have been strolling through the pine trees and decided to have a sit-down.  With his left arm resting casually on his leg it poses a calm demeanor about him and he would welcome a chat. 

Evergreen branches were used to create his hair and beard and the now aged brown tones make it more lifelike.  Many people who stop by to visit the site like to climb the stairs inside Og the Giant so they can put their face in the hole of his mouth for a picture.

Hursey’s wife Rebecca suggested he call the giant Og because it made her think of the giant in the bible, Og king of Bashan; his bed was 9 cubic feet by 4 cubic feet.

 A large new structure was facing the setting sun and when I walked around I couldn’t help but get excited about what the finished structure will look like

A thirty-five by forty-three-foot pirate ship is now in the making.  Inside the hull will be a picnic table, portholes to look through and who knows what else Hursey’s creative mind will conjure up.   Embellishing the entire structure with flags and all pirate paraphernalia will for sure be a showstopper.

When you combine a creative mind with resources like strong hands, a sawmill, a chain saw, and mostly wooded acreage, there’s bound to be more to come in the future. 

 Hursey says, “I’m doing while I can.  I’m able to do it but when I get the notion to stop, I’m done, I won’t do it anymore.”

A gate is located at the entrance but Hursey welcomes visitors to get out and walk around to take pictures.  A bench is located at the information area that displays a small fraction of articles from different states.

Who knew a Big Foot creature carved from a stump could create such a ruckus and excitement.  Thank you Hursey for putting Cooleemee on the map. 

Feel free to contact the author of this post, KC Smith, at 336-250-1133 or EMAIL.

A Gallery of Jeff Hursey’s Creations

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These beautiful teachers took time to gather at Cooleemee School and then travel by car throughout the Cooleemee School district to hold signs, wave, honk horns and shout so their students know they have been missed and they love them. 

Loved & Missed

The long trail of cars was supported by the Cooleemee Police Department by leading the pack and the Cooleemee Fire Department brought up the rear.  We are very fortunate to have such dedicated teachers to have made an everlasting impression on our kids.

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Cooleemee Christmas Parade will be held Saturday, November 30th.

Christmas trees will be picked up on Tuesday, January 7th.

Leaf pickup will occur each Tuesday beginning November, 5th and will run through Tuesday, December 31st.  There will be no leaf pickup on 12/24. Final leaf pickup will be on Tuesday, January 21st, 2020.