Penland’s
former Recycling Czar, our friend Grover, needs to raise $2,500 by August
24th to cover upcoming medical expenses. For over a decade, Grover
took care of us by sorting and recycling all of our paper, cardboard, cans, and
bottles. Now it’s time for us to take care of him by donating to the Grover
Medical Fund. $2,500 will help cover some of his costs associated with
surgeries in the next few weeks. Any amount raised above this goal will be
presented to Grover for other expenses, such as a more dependable truck. He wore his out
hauling our recycling!
You can
donate in one of three ways by August 24:
1.
Donate with cash:
Drop off your donation to Penland Baker David Chatt (kitchen or coffee house), the Penland Grant Writer Jane Crowe (lower Craft House)or the Penland Main Office with Sheila Sweetser.
2.
Donate with a
check payable to: Jane Crowe (You can drop it off to Jane or David, or Sheila).
3.
Use Pay Pal to
make an online donation. You do not need a Pay Pal account to donate. Just click the handy "Donate" button! Charges will show on your statement as "Uniting The Americas" (this is the name of Jane's Paypal account.)
Here’s a
brief bio about Grover written by Robin Dreyer:
Grover
spent his early childhood in Mitchell County, not far from the school. After
living most of his life other places, he finally settled just a few miles from
the house he lived in as a child. In addition to his recycling job, Grover made
a special place for himself at Penland by creating hundreds of remarkable
pieces of artwork–from painted cardboard, milk crates, plastic flamingos,
cut-up books and magazines, and other found material–which he periodically
combined into elaborate installations in the Dye Shed.
Grover
is fascinated by geography and his pieces frequently incorporate arcane
geographical information. For a time he nurtured an obsession with klein bottles (a
kind of volumetric mobius strip) and created memorable pieces based on that
form. He also plays guitar and was the instigator of many afternoon music
sessions on the Dye Shed porch. “Back in the 60s,” he explained, “I was one of
a billion people who learned to play the guitar. Now there’s just a few hundred
thousand of us still playing.”
Grover
has been a genial presence at Penland; many on staff looked forward to his
weekly visits as a source of unpredictable and fascinating conversation. His
highly-developed deadpan means that talking to him often involves wondering
which part of what he just said was serious–maybe some of it? maybe all of it?
maybe none of it? It can be hard to say. -Robin Dreyer
