Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 23, 1994 TAG: 9410260019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-19 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Long
"I don't know if it made my grandfather too happy," said Gettel, now 52 and living in Floyd County, "but I think I was more interested in the mill than the fishing."
Over the years, Gettel's fascination with mills and their history grew. He began to search for and photograph mills when he traveled. He became a member of the Society for Preservation of Old Mills and began collecting postcards of mills in scenic settings. He met fellow mill enthusiasts and even tried to build his own model-sized mill in his spare time.
"I don't know what it was about them," he said, scratching his head in recollection. "I guess I just love the sound of a water wheel moving."
It wasn't long before Gettel outgrew the memorabilia. In the late 1970s, he and his wife, Sylvia Beyen, began looking for a mill of their own - a real mill they could live in or restore. They wanted something near home.
"Well, the prices are just outrageous up there," Gettel said. "And most of the mills up north have been gutted or flooded. We wanted something that was salvageable."
What they got was the Pine Creek Mill on a rural gravel road in Floyd County, just a mile or two from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Gettel's mill doesn't sag with age like some old buildings - he estimates it was built in 1913. It stands three stories tall and has a 20-foot-high Fitz water wheel at its side. The siding is worn and faded but still sturdy. A hole from a stray bullet adorns one of the upper-level windows, but Gettel hasn't had time to fix that yet. A new porch surrounding the entrance gives it renewed life - as if it still were being used today.
Gettel has gotten used to the countless folks who stop to ask questions, and although he has little time for repairs on his mill, he is always willing to take a break and give tours to passers-by.
"If I had a dollar for every time a person took a picture of this place, I'd be retired by now," says the Virginia Tech printer with a laugh. "They've photographed it, they've done articles on it, and they've asked questions about it. I've even had people line up their easels over there and paint it."
The mill is special because it contains all the working machinery from a bygone era, Gettel says. The mill last ran in 1976, grinding mostly cornmeal and wheat.
Inside, one can imagine the workers hustling to keep the mill going.
On the first floor, a worker operated the gate control wheel - similar to a car's steering wheel - to regulate the amount of water supplied to the mill wheel. Another worker filled the hopper with corn to be ground into meal while another worker used the large, piano-sized sifter to clean the flour. Later the flour ran through a "scalping chest" or "bran duster" to remove the bran from the flour. Back then, the whiter the flour, the finer the quality and the higher the price.
Upstairs, old hand tools are stored in the beams of the mill, evidence of an age when the most reliable machine was a man.
Tucked away in a corner are an old, double-tub wooden washing machine and a worn, wooden grain cradle used to harvest wheat by hand before combines. A large, box-shaped "cockerel cleaner" was used to clean meddlesome black weed seeds from the wheat.
Flour wasn't the only local product in this mill. Rectangular copper moonshine containers, built to fit neatly in the wooden grain elevators, reveal that workers may have stashed some of their illegal liquor in the mill at one time.
Gettel has been working on his mill for more than 10 years. When he first bought the mill from Artice Nolen (the mill once was called Nolen Mill) in 1980, it needed repair. The mill had not operated for years. Gettel's goal was one day to produce enough hydroelectric power to supply his nearby farmhouse with electricity.
He jacked the mill up and added concrete supports. He raised the wheels and replaced huge timber beams that had rotted. All the gears in the wheel mechanism also had to be replaced. Then Gettel's wife, Sylvia, died in 1989.
"For about three years, I just didn't want to do anything on the mill, and I couldn't get motivated," Gettel said. Then a friend helped rekindle his desire to see his old mill operating once more.
Back at work on the mill, Gettel is eager to get the last and most difficult part of the job completed - rebuilding the wooden flume that will feed water to the wheel and give Gettel the electricity and independence he has hoped for.
"At first this was about free power, but it's changed, and now I just like to listen the sound of the mill," Gettel said. "That's why Artice Nolen kept it running - there's something about the sounds it makes. This is not a moneymaking proposition; it just gives the mill a purpose."
In working on his own mill, Gettel also has learned about the history of mills throughout the county. Little did he know what a mill-rich area Floyd County was, once boasting more than 120.
"Carroll, Patrick and Franklin counties all had mills, but Floyd had a lot because there's so much water around," said mill historian Frank Webb of Roanoke, who is researching the history of the county's mills along with fellow historian Ricky Cox of Radford University. "They used them all, too. They used some that you wouldn't believe there was enough water to power."
The products of the mills were numerous - cornmeal, wheat flour, buckwheat flour and cattle feed. The types of mills were varied, too - sawmills, planing mills and shingle mills. There even were wool carding mills, used to weave cloth and spin wool, but not too much is known about those mills, Webb said.
For now, Gettel is happy with his three-story, soon-to-be-water-powered mill, which he considers to be an important part of the county's history.
"Mills are an anachronism ..." Gettel said. "They don't really belong in the present, and they remind us of the past. People like history, and I'm glad I'm preserving this piece of history."
Memo: ***CORRECTION***