American Association of University Women
ěSketches of Old Rowanî has reappeared in local bookstores this month, making its way to the bestseller list at Literary Bookpost.
Published originally in 1960 by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), ěSketchesî captures the history of Rowan County in the sketches of the late artist Aubrey Atkinson, accompanied by stories by the late Salisbury Post Editor George Raynor.
Corner Books in China Grove is also selling the books. Note cards featuring the sketches are also available at both bookstores.
Atkinsonís sketches are well known in these parts. The drawing first appeared in the Salisbury Post in 1959 to accompany stories written about life in Rowan County by Raynor. Atkinson was a founder and first president of Rowan Art Guild. He served as an executive for the Boy Scouts before becoming business manager of the city schools. He died in 1970 of a heart attack at the age of 45.
As an artist, he was well known throughout the area and his paintings sold throughout the East Coast, according to a Salisbury Post article in 1997, when 15 of his sketches were framed and donated to the Historic Salisbury Foundation.
The Salisbury Branch of AAUW originally published ěSketches of Old Rowanî in 1960. All 1,000 copies sold within a month. AAUW published three more editions, with some additional sketches and revisions by local historians Claude Pickett, James Brawley and William Kizziah.
The current edition (1990) includes 16 sketches, each 11-by-14-inches, suitable for framing, including the old Rowan County Courthouse, Rowan Museum, the old Law Office, the Old Stone House, Thyatira Presbyterian Church, Lowerstone Church and several others. Each sketch is accompanied by a short history. Together the sketches and commentary give a picture of life in Rowan County in by-gone days.
The note cards feature five sketches: The Law Office, the Strachan Home, Setzer School, Old Stone House and Lowerstone Church. AAUW will use the proceeds from the sale of the books and note cards for scholarship opportunities for young women from Rowan County.
The American Association of University Women, founded in 1881, promotes equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.
The Salisbury Branch of AAUW, founded in 1951, is open to everyone supporting the mission to advance equity for women and girls. The branch meets monthly at various locations. For more information contact bafranklin.aauw@gmail.com or 704-855-8353.