NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
A Kentucky woman's memories of life in the rural South are on full display at the Tennessee State Museum.
The collection is a visual encyclopedia of a simple life Helen LaFrance loved in Mayfield, KY.
"She had a romantic, very sweet vision of her past," said museum curator Mark Hooper.
Her artwork illustrates a time when cotton was king and small towns survived and thrived on the factory and a strong sense of family.
The working week was never easy, which made Friday nights so necessary and enjoyable. Ferris wheel carnivals, hot dogs and snow cones for supper highlighted many country calendars. And Saturday nights meant more fun, with barn dances and the chance to actually dance by the light of the moon.
"Very colorful and wonderful visions," Hooper said. "Some are almost dream-like. They take you in a very wonderful place."
It's a lifestyle that, for the most part, has disappeared, but it's the daily life LaFrance remembers, including the frightening spectacle of a downtown inferno, a baptism in a little white church or the sadness and poignancy of a funeral.
These days, LaFrance is 93 years old and continues to draw and paint while living at an assisted care home in Kentucky.
For more on her artwork, and the Tennessee State Museum, visit: http://www.tnmuseum.org/custpage.cfm/frm/50767/sec_id/50767.
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