Official Site of the Janice Holt Giles & Henry Giles Society

Summer 2008 Schedule of Events

May 3 – Plant exchange from 10 –2 CT May 31-October 4 – Giles House open to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1-5 CT June 14 – Jim Sayre presents “I, too, am a Kentuckian” beginning at 5 PM Central Time. Bring a picnic and visit before the Kentucky  Humanities Chautauqua presentation about Lincoln. June 28 – Pottery workshop for young people 7-12 years of age. Participants must pre-register for the workshop by calling 270-465-6104. This event is underwritten by Wal-Mart of Campbellsville. September 13 – Kentuckians Reading Kentuckians October 4 – Tenth annual Arts and Crafts Festival October 11 – Ghost Stories told by Lynwood Montell, folklorist

Return to top

 

 

Biographical Information   Janice Holt was born in Arkansas in 1905. As a child she moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) where her parents were teachers. She grew up with books and music and became an accomplished young woman. When her first marriage ended, Janice and her daughter came to Louisville, Kentucky, where Janice worked for Dr. Lewis Sherrill, Dean of Presbyterian Seminary. On a trip to visit family in 1943, Janice happened to share a bus ride with Henry Giles, a soldier on his way to a new assignment.  In two days on the bus they became such good friends that they were soon corresponding daily. After Henry was sent overseas he proposed to Janice via mail and, although they never saw each other in the interim, they were married as soon as Henry returned from active duty in 1945. After a year or so in Louisville, the couple settled at Knifley, Adair Co., Ky, Henry's home, where Janice wrote and Henry farmed. Eventually Henry also began to write. The story of how they built their log house and the necessity of moving it after the Green River Dam was built is chronicled in two books by the Gileses: A LITTLE BETTER THAN PLUMB and AROUND OUR HOUSE. Preservation of this house and the literary heritage left by Janice and Henry is the focus of the Janice Holt Giles and Henry Giles Society. Return to top

This site contains information about Kentucky author Janice Holt Giles and The Giles Society. The Society was established in 1996 to preserve the literary legacy of Janice Holt Giles and her husband, Henry Giles, and to restore their log home. Links will take you to a brief biography of Giles, the stated purpose of the Giles Society, directions on how to get to Giles House, a list of Giles' books, and an address where you may write if you would like to become involved in this effort. Return to top

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

Giles House is located on Spout Springs Road, just off Highway 76,
near Knifley, Adair Co., KY.  

Return to top

 

 

 

 

 

HOW TO FIND GILES HOUSE:

 

 

 

From Campbellsville: Take Hwy. 70 S. to the intersection of Hwy. 76, turn right; continue through Knifley on 76 until you reach Spout Springs Road (see Giles historical marker), turn left, go .01 mile.

From Columbia: Take Hwy. 55 N. to Hwy. 551 (also known as Knifley Road), turn right; continue 6.7 miles until intersection with Hwy. 76 (also known as Elkhorn Road), turn right, continue 4.1 miles to Spout Springs Road (see Giles historical marker), turn left, go .01 mile.

From Russell Springs: Take Hwy. 127 N. about 3 1/2 miles to Hwy. 76, turn left; go 5.9 miles to Hwy. 206, turn right; follow 206 (76 is running with 206 at this point) 2.8 miles to where 206 crosses Hwy. 76 again, turn left on 76; continue 1.6 miles to Spout Springs Road (see Giles historical marker), turn right, go .01 mile.

 

Return to top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Kentucky Historical Marker stands at the end of Spout Springs Road.  

 

 

Return to top

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hours

Giles House is open to the public June-September on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M. (CT)

Return to top

 

 

 

 

PURPOSE The purpose of the Janice Holt Giles and Henry Giles Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit organization, is:   To preserve and promote the legacy of Janice Holt Giles and Henry Giles To collect materials pertinent to the heritage and legacy of Janice Holt Giles and Henry Giles To offer opportunities for the education of the public with respect to literature, authors, and writers To raise money to carry out the above purpose.

Return to top

 

Photo Gallery

Photos will change from time to time.

Giles House

Giles House is in the process of being  rehabilitated. 

This photo was taken in April, 2006 before work began on restoring the logs, which had seriously deteriorated over the years, and before a new pier was built on the pond.		All the old chinking was removed. (This is the view from outside.)		(This is the view from inside.)		Wire and insulation filled the spaces between the logs before new chinking was put in. It is a difficult and expensive undertaking.  Funding is greatly needed for this work.

 

This photo was taken after the logs had been cleaned and the new deck built.		The utility room at the end of the house has a new door.		A close up view of the restored logs on the chimney end of the house.	The pond without the water lilies takes a bit of getting used to.

You can read Janice and Henry's story of their log home and how it had to be moved when the Green River Dam was built in two of the books they co-wrote, Around Our House and A Little Better Than Plumb.

Janice and Henry

Janice and Henry in the living room at Giles House in the 1960s.  Both were avid readers, as you can tell.		This photo of Janice is from the jacket of Voyage to Santa Fe		This is the house where Janice was born in Altus, Arkansas.  It was the home of her grandparents.		Janice's desk and work area.

 

"We mean to leave it an epitaph."  Janice and Henry wrote about their beloved log home.		This building, called Becky House, was  a ham radio station in Henry's day.  It has been renovated and is now used as a caretaker's house.  It recently got landscaping and a new walk.		This pencil sketch of Giles House was done by an Adair County High School student, Damion Popplewell.  It is available for sale by mail or at the gift shop.		This is a photo of the fireplace in Giles House when Janice and Henry lived there.  By the time The Giles Society bought the property, the fireplace had fallen into disrepair. It has since been restored.

 

Master quilter Denise Stewart designed and quilted this interpretation of Giles House.  The quilt was raffled off at an Arts and Crafts Fair.		Henry was born and grew up in Adair County, Kentucky.  This rose was handed down through every generation of his family and still blooms at Giles House.

 

Arts and Crafts Fair

This Event Features Artwork, Crafts, Basketmaking, Woodworking, Chairmaking,

Ceramics, Music, and Lots of Good Food

It is held annually the first Saturday in October

 

 

Other Events

Other programs presented on the lawn at Giles House during the summer include

Kentucky Humanities Bureau speakers, Pottery workshops, and Kentuckians Reading Kentuckians,

an all-day reading event to honor the Giles' and all Kentucky writers.

Crowds gather on the lawn at Giles House

to listen to speakers

Kentuckians Reading Kentuckians brings writers from around the area who read from their own work or the work of another Kentucky writer.

Above, left to right:  Amy Purcell, winner of the first Janice Holt Giles Fiction Contest, reads her winning story;

Erik Giles, nephew of Henry Giles, shares a laugh with the audience before reading from his new book; and

Yolantha Harrison-Pace, talks about her books before reading.

 

 

Henrietta Scott gives pottery workshops for children at Giles House in the summertime.

 

 

 

Miscellaneous Photos

 

Members of the Giles Board, 2007 are:  Kneeling, front row, left to right:  Steve Flinchum, Dicky McKinney, and Susan Lewis; Standing, second row, left to right:  Mike Crain, Jan Sparkman, Clara Metzmeier, Gayla Baker, Sally Ann Strickler, Beverly England, Linda Waggener; third row, Lynwood Montell.  Board member Sharon Greer was absent.		Long time Board member Charlie Sparks receives a plaque of appreciation on the occasion of his retirement.  It was presented by President Clara Metzmeier at the December, 2006 meeting.		Lifetime member Margaret Dunn is presented with a plaque from President Metzmeier at the September, 2006, meeting.

Home

---