Okay has anybody been to Rock City?
It’s around Chattanooga, Tennessee, and although we gnomes have passed through the area a couple times, we still haven’t’ had a chance to visit.
The oldest one of us living around The Gnome Abode was born in about 1970. But Fips has got nothing on the Rock City gnomes.
Photo credit: See Mid TN (Brent) via Flickr
Rock City is a big amusement-type attraction, but what we really care about seeing is the trail with all the gnomes living along it. Some of those gnomes have been greeting visitors since the 1930s, so obviously they’ve grown a little tattered and torn over the years.
“They fit perfectly with Rock City because we are trying to make this a place where you can stop and appreciate what you don’t always get to because we are always on cell phones and don’t see our surroundings,” longtime employee Joy Giles told News Channel 9.
A dude named Matt Dutton is to thank for keeping all these ancient gnomes in tip-top shape. He looks at old photos to keep the gnomes’ coloring consistent and paints and repairs them as needed. Matt uses urethane resin and a hardner to fills his handmade molds, meanwhile restoring each little one’s unique personality.
Photo credit: See Mid TN (Brent) via Flickr
“They become little sculptures, little pieces of art and if people understand that maybe they will have more appreciation of what they are looking at,” Dutton said. “This isn’t just a gnome, it’s a handmade gnome here in Chattanooga.”
Looks like we found ourselves another reason to head back down to Tennessee!
Happy Friday gnomies!
xoxo,
Caesar the Gnome
PS – for more great photos of the Rock City gnomes, check out SeeMidTN.com!