Drew Christie

Cuz I’m in it! You can buy it at the store or read it here. These were two of the pictures not used by the magazine. Photos were taken by the amazing printmaker and wet plate photographer Daniel Carrillo. Here is his camera Daisy:

House of David was (still is?) a religious commune located in Benton Harbor, Michigan. It was founded by King Ben Purnell and his wife Mary with about 200 followers in 1903. King Ben claimed to be Jesus Christ’s younger brother and the Seventh Messenger from God. To join the sect, you had to give over all your possessions to King Ben and renounce alcohol, tobacco, meat, violence, shaving, hair cutting and sex. But King Ben could have sex with your wife and your daughter when she turned 14. This last part is what brought King Ben down. He was brought up on charges and forced to hide in the underground caverns beneath one of his mansions. He was eventually caught in his bed with some under aged girls. He died before his trail concluded.

House of David at one time operated and owned a zoo, the largest fruit market in the world, farms, their own island, a hospital, factories, an Oldsmobile dealership, a theme park, a night club and a motor inn to name a few. They invented the waffle cone, the first cross-propeller system for cruise ships, powdered space meals for NASA, and the first bowling alley Pinnsetter. However, House of David is more famous for it’s baseball team (see this old Sports Illustrated article), which traveled around and even hired ringers like Babe Ruth and Satchel Paige, who of course, had to wear fake beards and wigs so as not to give away their ringer status.

But most interestingly, House of David had a top notch Jazz Band, that’s how I found out about them. I was perusing a Jazz book I had found and saw an entire band of bearded guys. No known recordings of them exist, but a song called House of David Blues does. Some members even made their own instruments! Here is a great article with photos and video and here is the House of David Museum website, lest you think I made all this up.

Born in Ohio in 1829, George Devol ran away from home and hired on as a cabin boy on a riverboat heading south. At the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846, Devol took a steamboat to the Rio Grande to join the American troops in battle. However, while on the ship, an older gambler taught young George how to cheat at cards. Instead of going into battle with the American troops George ended up making $2,700 off of them and returned to New Orleans with his winnings.

In fights, Devol preferred headbutting, however, he kept a pistol called Betsy Jane for backup.
Devol’s servant, Pinckney Pinchback learned his employer’s tricks and became so good at gambling and winning, he quit his employ with Devol, entered politics and was elected Governor of Louisiana and in so doing, became the first non-white Governor in U.S. History.
Devol died penniless in Arkansas in 1903.
Soundtrack provided by The Holy Modal Rounders, Bound To Lose (taken from the old tune Walking Boss).

About 7 inches wide and about 18 or so inches tall. Tall Timber is a song by Bill Monroe and a prominent Bluegrass band from Washington State which you can hear on Voyager Recordings. Visually inspired by the Ralph W. Andrews book Timber.