Glenn Bolick

Glenn Bolick is a storyteller, musician, potter, and saw mill man. He plays music and tells stories to groups all over North Carolina. However, he can be found at home in his own amphi-theater every Sunday afternoon after the fourth of July to the end of September. His home-grown entertainment presentations have surpassed his own expectations, as musicians from throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains join him on stage. The event is free and the audience is encouraged to sing along, buck dance, or sit back and listen.

Glenn’s ancestors came to North Carolina in the late 1700s. In the 1800s, Glenn’s great grandfather Mark purchased the land that Glenn and his wife live on today. Mark settled his family in the holler near Bailey’s Camp, an Indian trading post at a trailhead that led over the mountain to Lenoir. The first Bolicks established themselves as dairymen, farmers, and sawyers.

Glenn and his brothers learned the saw milling business at early ages. Glenn remembers carrying water for the men at the sawmill camp when he was only seven years old. He became a fifth generation saw mill man. He still enjoys starting up his steam driven sawmill and his diesel sawmill at the annual heritage festival that is celebrated at his place on the last Saturday in June.

Glenn grew up hearing his family sing gospel hymns on Sunday evenings in front of the stone fireplace. He recalls the fun of corn shuckings where he was influenced by the songs sung by neighbors. He first heard old stories and Jack tales from his sister who baby-sat the younger children. Glenn said, “She corralled us into a room and stood in the doorway so we couldn’t escape. That’s when she told us stories until we quieted down and went to sleep.”

For the past twenty years, Glenn has worked to preserve the tunes, the lore, and his memories of the old mountain ways. He shares his heritage during presentations at schools, churches, museums,and festivals.