In the spring of 1969, John and Glen LaRowe opened "Mark of the Potter" as their residence and pottery shop after refurbishing the old Grandpa Watts' Mill, one of the remaining grist mills on Scenic Highway 197. In no time at all, the pottery shop prospered and the warm-hearted LaRowes made many friends and immersed themselves in the local community. As their business grew, they took on more potters and helped support other southern potters by selling and representing their works.

In 1985, the LaRowes sold the business to one of their potters, Jay Bucek, who still lives above the shop with his wife Janis. Not much has changed since 1969: the trout still congregate in the shoals awaiting handouts from visitors, the shop folks have stories and laughter in abundance to share, and, more importantly, generations of family members return, year after year, to share the experience and their memories of this treasured landmark.

Today, Mark of the Potter still reflects the mission and image that the LaRowes first fostered those many years ago. With our 40th birthday right around the corner, we at Mark of the Potter want to celebrate by honoring all those friends and visitors that just "stop by" to see what's new, feed the fish and see how we are doing.

We are putting together a new history book of our little shop, but the focus will be on the memories and stories of all our visitors and friends. Please share with us any funny tales, memories of Grandpa Watts' Mill and the early Mark of the Potter days, or family photos passed and present that are unique. Do you have a picture of your parents or grandparents in front of Grandpa Watts' Mill? We would love to take a picture to match of the next generation in the same pose!

Please, help us ring in our 40th birthday in style! Send stories and copies of photos to:

Mark of the Potter

c/o Muddy the Potter

9982 Hwy 197 North

Clarkesville, GA 30523

706-947-3440

Email: markpott@hemc.net

Don't forget to give us your contact information and details of any photos submitted.

We can't wait to hear from you!

by Muddy W. Collier