Wednesday, February 15, 2017

A Family of Artists: The Streeters

By Lori Lockhart

Pablo Picasso once stated that “the purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” If that statement is correct, then one African-American family from Bedford County has been keeping people's souls clean for generations.

Colia Streeter was a renowned African-American country string musician. He played fiddle, banjo and guitar. He was born in Fairfield, just outside Wartrace, Bedford County, on Nov. 2, 1891. He was the son of George W. and Kittie Cole Nelson Streeter.

Colia Streeter (holding banjo) with his brother George Jr. and two unidentified adults [probably his parents George Sr. and Kittie]
Bedford County, circa 1905, Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



Colia Streeter grew up in Wartrace and began working on the railroad as a teenager. A pamphlet about his son, Vannoy Streeter, titled “The Life and Accomplishments of ‘Wireman’ Vannoy Streeter,” stated that Colia Streeter made “approximately 80 cents a day” working for the railroad. It was said that he always carried at least one instrument along with him wherever his work took him. In his off hours, he would always find a place to play and became quite a well-known musician from north Georgia to Nashville.

Wire sculpture of a man playing a banjo by Vannoy Streeter, 1989
Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



Colia Streeter had a brother named George, but everyone called him “Sut.” Sut Streeter was also an accomplished guitarist and would often accompany his brother. Sut Streeter rode and trained Tennessee Walking Horses. Sut Streeter's work with horses, growing up in Wartrace (“the Walking Horse Cradle of the World”), and his work as a stable boy for Strolling Jim (the first grand champion walking horse) would later inspire some of the Vannoy Streeter’s art work.

Tennessee Walking Horse wire sculptures by Vannoy Streeter, 1985-1986
Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



Colia Streeter died in 1965. According to Robert Cogswell in a 1996 issue of the “Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin,” Colia Streeter was buried in Wartrace’s African-American cemetery off Haley Road. While no known recordings of Colia Streeter's music exist, his style lives on in the musicians he influenced over the years. An excerpt from an article, “Roy Harper: The Ways of the Past,” by Charles Wolfe in Vol. 1, No. 5, of “The Old-Time Herald” details Harper’s recollections of Colia Streeter’s music:

“He wasn’t just a straight blues picker -- he could work in all different styles, including fingerpicking. He was from down at Wartrace, but he was well known in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro. He was a favorite of the upper crust there, well-to-do white folks. They’d get him to play for their card parties or card games, and even for their rooster fights.”

Roy Harper, a musician who often credited Colia Streeter as one of his early influences, is photographed with his hand-painted guitar case on a railroad track in Coffee County (photograph by Dean Dixon), 2008
Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



Vannoy “Wireman” Streeter was the oldest of six children born to Ludie Vannoy and Colia Streeter. He was born Aug. 27, 1919 in Manchester, but grew up in Wartrace. Growing up in poverty gave him the inspiration that started him on his road to famous folk artist. When Vannoy Streeter was little, his parents could not afford toys for him or his siblings. He studied toys in store windows and decided to make his own. Vannoy Streeter used a material that was free and readily available to him - bailing wire. He and his cousin Willie would gather left over wire that people threw out after bailing their hay. They would use the wire to make toys for themselves and others. The first recipients of Vannoy Streeter’s sculptures were his mother and siblings.

Wire sculptures of a bicycle, a car, a truck and an airplane by Vannoy Streeter, 1986
Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



Vannoy Streeter started working outside his home at the age of 16 and had many careers in his lifetime. He broke and trained horses, laid tracks for the railroad, worked in a lumberyard, was a janitor at Wartrace High School and served as an orderly for the Bedford County Hospital in Shelbyville. Through it all, he continued to make his wire sculptures and work around horses. Each year, he would use his two weeks vacation from his job to work at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.

Vannoy Streeter bending wire for one of his sculptures at his home in Shelbyville, 1985
Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



Vannoy Streeter married Ezella Marie McLean on June 8, 1965. Marie Streeter had eight children previous to the marriage and Vannoy Streeter raised her children as his own. They made their home in Shelbyville. Vannoy Streeter died on May 13, 1998.

Vannoy Streeter holding one of his sculptures at his home in Shelbyville, 1985
Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records, Tennessee State Library & Archives



While many artists do not see fame in their lifetime, Vannoy Streeter was fortunate enough to see his work celebrated. In 1987, his wire sculptures were displayed at the inauguration dinner for Gov. Ned McWherter. In 1990, Vannoy Streeter was a demonstrating artist at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta. In 1991, he was named Heritage Craftsman by the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. April 25, 1992, was proclaimed “Vannoy Streeter Day” by the City of Shelbyville. Vannoy Streeter made the “Smitty” awards for the W. O. Smith Community Music School (Paul Simon and Jimmy Buffett were among the recipients). His work has been displayed all over the world, most notably at the White House and the United States Embassy in Beijing.

For more information on the Streeters, take a look at the Tennessee Arts Commission Folk Arts Program Records at the Library & Archives: http://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-arts-commission-folk-arts-program-records-1899-2014


The Tennessee State Library and Archives is a division of the Tennessee Department of State and Tre Hargett, Secretary of State

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