Scales Of Justice

Block Number: 18

By Nora Worthen

After thawing out with a hot lunch on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at Bruce’s Fabulous Foods, the quilt trail committee continued its work in the cold on North Main Street by installing the "Scales Of Justice" on the front of the building for the law office of Mayor Steve Little. “I just loved the idea as being such a creative way to put a splash of something attractive in places that are unexpected,” said the Mayor. “I have been in this building since May of 1983.”

The building was previously the home of the A&P Grocery. Mayor Little relayed the following story, as reported to him by Red Walker, who worked there as a kid bagging groceries. Mothers would often send their children up to the A&P with a Mason jar to say, “I need a cup of vinegar for baking purposes,” the grocer would remove the cork from an old stone jug and pour out a cup of vinegar and charge a penny – “or whatever they charged.” Little has an old jug that was unearthed some years ago during an expansion project as evidence of the story.

Attorney Tom White previously owned the building in the late sixties or early seventies. Later it was the home of the Employment Security Commission, and after that the McDowell Express occupied the building. Little moved to McDowell County after graduating from law school in 1977, then in May of 1983, he opened his own office, “and I have been here in this building since. I have always wanted to do something to the front of the building, because I’ve never thought it was attractive. The quilt block is perfect.”

Mayor Little chose the “Scales of Justice,” because that was a natural theme for a law office. It is consistent with what he wanted to demonstrate: his philosophy of seeking the truth. He chose colors in shades of greens and blues with a yellow pyramid balancing the scales. After installation, a Certificate of Authenticity was presented. The certificate is bordered by icons of blocks completed since the inception of the McDowell Quilt Trail, with the “host block” icon occupying positions at twelve, three, six, and nine o’clock. The Certificate is matted and framed. “Very, very classy,” said Steve Little. “I like that very much.”