A couple days ago my friend Ronny Bailey pulled his pickup truck across the street from Preferred Properties Key West to show me his newest piece of folk art - his depiction of the former Sawyer's Bakery that used to exist at 913 Eaton Street. Later I searched the Sanborn Fire Map of 1892 and learned the house existed at least that early. I then searched through my old shoebox and found two photos of the property which date as early as 1960 when workers at Southernmost Sign were photographed out front - see below followed by a 2019 photo of the same property.
Ronny Bailey is a fifth generation Conch from the Roberts family line who immigrated to Key West from the Bahamas. He was a carpenter and roofer in his younger years. He started creating these folk art depictions of our older homes and businesses after he retired. He re-purposes salvaged wood which he cuts and cobbles together to make these miniature buildings. He carves the chickens and folk figures like "Nana" inside the store. Ronny gave me a brief history of the property dating back to when it was home with the adjacent house. Later the owner updated the front of 91e Eaton with larger windows so that so that passers by could look inside to see the hats that were for sale. Some of the most important homes in Key West were located on Fleming and Eaton Street back in the late 1800s.
Ronny is a man of faith and always adds what I call his three watch words to each of his pieces of art: love, peace, and joy. If you study the cake in the window above you will see the word joy. Peace is written on the yellow bench. And I Love Cake is on the top of the building.
Stop and checkout the underside of the roof. It's painted blue to keep bees from nesting. The places looks as old as the real thing. That is fresh paint made to look ancient. Inside Ronny's humor can be found on various signs including the yellow sign that reads FREE CAKE TOMORROW. Ronny recreated an actual sign advertising Key Lime Pie for five cents a slice. Check the spelling for accuracy.
Some of Ronny Bailey's folk art can be viewed and purchased at his online
Etsy Store CLICK HERE.
If you are in the market for a real house in Key West, please contact me,
Gary Thomas,
305-766-2642, or send me an email at
kw1101v@aol.com. I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at
Preferred Properties Key West . I also bring joy to the world for people who realize the dream of owning a place in Paradise.
