Discover

Story By Jacque Hilburn
Feature Writer

Robert E. Lee High School football coach Gary Fleet is a busy guy.

When he's not pacing on the sidelines mapping out game strategies, he's teaching students how to master the art of passing math.

He's a husband, father and collector of the rare Byrd Pottery, made only in Tyler during the 1930s to the 1960s.

His expertise in the pottery is attracting new attention.

He's scheduled to speak Monday before the Camp Ford Historical Association, the fourth time Fleet has been tapped to share his take on the Tyler Pottery company and its origins.

"This is something my dad collected for years and years," he said. "He even wrote a book about it."

When his father passed away 12 years ago, the family carried on the tradition.

"I've got a collection, my mother has a collection, my brother has a collection," he said. "It's just something the whole family has been doing for years."

The stoneware is named after master potters J.J. and Maude Byrd of Tyler, whose hand-crafted creations incited a loyal following for collectors.

J.J. Byrd learned the craft from his father, A.S. Byrd, who worked and later owned a pottery company in Rhonesboro during the early 1900s.

The couple's work is perhaps best recognized for their blue bonnet "sponge" design that adorns the cream-colored pottery. Byrd creations were made from clay collected initially from Rhonesboro and later, Chicken Feather Road near Henderson.

Years ago, the coach's father, Robert Fleet, a history buff, spent many hours with the couple, tapping into their knowledge banks in search of information and insight.

He later wrote a book, describing the pottery's origins, makeup and creators.

"So many people are collecting it now, it's getting hard to find," the coach said.

Finding examples of the pottery seems to be only part of the challenge.

"That's what's hard about Byrd Pottery," Fleet said. "They didn't mark it in any way. You have to get an eye for it to be able to recognize it, and that usually requires years of experience."

Each piece is unique in its own way.

"Mrs. Byrd made up to 80 pitchers a day for 30 years," Fleet said. "Each piece was hand-turned on a potter's wheel."

Although each piece is similar, there are subtle differences.

The Byrds had their own distinct style that is mirrored in their work - the curve of a spout, the delicate angle of a handle.

In addition to pitchers, the Byrds made jars, vases, sugar bowls, crocks and other objects.

Fleet said his favorite piece is a birdhouse.

"They are very rare," Fleet said.

People who initially purchased the dishware probably shared them with the birds, suspending the houses from trees and hangers.

Years of exposure to the elements likely took its toll, resulting in breakage and destruction.

"There are not many in existence," Fleet said.

Some historians say they are eager to learn more.

"We have speakers who talk not only about Camp Ford, but also about local history," said D.M. Edwards, CFHA president. "This talk about Byrd Pottery is something we've been working on for about two years."

Camp Ford is recognized as the largest prisoner of war internment center west of the Mississippi run by the Confederacy during the War Between the States.

Edwards said there is a lot of excitement in the subject and Fleet's anticipated talk.

"The pieces are growing scarcer by the year," Edwards said. "This is part of Tyler's history."

The Camp Ford Historical Association is set to meet at 7 p.m. Monday in the Genecov Room of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce Building, 315 N. Broadway Ave., with refreshments offered at 6:30 p.m.

In spite of their limited availability, pieces of the pottery occasionally surface at estate sales and antique shops, Fleet said.

"There have been a lot of things found, many that weren't included in my dad's book," he said. "It might be time for another one."

Robert E. Lee coach Gary Fleet holds one of his favorite pieces of Byrd Pottery, a Byrd birdhouse.
(Staff Photo By Herb Nygren Jr.)