Walk with me up a dusty road that ascends a pine and oak ridge above the main street of Nashville.
Perched high on the Ridgeline is a small hand hewn log cabin facing the valley below.
It is a lofty perspective so high up that the tiny structure appears to have more in common with the Sky then it does with Mother Earth.
The cabin has a breathtaking view of both town and country stretching out below.
One might even say that IT has a “Cracker Jack view” of the world.
In fact, this log house was the studio of C. Carey Cloud, a talented and inventive artist, who, in 1937 created “New toys” for the popular Cracker Jack box that circulated throughout the world.
Back in the 1930s Carey was an artist with Chicago ties And with a Love for Brown County, Indiana where he had taken several vacation trips to paint and relax.
One day, Carey was working on a lettering ad for the Cracker Jack company in downtown Chicago.
The ad director said to him “Carey, we’ve been ordering toys from Japan for sometime now and we are looking for something new and different, do you think you could design a new toy for our Cracker Jack boxes?”
Carey went back to his studio and created a small tin man with movable parts.
He brought the prototype back to the Ad Director.
He was very Impressed.
“O.K. Carey you have the commission for your first order; we will need three million units.”
Carey found a manufacturer nearby who completed the order for the company.
For the next 30 years , Carey created over 250 different toy designs which were dropped , as a “Prize” into millions of Cracker Jack boxes across the world.
In 1947, Carey asked the company if they needed him to be based in Chicago, they replied” No, Carey as long as you create and deliver, you can live anywhere you want , its your choice”
Carey remembered his love for Brown County.
He returned here with his wife ,Vera and purchased a huge tract of land on the Ridgeline above Nashville.
He continued to created from his studio perch for over 40 years.
He passed away at his home in 1984.
For more information about artist Carey C Cloud, check out the book “Cloud 9” at the Brown County Library.
UPTOWN, DOWNTOWN, ALL AROUND BROWN: Award-winning and well-known artist Jeff Hagen is the man behind the series, Uptown Downtown, All Around Brown. Jeff is interested in keeping the arts alive. Hagen is a watercolor artist in the Brown County Art Guild and The Art Farm and a best-selling author of six books. His book Hiawatha Passing was recognized by the New York Times in the top 10 children’s books of the year. Hagen was also a teacher for 32 years. He taught art for people in kindergarten through college and currently volunteers teaching art at an impoverished small mountain school in Appalachia Kentucky. Each installment of Uptown, Downtown, All Around Brown will highlight past, present and future legends from the Brown County artistic scene. Hagen said it’s important to not just to highlight notable legends like T.C. Steele, but also to highlight the people who are making their name today.
UPTOWN, DOWNTOWN, ALL AROUND BROWN
Award-winning and well-known artist Jeff Hagen is the man behind the series, Uptown Downtown, All Around Brown. Jeff is interested in keeping the arts alive. Hagen is a watercolor artist in the Brown County Art Guild and The Art Farm and a best-selling author of six books. His book Hiawatha Passing was recognized by the New York Times in the top 10 children’s books of the year. Hagen was also a teacher for 32 years. He taught art for people in kindergarten through college and currently volunteers teaching art at an impoverished small mountain school in Appalachia Kentucky. Each installment of Uptown, Downtown, All Around Brown will highlight past, present and future legends from the Brown County artistic scene. Hagen said it’s important to not just to highlight notable legends like T.C. Steele, but also to highlight the people who are making their name today.
