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We’ve just finished the third book in the Stratford Oaks series by Dr. Suzanne Mellow-Irwin: The Tale of Cricket and Cracker.

Dr. Irwin has continued her series with the help of photographer, Ian Jarvis. Imaging Specialists has added photos made by Ian and other photographers to the story of two burros, transplanted from the dusty American Southwest to the lush, green hills of Alleghany County, North Carolina.

The photographs are a departure from the first two volumes that were illustrated with artwork by Zach Hamm.  But design elements like fonts, gradients and page layouts should help make this more “grown-up” story of the animals at Stratford Oaks Farm familiar to fans of the series.

ISI designed the cover and interior pages, again, this time and we added an artistic, painted effect to the images so that photos from different sources (local photographers, stock and family photos- even the Library of Congress!) would have a uniform look throughout. We, sometimes, added elements from different photos to build scenes for the book. The donkey  at right in the photo, above is an example. We added Cricket (or maybe it’s Cracker?) from another photo.
No historic photos or photos by Ian were manipulated.

The book incorporates a little area history in the telling of the story of the donkeys. We added one of our own photographs of the historic 1908 Courthouse just across the state line in Independence, Virginia.

If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift, consider the third installment of Stratford Oaks Tales – The Tale of Cricket and Cracker.

For a few years, the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society has produced a television series called Alleghany Memories. The series features interviews that last around an hour each with, “older folks from our area,” and is broadcast over Alleghany Community Television.

Imaging Specialists has always helped with graphics for the series, but this year, we’ve been editing the episodes, as well. We’ve also added photography to help illustrate the stories and we created new title and credit sequences with the help of local broadcast personality, Sonia Joines.

AHGS revived the popular series in 2017 after receiving a grant from the Alleghany Community Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation. Alleghany Community Television has partnered with the Society to photograph and broadcast the series and the Alleghany County Library has hosted two live tapings of interview sessions.

ACTV also hosts the programs at ACTV.ME, a web site that provides live streams of the episodes, anytime, worldwide. To date, the six finished shows from the 2017 season have been accessed 1303 times and have been viewed a total of 115 hours, online.

Shows, this year, have featured Hugh Hash; Lucy Roe and Doris Stoker; Amos Wagoner, Jr. and Mayor John Miller; Sue White, Cordia Truitt and Billie Caudill; and two episodes with Una Lindh. We are currently editing an interview of a group of Blue Ridge Opprtunity Commission “Hillbilly Show” performers that includes Helen Crouse, Agnes Joines, Gary Joines, Jean Osborne, Gary and Bobbie Parlier, and 2017 Possum Queen, Nancy Hall.

Interviews can be taped almost anywhere in the County and subjects can choose their interviewer. For more information about Alleghany Memories, please contact Lucy Roe of the Historical Society at 336-372-4942.

ISI is proud to have helped with layout and prep for the new book, Grandpa! Grandpa! What Will I See? by  William P. Bahlke, illustrated by Lothar Speer.

The somewhat autobiographical book features a fantastical conversation between a little girl and her Grandpa. He tells about events that he’s witnessed in his life and they speculate about what she might see in her own lifetime.

Bill and Meda Bahlke live in Laurel Springs, North Carolina, part of the year and in Key West the rest of the time.

The book is beautifully illustrated from the imagination of Lothar Speer, a friend of the Bahlkes who divides his time between Key West and Chicago.

Originals and our pages (!) are currently on display in the XOJ Gallery at The Studios of Key West  at 533 Eaton Street in Key West, Florida. For more information, call: 305-296-0458 or email: info@tskw.org

The books are available in softcover, hardcover and Kindle edition, now, just in time for Christmas at Amazon.