The VanPelt family
Emily’s daughter her husband, and Emily’s grandchildren are on the left in this photo
Emily and Thearl Smith on the right.

What could a young farmer’s wife with a three year old daughter do in 1922 when more money is needed to supplement the cherry crop? Many, many things if you are Emily Nash Smith. She had been a teacher before she was married, so, hearing Bass Lake school needed a teacher, for starters she accepted the job teaching in the one room schoolhouse.

Emily Nash Smith with one of her paintings.
Courtesy Tom VanPelt

She had to be at school an hour before the children to make a fire in the wood stove and get ready for the day. The school was too far for her to walk, much less her three year old daughter who although really too young for school, would be accompanying her to school. Emily rented a room about a half mile from school and stayed there with her little girl from Monday through Friday, returning to her husband and the farm on weekends.

Teaching and Baking

A couple of years later, because she had summers off as a teacher and time to do it, Emily began baking cakes and fruit breads and hand delivering them to customers at Northport Point.

When they asked if Emily could serve dinners at her beautiful Overlook Farm, Emily cleared away all the furniture in their farmhouse living room and set up five tables, seating 20 guests total, and on weekends served her famous chicken dinners, fruit from the farm, homemade ice cream, and sun made strawberry jam. Someone requested water lilies floating in finger bowls so she even went looking for some and found them in Bass Lake.

Hand Hooked Rugs

One of Emily’s lovely paintings.

Always enterprising and creative, she also supplemented the farm income with her hand hooked rugs which she hooked in the evenings on cold winter nights. At first these were just for herself or for nearby customers, but eventually she sold them to decorators across the country. She made her own patterns and cut the stencils.

The business grew, and thirty women were eventually employed to help with the hooking. She exhibited her rugs at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933.

Antique Dealer

Emily Nash Smith painting her grandchildren. Tom VanPelt (center) helped with the telling of this story of his grandmothers life.

Also, about the same time Emily started selling her antique glass collection in the living room to interested diners. This led to selling other antiques, until by 1939 she retired from teaching and only sold antiques.

In 1950 Emily was 53 years old, the farm was on firm footing, and she was ready to do something else during the cold winters of Omena. They began spending winters in Florida, first in a trailer home on Longboat Key, later in a home they built in Bradenton.

Studying Art

Emily was always passionate about art and was already an active artist but now she was able to study art in a serious and professional way by attending New College in Sarasota, Florida. Her early works were mostly still life’s and landscapes but she soon began to experiment in various media and colors. She eventually opened a gallery where she also taught art classes.

Emily’s signature in the corner of one of her paintings.

Her paintings are in many homes, churches and businesses in our area today. The highlight of her career however, was a one-person show when she was in her late 70’s at the Galerie Mouffe in Paris, France.

Emily died in 1983 at the age of 86 , leaving a legacy of art that today is featured in many private and public collections. She is a dearly loved part of our history.

“I can still remember her walking around the yard with her dress on and high heels, carrying a butcher knife — headed out to the vegetable garden to cut some vegetables,” her grandson, Tom VanPelt remembers. “She was a very strong-willed woman and yet prim and proper. As a little kid around her I had to behave myself.”

Courtesy Tom VanPelt, askART, and A History of Leelanau Township