Maybelle Winborne "Pete" Rickard
1912-2002
A WILSON LEGEND
A Talented Wilson Artist Whose Work Is Treasured
On a beautiful fall day in 1981 there was some commotion across the street from my office on Nash Street in Wilson, N.C. Several people had gathered near where a woman had fallen. A large black Standard Poodle dog was standing between them and the fallen woman. EMS arrived and started toward the woman but the dog was holding his guard. A neighbor who knew the woman and the dog came out and took the dog’s leash and Jake walked with her to the curb and watched the EMS team administer help. She had just tripped and fell but had no serious injuries. The woman was Maybelle “Pete” Rickard and the large dog was a Standard Poodle named Jake. I made it a point to meet her and Jake. We became friends. It is difficult to describe Pete Rickard. She was elderly but full of mental and physical energy and she possessed a classy kind of charisma. It just came naturally to her. She loved life and was interested in just everybody and everything. She seemed to move through life gracefully.
When I told her my father was also an artist she wanted to meet him. We discovered that we enjoyed the same card game of Setback. We arranged card games with my sister Nancy and her husband, my father, my Uncle Marvin Greene, Hazel Langley, Mildred Thomas Gardner, Doodle Page, Agnes Thomas Taylor and Pauline Thomas Proctor and Ms. Rickard. For about eighteen years we played cards at least twice a month. We always had dinner before the games. My father and Hazel Langley graduated from Gardners High School together in 1928. There was a lot of connections and shared interests. (Poodles, Art, Setback, good food, laughter and friendship).
Ms. Pete Rickard had moved out of state for a number of years and after her husband passed away and her children were all grown, she moved back to Wilson. She bought a house on Green Street, remodeled it and built an Art Studio in her back yard. Her back yard was alive with unique “yard art.” Some of it was living plants and some was statues and other items that she had chosen for either its charm or because some friend had made it. Her back yard was a small Wonderland. When the doors opened to her Art Studio it seemed to come to life with dancing children, flowers, ballerinas, cathedrals, horses, boats and so many colors and textures.
Most of her pieces of work were oil paintings. She only painted two pieces in watercolors and I have one of those hanging in my home and I treasure it. In many of her pieces she used fabric such as lace, silk, gauze, and all kinds of textured materials. She painted over some of the fabrics and the end result of her work was breathtaking. Most of the pieces she told me about had a special meaning. Most of her work was about life, colorful and happy but I was at her Studio one day and saw a dark unhappy looking painting on a stand. I asked about it and she looked thoughtful and told me it was a painting of a scary memory she had from her childhood when she was just five years old. Her memory, one she said she could not forget, was of a burning cross in Wilson not far from where her house and Art Studio were located. She said the memory reminded her how important it was for her to embrace and love all people.
Some of her paintings had something special in the painting itself - especially if it was a piece intended for someone in particular. When Sharon Durham was getting married, Ms. Rickard asked her what was her favorite flower. Sharon told her that it would be an Iris. As a wedding gift Ms. Rickard painted a large wall hanging of a bed of Irises for Sharon. Sharon hung the painting in a special place and spent a fair amount of time either showing it or admiring it. One day she was looking at the painting and thought she saw something that appeared to have been inserted in the painting and was one of those things that you didn’t notice unless you really studied the piece. Sharon called Mrs. Rickard and asked her, “Is there a black Poodle in my Iris painting”? Pete Rickard laughed and said to her, “I was wondering how long it would take you to find it. Yes, that is Jake in my Iris bed. Notice the plants are bending in different directions. That’s because Jake decided to have a romp in my Iris bed and when I caught him, he was hiding. Jake is in the painting especially for you.”
It was getting to know Jake that convinced me that I had to have a Standard Poodle. My first Standard Poodle was a Christmas gift from Ralph and Sharon in 1984. She was the most beautiful little fuzzy puppy and I named her “Montress’s Ebony Venus”. She was not as big in stature as Jake but she was an amazing companion and friend, swimmer, Frisbee player, tennis ball retriever for seventeen years. There are tons of Venus stories. Sharon and Ms. Rickard wanted Jake and Venus to start a family. Jake’s Pedigree was so impressive and Venus’s came close to his. Jake’s ancestors were all Show Dogs. Venus’s ancestors were both Show Dogs and Working Dogs. Jake was Royalty.
Venus and Jake met at Ms. Rickard’s and the result of that date was nine of the most beautiful puppies ever. We made the decision to NOT sell these puppies and to not register them as it may be too tempting for someone to start raising puppies for sale. I did interview people to match them up with good homes. There was no adoption fee. Conditions were that the puppies had to be neutered or spade, be inside family dogs and if for any reason the new owner cannot keep the dog, they are to be returned to me. Our immediate family has had eight Standard Poodles inspired by Pete Rickard’s Jake. Sharon has two Standard Poodles (Dylan and Ava) today and it all started with Ms. Rickard and Jake.
Maybelle Winborne Rickard passed away over twenty years ago in 2002. Her art hangs on the walls of those fortunate enough to have it. Pete Rickard was not only one of the great artists of our time, she was active in community activities and causes in Wilson. She was a good friend to many. We don’t hear her name much these days but her art still lives on and she still lives in the hearts of those who knew her. She is truly a Wilson Legend.
Montress Greene
Now I understand why Mark and Sharon have poodles.