John Flournoy: A Simpler Time

Delaware Barns II, 28" by 14", #3-cut wool on linen. Designed and hooked by John Flournoy, Lewes, Delaware, 2012.

On a chilly afternoon in March, I sat with John Flournoy in his car, looking at the remnants of days gone by. He had shown me several favorite sites in beautiful Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. We looked at the former oceanside location of Saint Agnes by the Sea, the stately mission church built in 1905 and torn down in 1962. We drove by the once dignified Carleton Hotel, now home to a souvenir shop. And we paused for a moment in front of a blue house with yellow trim and a pretty awning. The Blue Moon, a casual and lovely beach restaurant, has served the community for many years, but today, there’s talk of tearing down every old building on the block. “All they want to do is build,” John said. “And they keep tearing old places down to make room.” 

Fortunately, John has captured St. Agnes in all of her quiet glory. He has hooked the Carleton Hotel, too, as it looked before it was festooned with banners offering discount t-shirts. And he has preemptively hooked a rug depicting the Blue Moon, just in case progress removes yet another Rehoboth Beach landmark.

“I probably would have been quite content to have been born at the turn of the last century,” John said.


This article is from the November/December 2014 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.