Kathy Norcross Watts

A Simple Life: a Story of Sid Oakley Kathy Norcross Watts

Sid Oakley often sat before a low-burning fire, sipping coffee, waiting expectantly for someone visiting his Cedar Creek Gallery to pause and chat. A master potter and respected painter, Oakley nurtured creativity in those in whom he saw a passion for their craft. It was for that reason that Kathy Norcross Watts asked him if she could write his biography. He agreed, but the first day they talked he told her of a little girl who was sent home from his childhood school because she was black. She had been born into a white family. She was sent away from the town, and he never saw her again. "Find Mildred," he told Watts. "A Simple Life" recounts the friendship that grew between Oakley and Watts as she documented his life and looked for Mildred. Just five months before he died, Oakley took Mildred back home and showed her the little bit of history that he could. "A Simple Life" shows that Oakley's life was not simple. It shows that every single person matters.