Cheever Meaders

Cheever Meaders said his birth date was January 21, 1887, but a family Bible list it as being one day later. Either way, he was the youngest son of John Milton Meaders, learned the trade from his older brothers and continued making pottery long after they had all quit the business. Many fine examples of Cheever’s work are in the hands of collectors throughout the world. Cheever married Arie Waldrup and together they had eight children – John, Lanier, Reggie, Edwin, Margie, Annie, Altha and Ruby. Cheever was an accomplished potter by the age of 15.    Because he was the youngest son, Cheever never felt compelled to leave the home place, and so he took charge of the original Meaders shop in 1920, and made pottery at that location for the rest of his life. Cheever’s determination to continue making pottery carried him through the depression, although he was forced to lower prices and output. This decision may have helped his family weather those years better than they would have otherwise. That’s because, as his son Lanier remembered, “Churns were in great demand, and even if a man didn’t have a job, he’d have a garden, and they had to preserve what they grew and they’d find a quarter to buy piece of pottery that they needed.”    While his talent as a pottery is well established, fewer people know that he was also an accomplished musician. As one of his brothers said, “Cheever could play a mandolin till it would just talk!” Cheever died on November 23, 1967 and is buried at Mossy Creek.