For the last five years, TRACKS has scheduled the meeting place for the first hike of the fall season at Walter’s and Addie’s house in Show Low. I was invited this fall to see what everyone described as “Walter and Addie’s amazing home” — and I wasn’t disappointed. There is art everywhere you look. There are sculptures and paintings that represent creative and meticulous workings of the minds and hands— inside and outside. After a tour of the Bethoons’ home and a potluck of food, we headed out to hike along Show Low Creek toward Show Low Lake. It was a beautiful fall hike.

Walter has been fabricating metal since grade school. His father owned a metal fabricating business in Burbank, California. He has sold his art to a lot of famous people. His family was pretty talented too. Walter told me that they would perform on roller skates. At a Safeway Grocery Store opening, his father stood, wearing skates, on top of a car while spinning Walter’s mother around in a circle. “My mother said she would look down and it looked like she was ten feet off the ground,” Walter remembered. They weren’t the only acrobats in the family. Walter would ride a unicycle with his sister on his shoulders while he juggled. 

Addie took me into her quilting room where there are tons of beautiful hats and many of Walter’s paintings and sculptures. She showed me the quilt she had just put together for Walter. It was made from printed photos on cloth squares that documented Walter’s life. “I had a hard time keeping this from Walter,” she told me. “I had to do a couple of different projects so he wouldn’t find out.” Addie has been a seamstress all of her life. Now she has a quilting class at the Pine Glen Club House every second Tuesday and Wednesday of each month.

Walter and Addie own an Art Gallery on the Deuce in Show Low, Arizona. It showcases a lot of Walter’s artwork. Many of Walter’s pieces, if not all of them, are made from recycled items. There are so many aspects to his art that, if you don’t take your time, you will certainly miss something. I stopped by for a tour the other day and it is pretty amazing. As I stood taking pictures, their manager told me not to forget to look outside. Of course --my favorite piece was hanging just outside the back door. It was a “key” mobile. So, if you stop by the Gallery, just remember -- take your time. You will definitely be amazed.