Vollis Simpson always needed to know how things worked and could fix just about anything. Even before he could read, Vollis could be found tinkering on his family’s North Carolina farm. And when he served in the army air corps during WWII, Vollis kept right on tinkering—building a washing machine out of airplane parts and a motorcycle out of a bike.

Building things from metal scraps never really left him after he returned home from the war and even after working at his machine-repair shop. His passion for metal creations actually picked up speed—turning into a whirlwind of windmills as far as the eye could see. Luckily Vollis’s fanciful and colorful windmills have been preserved at a park where visitors can behold his magnificent and towering creations forever whizzing in the air.

“Whirligigs captures the joy and magic of these amazing kinetic creations on paper—where kids of all ages can marvel at the imaginative genius and artistic vision of Vollis Simpson. Hopefully it will inspire your own creativity and you will visit our park and museum to see them move and twirl for yourself!”—The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park & Museum Board of Directors and Staff