03 Dec 2023 Nostalgic treasures and holiday spirit abound at the home of Jim Gatling

By Mary Eggart

One step into Jim Gatling’s home in Morrilton will transport visitors and well-wishers to days gone by, and this could not be truer than at Christmas.

Gatling is a retired art teacher, artist, craftsman and avid collector of unique antiques and sentimental memorabilia. For example, he owns 60 sets of China, more than a thousand pieces of petit point and has a collection of 300 quilts, more than 100 of which were made by Gatling himself. His passion for the holidays, crafts and collectibles have resulted in a home filled with an abundance of Christmas color, sparkle and nostalgia. Don’t expect any of those decorations to correspond with whatever the latest and greatest trends are online, because Gatling is a self-proclaimed traditionalist and his collections speak to his style.

“I am very traditional and sentimental,” he said, laughing. “I don’t do plastic ornaments the size of basketballs. Glitter is not your friend, and turquoise is not a Christmas color.” Christmas is everywhere in his home, and Gatling has 15 tabletop trees of all sizes that are thematic and magnificently decorated. In fact, he collects many types of ornaments and goes antiquing once a week.

His love of collecting started as a boy, with his most treasured ornaments coming from his childhood, some even dating back to ones his grandmother owned. “I love Christmas, and I love decorating,” Gatling said. “I was lucky enough to get my mother and grandmother’s Christmas things. I enjoy miniatures and smalls, antique glass, unusual shapes and kinds, the hand-painted wooden ones from the ‘80s and ‘90s, wooden nutcrackers and felt and stitched ornaments.”

Gatling’s passion for Christmas and crafts can be traced back to his mother, Dot. Growing up in Forrest City on his family’s farm, he was influenced by her as an amazing artist and decorator. “Christmas was always special. Mama would decorate, and she loved using fresh greenery, berries and pine cones; the house always smelled of pine and cedar,” he said. “Everyone had a felt stocking Mama had sewed, beaded and sequined. She made the felt tree skirt, which I still use today.”

Each year, Gatling proudly hangs those stockings on his hearth for his son, Blake; daughter-in-law, Cindy; and grandchildren, Maggie and Will.

Anyone who knows Gatling also knows that his personality and spirit are just as colorful and unique as his collections. If you are lucky enough to be a friend of Gatling’s (and he has many), you will eventually find yourself invited to one of his famous Wednesday Night Suppers (WNS). His Christmas dinners are particularly special. One of his new best friends, Dr. Kevin Heifner, remarked, “Jim’s home is the most unique in America.” And this is true in countless ways, especially during the holidays. As a traditionalist, it is only fitting that the smells of good ole southern Christmas foods permeate the rooms of his home at a WNS during the holiday season. The meal is pleasing, but the true stars of the show are Gatling’s spectacular table arrangements. With intricacies like a sterling silver rest for your knife and your own personal tiny sterling salt shaker, sharing a meal with Gatling and his friends and family makes one feel elegant. His table settings, centerpieces and decorations are truly works of art. In fact, Gatling is a member of a Facebook group called Beautiful Table Settings (BTS) that has 2,500 members. It is of no surprise that he was recently chosen to speak at two different BTS conventions, one in Alabama and the other in Mississippi.

Gatling has many hobbies and interests. Aside from collecting antiques and quilting, he also enjoys woodburning and primitive miniature watercolor painting, where he collects small frames, cuts paper to fit the frames and uses tiny brushes and old watercolor sets to paint beautiful, intricate pieces of art.

It’s no secret that Gatling has many admirers in Morrilton and beyond, with many of them being former students. As a well-loved art teacher at South Conway County School District for 30 years, he taught art, quilting and stitchery to seventh- through -12th-grade students. He was also the costumer and set designer for the drama department. After retiring from South Conway County, he taught kindergarten through 12th-grade art at Sacred Heart Catholic School, a job that was supposed to be just teaching a couple of classes for a year but somehow turned into 11 years. Gatling jokingly said, “I never dreamed in my old age I would be teaching kindergarten, but they were a blast! Especially at Christmas.”

If there were a king of Christmas, Jim Gatling could proudly hold that title. He embodies the Christmas season with his passion and love for tradition, family and friends — all of which are gloriously crafted together with an abundance of spirit, sparkle and shine.