ABOUT

     Trenton Creative Enterprises is owned by Timothy Craig Ellis and represents the fulfillment of a dream that began when he was a boy growing up in the Trenton Mill Village, seven blocks from the heart of Gastonia, North Carolina in the 1950's and 1960's. By the sixties, the population of the village was composed mostly of older adults, and Tim was an only child. He, therefore, spent much time in an imaginary world filled with adventure, daring deeds, heroic figures, and epic events fueled largely by the World War II tales he heard recounted regularly by his father and his uncles. These elements of his world manifested themselves as he played in his home block that became (and remains to this day) the center of his universe. In quiet moments, he drew comic strips, wrote stories, and voraciously read the books he checked out from the old library on Second Avenue. 
     He attended Abernethy Elementary School, Wray Junior High School, and Frank L. Ashley High School, proud institutions that have all disappeared along with the old Gastonia City School System.   
     He graduated from Gaston College and then, while at Belmont Abbey College, he established The American Egg. That first business venture operated out of a red, white, and blue 1967 Chevrolet van and from a store in the alley behind a relative's florist on Second Avenue across from the, by then, ruined Abernethy School. Operating from 1971 until 1972, The American Egg sold an array of items that are now iconic in their evocation of a turbulent and memorable period in American history.
     Time marched on, and he moved into the adult world of a steady job, marriage, fatherhood, bills, taxes, and all the other mileposts by which life's journey is measured. But The American Egg and all the pleasant and gratifying memories associated with it were never forgotten.
     After retiring from 29 years as a Scoutmaster, his wife encouraged him to write again. After several short stories, a novel (that is still creeping toward completion), and a stack of rejection slips, the idea was reborn that brought to fruition the dream of publishing a "newspaper" and operating a small business that had been developing for over a half-century.
     Ellis began to write, print, bind, publish and market his own work. This proved extremely gratifying and released a flood tide of ideas for present and future development and expansion of the project. This website grew out of the original publishing efforts.     
     To date, Trenton Creative Enterprises has published four books, numerous photographs, and plans are underway for expansion of the product line to include Gastonia-themed gift items. The company operates as a wholesaler and distributes through a loyal group of retail partners, which is ennumerated and described on another page.
     In this embodiment of a dream, may you discover something enjoyable, informative, and possibly inspirational for your life's journey.