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28 l MACON MAGAZINE FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 MOVING TO MACON After marrying his wife and fellow blues lover, Kirsten, in 1991, West felt the need for a change, and the couple decided to move to Macon to buy the Big House -- the former home of the Allman Brothers -- in 1993. The photographer first saw the original Allman Brothers Band at a club in Chicago in 1970 and soon after traveled with friends to the Atlanta Pop Festival in Byron in the summer of 1970 to see the band again. "It was my first venture South, and I made countless trips since," West said. In the late 1980s, West was on a short tour with the Allman Brothers Band photographing them for their record company, and within days he was surprised when he was asked to be an assistant tour manager. "They had hired a freelance tour manager who really didn't know how to contend with them," West said. By the next tour months later, the old manager was gone, and the photographer was an assistant tour manager. "I said, 'I don't know anything about tour managing,'" West said, "and they said, 'no, but you know how to talk with people.' " After turning the Big House into an informal museum and favorite hang out for former band members and groupies on pilgrimage, West and his wife were ready for their next move, this time to a beautiful arts-and-crafts cottage across town. "Nine months out of the year, when we pull into the neighborhood, I feel like I'm entering Rivendale," West said with a chuckle, referring to a verdant and dramatic setting in author J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series. Although this is the first house West has owned without a dark room since leaving Iowa, the veteran photographer is as engaged as ever in his field, but this time with an eye toward his legacy. "I always knew that photography would be an endgame," he said, pausing a slideshow of his photos cycling on his Mac. "It turns out that these photos are remarkable, classic-era stuff that no one has seen. I put them away for 25 years, and now I've come back to it." M Mick Jagger. Nov. 24, 1981. Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Ill. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Rolling Stones!" Mena is with the All About Animals Rescue group. For more information call Janet Battcher at 478-394-0282 or go the the CARES Homeless Pet Club Facebook page at www.facebook.com/careshomelesspetclub All About Animals Rescue is one of the members of CARES Homeless Pet Club. rough CARES Mena is sponsored by Ahn's Tae Kwon Do until she is adopted. Mena is a smiling, sweet girl who weighs about 25-30 pounds. Mena is a beautiful blend who is petite, submissive, and people and dog friendly. She has a very loving personality and would make a great addition to any family. Mena!