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Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas 2010
7:23 PM | Posted by
David |
For the past few years that I have lived on the river I make it a point on Christmas Eve to take a walk. Perhaps it's a walk of "reflection". Perhaps it's because it's such a special night. Tonight the ground is covered with snow and flurries have started. It truly will be a white Christmas for 2010. Not far into my walk in the woods I began to summons memories of Christmas past and wonder why they are so strong in my mind.
I watched a segment on the news this week about Christmas for the troops in the Middle East. They showed the turkey being shipped in and and the meals they had planned. There were decorations hung and activities planned. I thought to myself when I watched it that although these efforts are appreciated. They in no way make up for being away from home and family at Christmas. I still so vividly remember my Christmas in Viet Nam. We didn't have the turkey or the trimmings. We worked our shifts, flew our missions and tried not to be so homesick and missing it so. It was not possible. That was 41 years ago. Yet tonight , I can remember it like it was yesterday and the sadness I felt .
Deeper in the woods I got to thinking about a visit to an antique store I made a few weeks ago. I came across a box of Christmas decorations. They were the old foil wreaths and garland like my parents had. Each had a candle with a plastic halo over the bulb. Crumbled foil garland that was a different color on one side was in the bottom of the box along with a plastic nativity scene. It was as though that box was put there just for me. Like a ghost of Christmas past I was standing in the road and seeing those hang in the windows of my parent's house in Beaver. When I came to the end of the woods along the river bank I stopped and looked at the frozen river and the lights from the other side. I got to thinking about the traffic today and the attitudes of those I watched in the stores. I wondered on my way home how many really know or care why we celebrate this glorious day. I wondered how many parents tonight will sit down with their children like my father did and read the Christmas story from the Bible. My father did that up until the time I left home. More special each and every year no matter how old I was, or how many times I heard it. I have decided to re-post a post from two years ago tonight. It's time to stand guard at the window and watch for the streak of Reindeer as they make their way around Parkersburg. I am a man of faith and hope. I do believe that some day we'll see the headlines in the paper say. "Christmas wish granted, there is peace on earth and all men have goodwill".
I want to take the opportunity tonight to thank the very talented Dianne Campbell from My Southern Heart and My Southern Heart...The Stories for the three reborn dolls she made for my granddaughters. Thank you is simply not enough.
Two Journeys
This is suppose to be the most traveled weekend of the year. People will be traveling to the four corners of the States and other countries, to be with their loved ones this time of the year. I can remember tonight the first Christmas I was back in the states after my tour in South East Asia.
I was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming . I had saved up my leave and was going to take the last two weeks of December off and drive across country to be home for Christmas. My wife was looking forward to the trip and was so very excited to see her family again. I had just bought my first new car. It was a 1970 Dodge Challenger. The trip should be easy and enjoyable. I had offered to give a friend of mine from the photo squadron I was in a ride as far as Columbus, Ohio. He was heading to Baltimore. Any little bit helped as far as air fare was concerned. Plus, it would be nice to have the company. We headed out in a snow storm. Not what I had planned. But once I was in Nebraska, the stars were out, the land flat and the speed limit was up to me. You could plot your direction and progress by what radio stations you could pick up clear, or how near empty the thermos was. I think I wore out an Anne Murray Christmas tape on the way home. Before we knew it, the night had passed and we were well into the Midwest and closing fast on Ohio. My friend's flight was at 8 that evening and we'd make it in plenty of time. My wife was in the back and managed to sleep most of the trip.
Soon I could make out the outline of the West Virginia hills across the river and was so close to home. How wonderful that trip was. I had a purpose, I had comfort, I had conversation and friends. I could stop and rest or eat when ever I needed to. I could even close my eyes and nap while my wife drove. I managed to drive clear across the country from the Rocky Mountains to the Ohio Valley in just under 24 hours. I had a reason. After all, it was Christmas.
Yet long ago, there was another journey home. One far more important than mine. It's over 90 miles from Galilee to Bethlehem. It's a rough, difficult journey on any given day. Add to that, the lay of the land, the hardships along the way and the fact a young woman is about to give birth to her first child. Others traveled as well for the census and taxation. There was no room for rest or sleep. Much less to give birth. There was no way to sleep while someone else guided the donkey. There was little to no way to find comfort in her condition, and the worry and concern had to be so much a part of her journey. Yet she too had a reason. It was about to be the first Christmas. Those to come this special night were never forgotten. Especially the birth of our Savior. We complain about sitting in traffic and waiting in line at a crowed store. We travel, and we get antsy and irritable. How soon we forget the beginning of Christmas.
It's not that times have changed. It's that reasons have changed. I, for one, am glad another made that long hard trip to Bethlehem. After all, it was the beginning of such a wonderful celebration. It has always been my favorite I guess. As a youngster, I'd hike to the high ridge behind Raleigh #7 mine where the holly and mistletoe grew wild. I'd cut hemlock pine with it's thick boughs and cones for garland. When I got older, I started a tradition with a friend of mine. We'd drive to the ridge and both take old duffel bags and fill them full of Laurel and holly. We'd find ropes of ground pine and coil it up to bring back. We'd then go to her home and decorate . Year after year, till we both graduated from High School, we'd make our journey to the ridge...walk the old stone fence along the Richmond farm and fill our sacks full. Her home was so beautiful at Christmas. It often looked as though a artist has drawn it all. After almost 40 years of separation, we made contact a few years back. We kept in touch and caught up on news and trips back in time. She passed away shortly after we made contact. Yet as memories of Christmas past hold so strong with me, so do the memories of her.
I was once told I was a dreamer, that I tend to live in a Currier and Ives state of mind...perhaps with a little Norman Rockwell added in for good measure. Perhaps they were right. For I do tend to see Christmas through those lenses. I guess that's why I love Marietta so much this time of the year. The small College town has that air of dreams of the past and desires of the future. I wonder tonight as the fire cracks in my fireplace and I see the snow blow by the French doors, what Mary thought on that journey. What plans perhaps she had or what concerns Joesph had for his wife and son. I watch my grandchildren and their excitement this time of the year. I see others complain and become bitter over the holiday. I then wonder, if with each generation, do they grow one step farther from that Journey long, long ago? I hope not. I can not stop time or generations. Yet, I can remember the snow covered stone fences on the ridge. Our breath as fog and frost preceded us...the red holly berries accented in the snow and the Orange Firethorn. I can still smell the coal fires through out Beaver. I can remember part of my job at Henry's was boxing up treat boxes of oranges and apples and candies of all sorts. He was a kind and generous man. Just before Christmas of each year, I'd make my rounds delivering groceries along with the gift boxes. He knew which families had young ones and their needs. These things, along with a journey long ago, is what I think of at Christmas. I wish I could set this tradition once again with my own. Sad to say that power is not mine. It has to come from the heart, not a suggestion, or a dream set by artists long ago. There is, in fact, a true Christmas spirit, it's in one's heart, not the conception of an artist or a vision in one's mind......Merry Christmas, each and every reader.
For today, in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11
I watched a segment on the news this week about Christmas for the troops in the Middle East. They showed the turkey being shipped in and and the meals they had planned. There were decorations hung and activities planned. I thought to myself when I watched it that although these efforts are appreciated. They in no way make up for being away from home and family at Christmas. I still so vividly remember my Christmas in Viet Nam. We didn't have the turkey or the trimmings. We worked our shifts, flew our missions and tried not to be so homesick and missing it so. It was not possible. That was 41 years ago. Yet tonight , I can remember it like it was yesterday and the sadness I felt .
A short distance from my house I jumped a herd of deer. There were so many of them I couldn't count them. I leaned up against a tree and watched them for the longest time. It actually was like a West Virginia Christmas card. I thought as I walked about the phone call I would get every Christmas Eve from my uncle Luke. He'd disguise his voice and tell me it was Santa. As he related things that only Santa would know, I became more and more convinced the call was from the North Pole. My uncle Luke worked at the Coca-cola ice plant and always for Christmas a case of soft drinks were put on the front porch.
Deeper in the woods I got to thinking about a visit to an antique store I made a few weeks ago. I came across a box of Christmas decorations. They were the old foil wreaths and garland like my parents had. Each had a candle with a plastic halo over the bulb. Crumbled foil garland that was a different color on one side was in the bottom of the box along with a plastic nativity scene. It was as though that box was put there just for me. Like a ghost of Christmas past I was standing in the road and seeing those hang in the windows of my parent's house in Beaver. When I came to the end of the woods along the river bank I stopped and looked at the frozen river and the lights from the other side. I got to thinking about the traffic today and the attitudes of those I watched in the stores. I wondered on my way home how many really know or care why we celebrate this glorious day. I wondered how many parents tonight will sit down with their children like my father did and read the Christmas story from the Bible. My father did that up until the time I left home. More special each and every year no matter how old I was, or how many times I heard it. I have decided to re-post a post from two years ago tonight. It's time to stand guard at the window and watch for the streak of Reindeer as they make their way around Parkersburg. I am a man of faith and hope. I do believe that some day we'll see the headlines in the paper say. "Christmas wish granted, there is peace on earth and all men have goodwill".
I want to take the opportunity tonight to thank the very talented Dianne Campbell from My Southern Heart and My Southern Heart...The Stories for the three reborn dolls she made for my granddaughters. Thank you is simply not enough.
Two Journeys
This is suppose to be the most traveled weekend of the year. People will be traveling to the four corners of the States and other countries, to be with their loved ones this time of the year. I can remember tonight the first Christmas I was back in the states after my tour in South East Asia.
I was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming . I had saved up my leave and was going to take the last two weeks of December off and drive across country to be home for Christmas. My wife was looking forward to the trip and was so very excited to see her family again. I had just bought my first new car. It was a 1970 Dodge Challenger. The trip should be easy and enjoyable. I had offered to give a friend of mine from the photo squadron I was in a ride as far as Columbus, Ohio. He was heading to Baltimore. Any little bit helped as far as air fare was concerned. Plus, it would be nice to have the company. We headed out in a snow storm. Not what I had planned. But once I was in Nebraska, the stars were out, the land flat and the speed limit was up to me. You could plot your direction and progress by what radio stations you could pick up clear, or how near empty the thermos was. I think I wore out an Anne Murray Christmas tape on the way home. Before we knew it, the night had passed and we were well into the Midwest and closing fast on Ohio. My friend's flight was at 8 that evening and we'd make it in plenty of time. My wife was in the back and managed to sleep most of the trip.
Soon I could make out the outline of the West Virginia hills across the river and was so close to home. How wonderful that trip was. I had a purpose, I had comfort, I had conversation and friends. I could stop and rest or eat when ever I needed to. I could even close my eyes and nap while my wife drove. I managed to drive clear across the country from the Rocky Mountains to the Ohio Valley in just under 24 hours. I had a reason. After all, it was Christmas.
Yet long ago, there was another journey home. One far more important than mine. It's over 90 miles from Galilee to Bethlehem. It's a rough, difficult journey on any given day. Add to that, the lay of the land, the hardships along the way and the fact a young woman is about to give birth to her first child. Others traveled as well for the census and taxation. There was no room for rest or sleep. Much less to give birth. There was no way to sleep while someone else guided the donkey. There was little to no way to find comfort in her condition, and the worry and concern had to be so much a part of her journey. Yet she too had a reason. It was about to be the first Christmas. Those to come this special night were never forgotten. Especially the birth of our Savior. We complain about sitting in traffic and waiting in line at a crowed store. We travel, and we get antsy and irritable. How soon we forget the beginning of Christmas.
It's not that times have changed. It's that reasons have changed. I, for one, am glad another made that long hard trip to Bethlehem. After all, it was the beginning of such a wonderful celebration. It has always been my favorite I guess. As a youngster, I'd hike to the high ridge behind Raleigh #7 mine where the holly and mistletoe grew wild. I'd cut hemlock pine with it's thick boughs and cones for garland. When I got older, I started a tradition with a friend of mine. We'd drive to the ridge and both take old duffel bags and fill them full of Laurel and holly. We'd find ropes of ground pine and coil it up to bring back. We'd then go to her home and decorate . Year after year, till we both graduated from High School, we'd make our journey to the ridge...walk the old stone fence along the Richmond farm and fill our sacks full. Her home was so beautiful at Christmas. It often looked as though a artist has drawn it all. After almost 40 years of separation, we made contact a few years back. We kept in touch and caught up on news and trips back in time. She passed away shortly after we made contact. Yet as memories of Christmas past hold so strong with me, so do the memories of her.
I was once told I was a dreamer, that I tend to live in a Currier and Ives state of mind...perhaps with a little Norman Rockwell added in for good measure. Perhaps they were right. For I do tend to see Christmas through those lenses. I guess that's why I love Marietta so much this time of the year. The small College town has that air of dreams of the past and desires of the future. I wonder tonight as the fire cracks in my fireplace and I see the snow blow by the French doors, what Mary thought on that journey. What plans perhaps she had or what concerns Joesph had for his wife and son. I watch my grandchildren and their excitement this time of the year. I see others complain and become bitter over the holiday. I then wonder, if with each generation, do they grow one step farther from that Journey long, long ago? I hope not. I can not stop time or generations. Yet, I can remember the snow covered stone fences on the ridge. Our breath as fog and frost preceded us...the red holly berries accented in the snow and the Orange Firethorn. I can still smell the coal fires through out Beaver. I can remember part of my job at Henry's was boxing up treat boxes of oranges and apples and candies of all sorts. He was a kind and generous man. Just before Christmas of each year, I'd make my rounds delivering groceries along with the gift boxes. He knew which families had young ones and their needs. These things, along with a journey long ago, is what I think of at Christmas. I wish I could set this tradition once again with my own. Sad to say that power is not mine. It has to come from the heart, not a suggestion, or a dream set by artists long ago. There is, in fact, a true Christmas spirit, it's in one's heart, not the conception of an artist or a vision in one's mind......Merry Christmas, each and every reader.
For today, in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11
The Magic of Wood
4:17 PM | Posted by
David |
As long as I can remember I have always had a fascination with wood and woodworking. I'm sure a lot of that came from growing up across the road from my grandfather who was a well known cabinet craftsman in Southern West Virginia. The sign posted above the door to his shop read, "C. H. Akers Cabinet Shop and Saw Sharpening. Cabinets and Church Furniture". Some of the most beautiful communion tables came out of that shop.
My grandfather was known for making his own woodworking tools. Most of his shapers and profile blades he made himself out of large saw mill blades that had been sharpened just one too many times. The loggers used to pull up in front of the shop, always greeted with a handshake from this older gentleman with the snow white hair. He had fabricated a track and pulley system to load the blades from the trucks and then move them inside to a big table. He would then rig them up on a hoist and swing it to his sharpening bench. He'd take a piece of chalk and mark the first set of teeth and then begin the mastered art of sharpening the rest. He'd file the edge, then position a tool behind the teeth he had built and tap it with a special hammer, then, skip a tooth and move on to the next. When the chalk mark came back around to the top he'd reverse the saw and do all again on the skipped teeth. He'd then spray it with oil and put in a rack with the owners name on it. I have spent hours sitting on the stool beside the door watching him. My grandfather and my dad were once carpenters for the large Ritter Lumber Company at Blue Jay. So much of the hardwoods were cut for building houses and the rest for mine timbers. I have an old photograph that once hung in my grandfather's living room. It showed the lumber company stretched from one end of town to the other, with the railroad running right through it.
I was recently given a treasured opportunity to tour a lumber yard that is run by a gentleman in Pennsboro, West Virginia. I know I must have been like a kid in a candy store. Mainly because I was. They were cutting West Virginia Red Oak for flooring the day he took me through the operation. I was amazed at the whole operation and the small amount of waste from his mill. The large logs were put on a de-barker and then kicked to a conveyor that took them to the first cuts. A man sat in a small control room and watched the whole operation on a computer and sized each cut just right. The lumber then went to the band saw and was sawed again to size and then to the sorting and stacking. The bark and unusable slabs were sent to a chipper that ground it up and sent it to be used as mulch. I was fascinated after seeing what my grandfather would do at the "auto" sharpening system for the chipper blades. Across the road was the mulching center. Here the waste was cut and ground into mulch for landscaping and other uses. The owner of the saw mill was also following a family tradition. He is proud of what he does and it shows in his operation.
After doing some research I decided to build a rocking chair using the same techniques as my grandfather. I had watched him as youngster and felt that now I have the time, I wanted to try it myself. I used true West Virginia Black Walnut , along with Red Oak and Ash for the runners and pins. There was to be no nails, all joints were to be cut and pegged. From the very beginning it was a challenge to bend the Walnut for the seat back, along with the curved arm rest. But I stayed at it, keeping to the promise I made myself not to lose the integrity of age old craftsman's methods.
Wood , especially Walnut, is very expensive and if it wasn't for a family in Caldwell, Ohio, along with the owner of the mill I toured, I couldn't do the projects I have recently done. Because of them, I had the privilege of building a large entertainment center out of Wormy Chestnut taken from a barn in Boone, North Carolina, many years ago. It can try one's patience, but the results in the end are more than worth it. To Jim Edmistin and his family I thank you, so very much.
My grandfather was known for making his own woodworking tools. Most of his shapers and profile blades he made himself out of large saw mill blades that had been sharpened just one too many times. The loggers used to pull up in front of the shop, always greeted with a handshake from this older gentleman with the snow white hair. He had fabricated a track and pulley system to load the blades from the trucks and then move them inside to a big table. He would then rig them up on a hoist and swing it to his sharpening bench. He'd take a piece of chalk and mark the first set of teeth and then begin the mastered art of sharpening the rest. He'd file the edge, then position a tool behind the teeth he had built and tap it with a special hammer, then, skip a tooth and move on to the next. When the chalk mark came back around to the top he'd reverse the saw and do all again on the skipped teeth. He'd then spray it with oil and put in a rack with the owners name on it. I have spent hours sitting on the stool beside the door watching him. My grandfather and my dad were once carpenters for the large Ritter Lumber Company at Blue Jay. So much of the hardwoods were cut for building houses and the rest for mine timbers. I have an old photograph that once hung in my grandfather's living room. It showed the lumber company stretched from one end of town to the other, with the railroad running right through it.
I was recently given a treasured opportunity to tour a lumber yard that is run by a gentleman in Pennsboro, West Virginia. I know I must have been like a kid in a candy store. Mainly because I was. They were cutting West Virginia Red Oak for flooring the day he took me through the operation. I was amazed at the whole operation and the small amount of waste from his mill. The large logs were put on a de-barker and then kicked to a conveyor that took them to the first cuts. A man sat in a small control room and watched the whole operation on a computer and sized each cut just right. The lumber then went to the band saw and was sawed again to size and then to the sorting and stacking. The bark and unusable slabs were sent to a chipper that ground it up and sent it to be used as mulch. I was fascinated after seeing what my grandfather would do at the "auto" sharpening system for the chipper blades. Across the road was the mulching center. Here the waste was cut and ground into mulch for landscaping and other uses. The owner of the saw mill was also following a family tradition. He is proud of what he does and it shows in his operation.
After doing some research I decided to build a rocking chair using the same techniques as my grandfather. I had watched him as youngster and felt that now I have the time, I wanted to try it myself. I used true West Virginia Black Walnut , along with Red Oak and Ash for the runners and pins. There was to be no nails, all joints were to be cut and pegged. From the very beginning it was a challenge to bend the Walnut for the seat back, along with the curved arm rest. But I stayed at it, keeping to the promise I made myself not to lose the integrity of age old craftsman's methods.
Wood , especially Walnut, is very expensive and if it wasn't for a family in Caldwell, Ohio, along with the owner of the mill I toured, I couldn't do the projects I have recently done. Because of them, I had the privilege of building a large entertainment center out of Wormy Chestnut taken from a barn in Boone, North Carolina, many years ago. It can try one's patience, but the results in the end are more than worth it. To Jim Edmistin and his family I thank you, so very much.
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