![]() Cleaning up after a recent construction project, the odor of saw-dust and wood shavings brought back childhood memories of my Grandfather. A quiet man, he allowed me to hang out as a child while he built our frame home after the war. From an early age I was fascinated to see how a plan and numbers sketched upon a wood plank resulted in the precise removal of wood by a hand saw or plane, then two pieces of wood were purposefully joined. Grandpa must have seen my fascination. He gave me my first handsaw when I was 8 years old without any explanation or expectation. He was a quiet man. I built my first boat when I was 12. It floated, but required as much time bailing water as time paddling. (That ratio changed with gobs of roof cement applied to the hull.) There comes a quiet satisfaction for a kid to sit in a boat of his own creation, moved by a meandering stream under a midwestern sky. Many wood-working projects followed in years to come. 50 years later I visited an art museum. Not really my first visit, but for some reason this was the first time I really admired art. I saw and studied and found myself intrigued by the planning and careful crafting required by a solitary artist to build an appealing picture or a sculpture. Was that an echo I heard?
5 Comments
Nancy
1/20/2018 10:58:28 pm
Love this little article. So happy you got to experience this with Grandpa. He was a quiet Christian man. So many happy memories of he and grandma and the time I got to spend with them in the summer. I was able to spend a week with them.
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Bill Needs
1/21/2018 07:20:58 am
Thanks for the comments Cuz. Would you please forward this website to your brothers? They may have similar memories and, if so, I'd like to hear them.
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Lynn Rechsteiner
1/23/2018 07:28:20 pm
Love this Bill- so touching. Reminds me of a story from Hans. A family member often gave him tools and other building objects as gifts. He attributes that to his ability to become an engineer. We have such an impact on those around us, thankful you had one on me. Hugs.
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Bill Needs
1/23/2018 08:11:13 pm
Thanks for your comment Lynn. No surprise to me that Hans received the same kind of gifts, which ultimately formed his life-plan and his values. 'Guess that's only one of the reasons why we connect to deeply when we get together..
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