July, 2008

Landslide Election Victory Results

 Congratulations to all of newly elected officers .

President …  ……………………. Ron Muskina

Vice President……………….. Bruce Johnston

Secretary…  ……………………   Jim Douglas

Treasurer…    …………………………Frank Kik

 Directors…………      ………………….Irv Olsen

                                                       Chuck Swickard

                                                                 Dave Kings

Many thanks to all of these men for stepping forward to take on these jobs for a year of hard work with little rewards other than knowing they are helping to keep this great club of ours alive and well.

A Little History Lesson

 Our club was founded many, many, years ago by about 20 or so men who wanted to get together,  socialize and carve. I was told that these founding members not only created our club but, took it upon themselves to put on carving shows much the same as we are doing today. The only difference was they didn’t have any officers. After ten years or so they elected a set of officers. Dan Vaughn was the first President for several years followed by Arnie Bass and oh so many great guys. Many other men have taken up these positions since and we owe them all a vote of thanks for making this club strong and what it is today. Our newly elected president has some really good ideas to help keep our club strong and growing. One of the things he wants to implement is to create committees so that the work load will not fall on only a few of the officers. None of the work is going to be difficult or time consuming. We already have many, many, people who help out and never ask anything in return. The more we all try to get involved, the better this club will become. We are already one of the largest in the region and continually growing. If we all chip in and help there is nothing we can’t accomplish. O.K. O.K. I’ll get off my soapbox and get on with the news.

 Unrecognized New Members

 It was brought to my attention that we have other new members that were never recognized. Some joined us in the later part of 07 and the rest joined us this year. They are Millard( Mill) Clark, Michael David, Bob Davidson, Charles Randon, Jim Rettker, and Ralph Tharp. I’m truly sorry for taking so long to welcome all of you men in to our club. We are all glad to have you with us.

Rocket Pins a Huge Success

On Tues. May 20, Jim Smith was good enough to do another one of his character carving classes. This time it was a small rocket pin dressed in red, white, and blue with a really cute character face on it. We have many good character carvers in our club but, Jim is in a class of his own. We are all looking forward to his next class. All of the carvers that teach once a month on Tuesdays not only donate their time teaching but, make all the cut outs, drawings, and models for the classes. We owe them all a vote of thanks.

Wow! What a Raffle

 We had a raffle at our regular Tues. meeting at The Blue Spruce Building In Woodland Park on May 27. Most people brought items they donated for the raffle. We had several tools including carving chisels, knives, power tools, rough outs, cut outs, all kinds of wood including a few pieces of  Saragossa  Cactus. I got a few pieces of this stuff and hope to make knife handles with it similar to what Jim Smith has made in the past. We had so much donated it filled up three tables and we had to pile a lot of the wood along one of the walls. If you didn’t make this meeting you missed out on a good thing. Everyone came away with several items and fun was had by all, thanks to Sid Spoor who handled it all. He had everyone laughing all morning. The raffle took in $170 for the club.

 Web Site Address

 Every month a copy of The Burl newsletter is sent to Bruce Johnston to be put on our web site. This way if you happen to misplace your copy or want to review it on line all you have to do is go to the web site. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out I’m sure you will enjoy.

 Dunelandwoodcarvers,com

Sophie we miss you

 Sophie Wojihoski has been missing from our Tues. meetings. It sometimes takes awhile for things to sink into my head. Today we were all asked to sign a get well card for Sophie and when I enquired what had happened to her I found out that she had to undergo surgery on her shoulder, which has been bothering her for quite some time. I was told that her surgery is over and she is staying with her daughter. Sophie we all wish you a speedy recovery and get back to us soon as you are truly missed.

Smile Awhile

 Ever stop to think, and forget to start again.

 Ham and eggs: A day’s work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

 Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

 Wrinkled …..was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.

 We lost a very good friend

 Robert (Bob) Baker was not only a great carver but, he was a great friend to all who knew him. He passed away peacefully on Friday, June 6, 2008. He was 81 years young. Bob was a member of our club for many, many, years. He had contributed so much for us and will be dearly missed and remembered.

 Getting to Know You

 This month I interviewed Kathy Hays and I’m going to tell you all, what secrets I can about her. Kathy is married to a very nice guy named Jerry. They have two children, although they are grown up now, Jerry Jr. and Lisa. Kathy lives in Portage and has lived there for 41 years.  Kathy admits to being 65 but sure doesn’t look it. She had  worked at the Hammond credit Bureau but, that was before she got married.  She has been carving for about 30 years and confesses to being one of the first women carvers in our club. Kathy can tell you stories about the club when it was in it’s infancy, which I love to listen to. Kathy carves almost anything you can  think of like Santa’s, statues and chip carving. She mostly does chip carving now and is an expert at it. She has even done a Tues seminar  on chip carving. Kathy told me she started carving because she needed a challenge and proceeded to teach herself. She carves mostly basswood and some butternut. When asked if she had any other hobbies she said only carving but, that’s why she is so good at it.

Update on June Directors Meeting

 Our new President Ron Muskina gave a great report. He discussed making committees for getting a corporate sponsor for our show. He talked about having our club picnic, Christmas party and having demonstrators for our annual show. A committee was formed to make amendments /adjustments to the BY-LAWS of our constitution. The committee members are Jim Douglas, Frank Kik, Bruce Johnston, and Chuck Swickard. The secretary reported that we now have 82 members.

It looks like our club is in very good shape especially with our new president Ron Muskina. He is already working like a man on a mission. Just watching his enthusiasm makes one wonder where does he get all of his energy. He is wanting help from us all to make this club even better then it already is. I for one am going to give him all the support  I can. If we want to see this club keep on growing stronger we all need to pitch in and help him. It’s not only his club, it belongs to all of us and if we don’t want to see it fall to the wayside like some other clubs. We all will have to do something about it.

Tuesday Morning Carving Session

 Don Good gave a carving class June 17 on how to carve eyes. It was very well received and very informative. We all thank him for the class he gave and all the effort he put into it. He had about 20 carvers that took part in his class and they all said they learned a lot. Every month, on Tues.  we have a different carver giving a class at the Blue Spruce building . Next month Bruce Johnston will teach a class on three dimensional stars on July 22 and I can’t wait to see how that turns out.

I Twisted Irv’s Arm

 After much arm twisting Irv Olsen has agreed to write an article from time to time as a guest columnist. He wrote the Burl for over ten years and did a fabulous job. I asked him if he would consider writing a column now and then and he has  agreed. I can’t wait to see his first article.

  Duneland Woodcarver Meetings

           Our Club meets every Tuesday morning from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. We meet at Woodland Park,  2100 Willowcreek Road, Portage, Indiana. If coming West on Route 20, past Route 249,turn South (the first light after Rt. 249). The park is approximately 1/4 of a mile, on the right (West) side. The meeting is held in the Blue Spruce Building.

          And, we have our regular open carving session third Sunday of each month - from 2 til 4 p.m.  at the Chesterton Art Gallery  (upstairs)  -  115 South 4th St., in Chesterton, IN.

          Members, guests, and visitors will be warmly welcomed. 

  Do you have news you’d like to share with your fellow carvers?   Call me -   Write to me   -  E-mail me  -  or just yell,   if  you’re close enough.   Just give me the facts   - (who?  what?  when?   where?  why?)  I’ll  do  the  rest.  We’ll  have a better  newsletter  with  your  input.      OK ? ? ?