Creating History Through Wood

What do property owners do when they have a tree that dies? Some may take their chances and let Mother Nature and a strong thunderstorm take care of the problem. However, depending on the location, that’s not always wise. Many folks call a tree service to remove the tree.

Sherry Kiesel from Haubstadt had a different idea. She had a large elm tree near the road that died of Dutch elm disease so she decided to turn it into a carving as a tribute to her husband, parents and family heritage. Sherry not only lost the elm tree, but she lost her mom in 2017, her dad in 2019, and then her husband in 2020.

Her husband Frank was the middle child of many and was quite a character, known for some interesting antics in his youth. But one thing he liked to do was wood carving. That gave Sherry the idea for turning the elm tree into a work of wooden art with a Revolutionary War or frontier theme.

After doing some family history research, Sherry discovered that her 5th great-grandpa Sam was in the Revolutionary War with the Virginia militia. His son, Thomas became the Gibson County Sheriff in 1818. This fostered her interest in history and inspired her to have the tree carved into art that would honor their legacy.

Sherry contacted the Bear Hollow Wood Carvers based in French Lick, Indiana. She had an idea and a picture of a frontier man with a gun, but the carver took her idea and developed a detailed unique carving of a couple from the frontier time. If anyone remembers the 1960’s TV show with Fess Parker as Daniel Boone, you’ll have a good idea of the final product.

Four other Bear Hollow Wood Carvings.

These are four carvings that were auctioned at last year's fair.

This highlights some of the details.

It took about a week. He used his chain saw and other tools like a chisel and gouge to make the curved cuts for the details. At one point the wind kicked up and his wife stood with a blanket to try and protect him so that he could continue the project. He not only created the wooden sculpture and had the idea of the flag wrapping the base, but he also sanded and painted it. To maintain the look and creativeness, Sherry has to stain itn once a year to keep out moisture and bugs.

Sherry said, “I didn’t want the woman in a bonnet, because they really had to be tough during that time period.”

The carving stands about 10 feet tall with rock work around the base done by Ron Elpers, and then Sherry planted tall flowers around the edge. This was all done in October 2020. This interesting piece of artwork is in the southeastern edge of the county near Cynthiana, in between New Liberty Church on Hwy 68 and Blythe Chapel on County Road 450. Visitors are welcome to drive by and appreciate the wooden creation but are asked not to touch or damage it. contest each fall in French Lick. It’s called the Block Bash and is held the third weekend in September. Chain saw carving artist creative pieces in three days. To see these carves locally, one only need visit the Gibson County Fair. For the last few years, they’ve created pieces the first few days of the fair for auctioning off at the Fair’s end. They are quite unique and watching them create them is an interesting experience.