Carl Voegel Creates Custom Kris Kringles

from Red & Gold, Volume 38, Number 2 - Summer 2021

Mouring the Loss of Frank Will

By Mallory (Goebel) Hertel ‘07 Director of Advancement

Carl Voegel has seen thousands of students through Mater Dei but few of those familiar with Carl as a teacher and coach are familiar with his special talent. As a hobby, Carl produces several custom wooden Santa’s that he makes for his wife, children and grandchildren and a few others that secure one of his one-of-a-kind creations. Another woodcarver, Dick Bitter, (who had some grandchildren that came to Mater Dei) showed me some carving techniques, how to sharpen knives and also how to make my own wood carving knives. Both of them were some of the original members of the Tri-State Woodcarvers Club and I have always appreciated what both of those guys did for me.

When did you start carving these Santa’s and what was the inspiration? As a kid growing up next to a lumber yard in Poseyville, one of the workers would usually leave a pile of scrap lumber from the day for me to take (and a pile of bent nails to straighten) and make things from. That was always interesting to me…….making stuff with wood!

During one Christmas while in grade school, Santa brought a cheap wood burner and I learned how to burn drawings onto some of the wood with that tool and have always kept an interest in wood burning.

The biggest influence was one day in about 1994 when my wife and I were out at the old Washington Square Mall where there was a Tri-State Woodcarver’s Show. Bob Koressel, who graduated in 1951 from Mater Dei (and was in my mother’s class), talked to me about his carvings and I was really interested from then on. In 1995, I started stopping by Bob’s house and he would teach me some techniques of carving. On average, how long does it take you to carve a custom creation? Since I carve for different lengths of time and on different carvings, it is really hard to figure that out. My best guess is that it takes about 12-14 hours to rough out a carving from a picture that I find on a Christmas card or such, with my bandsaw, actually carve it and then paint it. That all depends upon how detailed a carving it is. It is just an enjoyable hobby and one that can be taken with me almost anywhere to work on.

Are they all approximately to the same spec or do you do some larger than others? Standard height you work with? Generally, I begin with a 7-8” tall X 3 ½” X 3 ½” block of Wisconsin basswood (which carves better than anything else that I have tried). That size just tends to fit my hand pretty well. The basswood is expensive, shipping costs especially, but my wife doesn’t seem to mind too much when I purchase it. Can anyone that wants one order? Yes and No! Carvings are most often given to family members and friends (or at the most sold to friends at a reduced price) at Christmas. I tried sitting at a Woodcarver’s Show one weekend in about 1996 in an attempt to sell some carvings but did not enjoy that too much at all (Probably because my carvings were the worst ones displayed and I did not sell anything!)

Some people have purchased them for their family members as Christmas gifts (Kent Reddington ‘77 is a regular and thus this story) but I don’t sell too many since they are not advertised. I can also only make about 10-15 of them each year and do not have many available. Since Bob Koressel told me that it is important to make a new one for each daughter, granddaughter and my wife each Christmas, there just are not too many left.

Can you take a stab at how many Santa’s you’ve made over the years? That is relatively easy since I number, sign and date each one on the back. Last Christmas I numbered # 390. Have a favorite you’ve made? My two daughters, my wife and some friends have some of my favorites because the facial features just seemed to work out properly and they made great gifts. I have always liked ones that I made with a Santa holding an open book in front of him since the carving is all made from one piece. If a carving has a real nice face and head shape, it usually looks really good.

Carl and wife, Jean, are parents to Lacey Nix ‘09 and Carri VanWinkle ‘11 and proud grandparents to three granddaughters.