Woodcarvers share their craft with home-schoolers

By Kristina Lord kristina@tcjournal.biz

Dean Herigstad’s hands can coax beautiful shapes out of a block of wood.

It’s a skill he’s happy to share with others.

The retired carpenter from West Richland enjoys teaching others the craft, so when a home-schooling group asked if he and his fellow woodcarvers would be willing to sit alongside young people to teach them, there was no hesitation.

“They’re great. We’ve had 16 home-schoolers through and seven have come back consistently,” he said.

They meet up at the Keewaydin Community Center in Kennewick.

John Moreno of Pasco, a retired middle school teacher, said he’s enjoyed teaching the home-schoolers, calling them motivated and polite.

With the youngest member of their woodcarving group at age 66, Moreno and Herigstad say they worry about whether the younger generation will follow in their footsteps.

“We don’t want to see it die with us,” Moreno said.

The formal woodcarvers group, Tri-Cities Woodcarving Club, was a registered nonprofit but the pandemic forced it to disband.

“We couldn’t sustain the membership,” Herigstad said.

In 2013, there were 86 members. Today there are about 25 left.

But those who carve still enjoying meeting up and have three standing drop-in meetings a week. It’s informal but a nice chance to get together to work on projects, Herigstad said.

“It’s rewarding to take a raw piece of wood and turn it into something. It’s relaxing – the simple pleasure of doing it,” he said.

The connection between this older generation and the younger one has been a joy to watch, said Dedra Maxwell, a home-schooling mom who helped to organize families interested in learning the carving craft.

“Our seniors are precious parts of our community who sometimes get a little neglected, but to be able to bring them together with children is wonderful on many layers,” she said. “I’m hoping this continues and grows.” uWOODCARVERS, Page 2

509-737-8778

Mailing address:

8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336 srtimes.com

Staff

Paul Read Group Publisher 509-344-1262 paul@tcjournal.biz

Kristina Lord Executive Editor 509-344-1261 kristina@tcjournal.biz

Sara Schilling Reporter 509-344-1286 sara@tcjournal.biz

Tiffany Lundstrom Associate Publisher for Sales 509-344-1271 tiffany@tcjournal.biz

Chad Utecht Advertising Account Manager 509-344-1274 chad@tcjournal.biz

Vanessa Guzmán Production Manager 509-344-1278 vanessa@tcjournal.biz

Erin Landon Business Assistant 509-344-1285 erin@tcjournal.biz

Senior Times, a publication of Mid-Columbia Media Inc., is published monthly. Subscriptions are $21.69 per year, prepayment required, no refunds. Contents of this publication are the sole property of Mid-Columbia Media Inc. and can not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent. Opinions expressed by guest columnists and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Senior Times staff, other guest columnists or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by Senior Times staff, other guest columnists or advertisers. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liable for any errors or omissions made despite these efforts.

Get the Senior Times every month in your mailbox

Subscriptions:

One year - $21.69

Two years - $34.73

Three years - $42.34

All prices include Kennewick sales tax. To subscribe send your name, mailing address, and a check payable to Senior Times to: 8524 W. Gage Blvd. #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336

WOODCARVERS, From page 1

In addition to learning how to carve, the kids also learn to interact with the community, she said.

“Being able to go out in the community and get to know members of the community and see things that other people do – that’s also a learning experience,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell launched a private Facebook group (“Homeschool Wood Carvers Tri-Cities, WA”) for those interested in participating. So far, 87 families have joined the group.

“We’re excited. I think it’s a beautiful art, and it’s working with your hands. We just don’t want that to be lost,” Maxwell said.

Kaylee Clark, 12, of Pasco, is working on her third carving. She admitted she’s a bit of a perfectionist and if one thing is off on her piece, “it really bothers me.”

Her mother, Amber Clark, called Kaylee very artsy and a quick study. “She picked it up really fast,” she said.

Kaylee doesn’t see it that way. She pointed out an ornate dragon and mask carved by one of the senior group members. She can’t imagine being that talented, she said. Still, she’s continuing to practice.

Emerson Larsen, 12, of Richland, has been working on carving a boot, one of the first projects the experi-

SENIOR CENTER, From page 1 stuff plastic eggs full of chocolates for West Richland’s 14th annual Easter egg hunt on April 8. Several seniors were happy to do so, including Hamilton and Schutz.

May Hays, treasurer of the West Richland Senior Association, said it’s exciting to relaunch activities at the center.

“We want to get it going again and meet and mingle and bring life back into this whole place,” she said.

The pandemic took a toll on the group’s membership, which num- enced carvers have the youth tackle.

“It’s fun to see how far you can progress,” he said.

His mom, Marianne Larsen, said she’s enjoyed doing it alongside him.

Parents must stay with their child during the classes for safety reasons. And the carvers encourage them to try it, too.

“I do like it. Time flies whenever we come here,” Marianne Larsen said.

Children must be 12 years old to participate so they have the dexterity bered between 60 to 80 and is now down to 20, Hays said.

“Covid really put the hurt on a lot of activities our seniors could do,” said West Richland Mayor Brent Gerry.

Larsen, 61, a retired firefighter, encouraged those in attendance to participate and offer suggestions of activities they’d like to do.

“We just need people out again. They’re so lonely,” Hays said. “We’re just trying to bring the community back together.”

She said the senior association hopes to establish a food pantry at the and hand strength to carve. There’s no cost and the woodcarvers supply the tools and wood. Class size is limited to five students. senior center and soon will be celebrating a new name for building.

The woodcarvers meet 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to noon Fridays at the Keewaydin Community Center, 505 S. Auburn Ave., Kennewick.

The carvers also meet from 1-3 p.m. Thursdays at the Pasco First Avenue Center, 505 N. First Ave. Cost to participate in the drop-in meetups is $1.

Hays, who sits on the West Richland City Council, said plans are underway to rename the senior center after the late Billy Shane, who served for years as president of the West Richland Senior Association. He died in December 2021 at age 89.

Annual membership for the senior association is $7 a year. For more information, email wolfman6262@ me.com, or come to the monthly potluck, which is at 11:30 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month. Activities cost $1 for members.

Here’s the April schedule at the senior center:

• Bingo: Last Monday of the month. Lunch at 12:30 p.m., bingo at 1 p.m.

• Exercise: 9-10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• Sewing: Last Tuesday and Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m.

• Bunco: First Wednesday and third Friday of the month, 11:30 a.m.

• Pinochle: First and third Mondays of the month, noon.

• Potluck: second Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.

• Watercolor session: 1-3 p.m. Saturdays.