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 "International Wood Collectors
Society - A non-profit organization
of scientists, botanists,
dendrologists, technologists,
wood collectors, hobbyists, and
craftsmen for mutual reciprocation
and assistance." This description
of IWCS, taken from the cover
of the
Bulletin
(Volume 20 No.
12 December 1967), perfectly
described the group that assembled
for the Southeast Winter Woodfest
February 8-12, 2017.
In the peaceful setting of Lake
Yale, Florida for 4 ½ days, we
shared our common love of wood,
worked for the benefit of IWCS,
made new friends, and reconnected
with old friends. Elaine Hunt,
IWCS President (#8174HL) was
in charge of the programs. Patti
Dickherber, IWCS Secretary-
Treasurer (#8719) handled the
registration process for the
meeting. Lodging and meals were
provided by the very capable staff
of Lake Yale Baptist Conference
Center.
Wednesday, February 8.
Most attendees registered for the
meeting, set up their displays,
prepared their classrooms and
generally settled in. Photos of the
USA Southeast Winter Woodfest 2017 by Lucy Cruise #4742
displays and other scenes in this
article were taken by Jim Ciesla,
unless indicated otherwise.
"Woodies" from 19 US states and
2 Canadian provinces put together
their plan for the activities ahead.
A brief evening meeting provided
the necessary information for the
following day. After door prizes
were awarded, we were free to
visit and get reacquainted. The first
of our six silent auctions closed
before time to say goodnight. Our
silent auctions were organized by
Garry Roux #6466HL with Art Lee
# 7984L, Chris Nothnagle #3402,
Duane Keck #9086, Richard
and Lucy Cruise #4742 willing
assistants.
Thursday, February 9. Choices had to be made on how to spend the day. It was difficult to choose between the following:
Inside Activities:
- Duane Keck (#9086) Presentation: "Introduction and overview to botanical classification from kingdoms to cultivars"
- Duane Keck (#9086) Presentation: "The good and bad of bamboo"
- Chris Nothnagle (#3402) Workshop: Completing a cell phone stand.
- John Davis (#6305L) Workshop: Carving walking sticks.
- Harry Wheeler (#8672) & Bob Chastain (#6038) Learn to turn area
- Lee Sky (#10021) Demonstration: Turning Norfolk Island pine lamp shades
- Bob Chastain (#6038) & Wes Kolkmeier (# 9231) Workshop: Toy making. Note: Bob, Wes and their elves completed 150 toys for distribution to the Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center in Florida. Harry Wheeler (#8672) will make the presentation to the Center.
- Pam Munger (#9029) - Class on laminated bookmarks (from the examples displayed at the registration desk, this class was a must!)
-Keep watch on bids before our second silent auction closes.
Outside Activities:
- Sawmill operations - Investigate selection of wood available (Ed Bryant #9095 Wood
- Mizer owner, John Burris #8940 foreman, plus a host of other sawyers and helpers).
- Watch expert chainsaw carver Dan Collum (#9098)
- Tour Lake Yale's Third Day Farm
- Plan a trip to the area flea market to look for undiscovered treasures. Keep watch for fresh Florida strawberries at the market.
- Take a buggy ride with Mike & Mark, Percheron draft horses. (Dwight Hughes, Jr. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, owner, and principal driver. Kelly Lamb assistant driver).
- Anticipate delivery of reclaimed deadhead bald cypress log donated by Greg & Renee Chapman #9890C, Chapman River Logging.
After evening announcements and awarding of door prizes, we listened to a program by guest speaker JoDee Hooley. As a representative from the Shipshewana Indiana Visitors Center, she introduced the group to the attractions in that area. If you had not made a decision to attend the annual meeting, September 5-8, her presentation tipped the scale in favor of going. In addition to the meeting itself, the area and the tours planned will be awesome.
The day ended with the closing of our third silent auction, good conversation, and a few more pieces added to the puzzle.
Friday February 10: More decisions had to be made. Choices, choices, choices!!!
Inside Activities:
- Lee Sky (#10021) - Demonstration: Hollow turning
- John Davis (#6305L) Workshop: Carving walking sticks
- Harry Wheeler (#8672) & Bob Chastain (#6038) - Learn to turn area
- Sharon Baiardi - Invited workshop leader -Basket making
- Judy Chastain (#6038) – Workshop - Making wire angels (always a popular creative craft class)
- Dave Munger (#9029) – Workshop - Carving a Santa face
- Jim Ciesla (#9275) – Demonstration – Turning wooden mushrooms
- Jason Peters – Invited speaker - Advantage Lumber- Urban Hardwood Program
- Do-It-Yourself (DIY) craft class - Alphabet block elves
- Keep watch on bids before our fourth silent auction closes
Outside Activities:
-Check out sawmill operations - mill running nonstop preparing wood for sale
- Logging demo - Mike and Mark pulling deadhead cypress log (see cover picture of magazine)
- Buggy rides - Mike and Mark the horses
- Dan Collum (# 9098) working his magic with the chainsaw - Check out the wood in the tent for tomorrow's auction
- Try luck at fishing (license required) - Evening announcements, door prizes awarded and then the main event for Friday.
The annual craft auction!!! WOW. The handmade items donated for the auction were impressive. Finely crafted woodturnings, shaker boxes, ambrosia maple blanket chest, distinctive cutting boards, pens, handmade quilts, homemade chocolate almond bark candy, golden Canadian maple syrup, homemade granola, exquisite beaded and carved jewelry, adorable Luna Moth Cards made by 7-year-old Hannah Ritchie, special pieces of wood, chainsaw-carved bench, tools, and other woodworking supplies donated by generous vendors were present and waiting for new homes. Garry Roux (#6466HL), our auctioneer, skillfully extracted money from our wallets. Millie Zoellner (#8029), Patti Dickherber (#8719), and Connie Wheeler (#8672) kept track of each winning bid. The auction was so intense that we forgot to check out the lunar eclipse that occurred over Lake Yale. The auction closed with many happy folks and a few disappointed ones. Advice to the disappointed ones, next year keep your hand up longer!
The evening ended with final bids being placed on our fifth silent auction, the puzzle becoming more complete and visiting once again with friends.
Saturday February 11: The big day finally arrived ... the wood auction. In addition to the expected selection of woods, unusual species of wood found their way to the auction.
Auctioneers Bob Chastain (#6038), Garry Roux (#6466HL), and Chris Nothnagle (#3402) kept the auction moving along smoothly. Joyce Symonds (#9775), Patti Dickherber (#8719), and Dee Kriegler (#8064) kept track of each member's purchase.
The afternoon came to a close with tired, but happy woodnuts.
While the wood auction was going on, Sonya Barriger (#6214) shared her talents with a beading class and Dave Munger (#9029) graciously called the numbers for bingo. Donated prizes for bingo were well received by the winners. The puzzle was finally completed. Conversations continued and plans to see each other in Shipshewana were taking shape.
Our evening meeting reminded us to check out procedures and up-coming meetings. The nightly door prizes were awarded. Winner of the recycled wood contest (Roger Pletcher #8016), winners of the wood ID contest first place (Mel Glick #8316), and second place (Jack Rogers #7805 SU) came forward and accepted their prizes.
Two very important announcements were made.
1. The American Association of Woodturners reached out to IWCS to form a partnership of information sharing. IWCS will furnish the technical aspect of wood identification and properties; AAW will furnish articles pertinent to our organization for use in World of Wood. See details on page 6
and the first article on page 10 of WoW.
2. The Southeast Winter Woodfest at Lake Yale for 2018 will be a Monday through Friday event, February 19-23, 2018.
The evening concluded with a celebration cake in honor of the 70th anniversary of IWCS. A small display of memorabilia and publications from 1947 and 1948 were available to the group.
The sixth and final silent auction closed with satisfied winners. Just so you know, a total of 343 items were available to the highest bidder in the six silent auctions. I'm proud to say that each and every item found a new owner.
Sunday February 12: Regretfully it was time to say goodbye to friends; old and new. With renewed enthusiasm for IWCS, we went our separate ways with plans to meet at the annual meeting in Shipshewana and again next year at Lake Yale.
Closing thoughts: We all had a chance to visit with one of our long-standing members Alan Curtis (#1132 HL,SU), two of our newest members, Eric and Violet Oman (#10063), and everyone in between. It was interesting to see that wood still has its universal appeal. Each person attending contributed to the success of the meeting. Without the support of everyone, a contribution of over $13,000 to the IWCS treasury would have been impossible. By attending, donating, bidding, working, encouraging each other, and volunteering we were successful. Thank you each and everyone. The generosity of our members knows no bounds. The students at Fork Union Military Academy (FUMA), under the guidance of Chris Nothnagle (#3402), will benefit from student memberships in IWCS. Joe Branham (#8949L) made this possible for deserving students participating in the FUMA woodworking club.
As testimony to the great selection of available wood at Winter Woodfest, take a close look at the hitch between the camper and truck of Eric Oman (#10063); it barely clears the ground!!!. Eric was quoted saying, "I think I could have bought one more log."
Start planning now to attend the 2018 Southeast Woodfest meeting. Work is already underway to secure the facility. Thank you to the members who have already volunteered for 2018.
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