I put them on a ledge in my basement and the next time I come down there they’re gone.”

Warren Anderson

COOK- If not for sharp objects and chunks of wood in their hands, the folks who gather for woodcarving group Thursday nights at the Northwoods Friends of the Arts gallery in Cook could easily be mistaken for about any weekly coffee group or social club.
“That’s what brings you here every week,” said Warren Anderson, at 79 the group’s senior member. “I just enjoy coming here and talking with the guys.”
Conversation was lively and topics varied last week as nine participants applied their creative skills to carving projects ranging from turtles and dogs to bowls and rifle stocks.
“You can tell by all the noise it’s more or less a social thing, which is good,” Howard Hilshorst said. “We all have opinions, but I’ve never seen anybody yet get upset. You don’t have to know who we all are, you can just come and have fun.”
As much as novice and veteran carvers enjoyed each other’s company, however, they weren’t distracted from working on their various projects.
Dave Pearson whittled away at a decorative handle on a large spoon as he talked.
“It’s called a Celtic love spoon,” he said. “Years ago, in Wales the young men used to give their girlfriends a spoon instead of a ring. That was their engagement.”
Pearson first learned woodcarving by attending a regular class at the old Cook school, one he attended for about 20 years before it stopped meeting.
“I learned from all the older guys,” Pearson said. “I went from when I was about 30 to 50. We had as many as 50 to 60 people who came and went over the years. We had people from Tower who came. Most of the people from the original carving class have passed away.”
Now Caleb Thom is the one learning from “older guys” and women, too. He’s an eighth grader at North Woods School, the only one seriously bitten by the woodcarving bug when it was offered at the school last fall.
“The main reason they wanted to do that was to get kids my age interested in woodcarving,” Thom said. “I always whittled in the summer, little knives and swords out of branches. I didn’t really take it seriously, though. This time I was like, ‘Hey, I really want to try this.’”
Thom said he didn’t mind being the group’s youngest member.
When I got here, I expected there to be a lot more kids my age, but when I realized there were a lot of older people that was fine,” he said. “We’re all the same. Age doesn’t matter to me. I like older people because they’re more mature.”
Thom has taken his prior whittling interests to a new level – he’s currently working on carving a handle, guard, and blade for a large sword. His classmates have given him numerous tips.
“I’m very creative, but my mind is stronger than my skills,” Thom said. “They help you, that’s what’s really nice. Everyone’s so kind here.”
While Anderson is the group’s oldest member, he didn’t start woodcarving until he was in his mid-60s.
“My wife, she carves,” he said. “She was doing carving and they had a party. I went to the party and got to know some of the guys and they said to come and do it.”
Anderson said he likes carving in Scandinavian flat style, but adapts his carving to whatever seems best suited to a project. He’s carved a lot of different things over the past 15 years, but they’re not taking up space around his home.
“I put them on a ledge in my basement and the next time I come down there they’re gone,” he said. “My kids take them.”
Anderson sometimes takes inspiration from other classmates, and makes other items on request.
“I’ve got an order for this one from a neighbor,” Anderson said, pointing to still-in-progress dog.
Hilshorst may be the most prolific woodworker in the group. While he carves items such as decorative acorns and pineapples, he also makes a variety of items such as frames, keepsake boxes, lazy Susans, and more that he decorates with carvings. He sells most of what he makes, putting some items in the NWFA gallery shop and shipping others to sisters in Kentucky and Ohio.
“It’s fun,” he said. “I like making things. I sell a lot of things.”
Hilshorst, who has been woodcarving since about 1970, said he would like to see more people join the group.
“Anybody is welcome,” he said. “There’s no charge. If you want to come, we’ll help you. We’ve got tools, we’ve got wood.”
Then he smiled.
“We’ll keep you from cutting the end of your thumb off,” he chuckled.
Anderson would also like to see some new members.
“When this class got started, we had 12 to 14 people here,” he said. “I’d like to see it get a little bigger. I’d like to see more young people. Maybe we’ll get them here.”
The woodworking group meets Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the NWFA Gallery, 210 S River St., Cook.