HOME MADE FURNITURE

I was thinking the other day, how Dad made furniture for our family back in my earlier days.

I remember watching him make chairs during the winter months from hickory lumber.

He made sure the pieces were good and straight and close to the  size he needed for the chairs he wanted to make. 

Winter time was the best time of the year to do that , because it was slow for him on the farm .

It was interesting for me to watch him make the chairs, as there was no T.V.or much of anything else to do during the winter, watching him reminds me of today; how easily we can turn to You Tube and watch things being made on it.

Dad's work shop was small and he usually worked near  the fire place in our front room,

Tools he used; nothing like the ones we have today, his tools were crude at best in today's standards.

Looking at the many fancy ones we have at our disposal today, I don't know how he managed with the ones he had.

The chairs he made were strong and comfortable chairs some lasted for many years .

Occasionally I was chosen to help with some of the chair making when Dad required an extra hand.

 The chairs he made were not as comfortable perhaps as the ones you find today in front of The Cracker Barrel Restaurants.

But to our family they had a special kind of  comfort that money can't buy , the love he wove into each lace of Hickory bark bottoms made them priceless.

After Dad's retirement, He was able to further His chair making, into bed making.

He made marvelous beds for Mother and each of his children, some would say they were nothing short of master pieces. 

We were certainly fortunate to have a Dad like him, who could do so many things with what little he had, to make life a little easier and better for the family.

Coleman Schell