Handcrafted Heritage

I love the smell of sawdust — it reminds me of my youth. I have fond memories of building a (slightly crooked) heart-shaped shelf and a toolbox in middle school wood shop. My dad was always building something or tinkering in the garage, so I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. When I wanted a farmhouse trestle table a few years ago (like many other women who watch home improvement shows), I went to buy a pocket-hole jig, watch some videos and promptly went to my dad for guidance (and his table saw). It required basic carpentry skills, and it was so satisfying to build my own furniture. It was imperfect and rustic, but it was handcrafted and created a good memory.

I’ve marveled at the craftsmanship of our home built in 1865.  I imagine how much more difficult the original work would have been for craftsmen who didn’t have nail guns. This home was built before the Industrial Age! As expected after a century, however, it fell into disrepair. It was restored in the 1970s by Attica couple, Don and Bonnie Opperman. If not for some roof damage, the home may not have needed such extensive repairs. Bonnie had long admired this home and was determined to own it. After she wrote several letters to the owners who were planning to demolish it to farm the land, they relented and sold the home and surrounding acres to them. The Oppermans pulled a trailer on the property to do the work themselves, which took them two years. We are the beneficiaries of their restoration efforts. Last year, we added moulding to the walls in the bride’s room and found the walls to be plumb, square and true.

When we were in the process of restoring some rotted beams in the barn, it collapsed during a storm. We had a very difficult time finding someone who could reconstruct it using the original mortise and tenon joinery. We eventually connected with Ruben Schwartz and his wonderful Amish family and crew. What a godsend. Fortunately, we had a friend produce a schematic before the barn fell, so the crew had plans from which to work. In July 2019, they began the process of sorting through the heap for salvageable timbers to repair and clean. They worked from sunrise to sunset, in blistering August heat and cold, rainy October days, to reconstruct the monitor style barn. The original massive hand-hewn posts and beams are once again connected by pegs, mortise and tenon joints.

Nearly half a century has passed since major repairs were done to the house, and we have needed to make some updates. And, Derek built the barn’s interior spaces from the reclaimed barn wood and metal roof. I fully appreciate all of the handcrafted efforts that have made it possible to help us continue to preserve the history of both of our buildings, which includes electricians and septic installers (Cheesman, Inc.), plumbers (Day & Sons), concrete masons (Schwartz), a few groundskeepers, our kids who have helped in many ways, my parents who removed nails from piles of boards (go Gma), our BIL, Beasley, who helped frame the barn interior areas, our uncle Roger who tiled the entry, and Jerry Quirk for his beautiful barrel tables. I especially appreciate the many things my husband has done throughout this journey. I may have been the one to introduce him to woodworking, but his skills have surpassed mine.

We could not have foreseen all that has happened over the last 20 months. Lots of sawdust. We’ve laughed and cried. This old country home has provided a respite for the hard realities going on around us. I never thought I’d love being a country gal so much, but it has been the simple things that have given me a calm after the storm of a lupus diagnosis. I can’t believe I get to witness the beauty of beautiful sunrises and sunsets from my porch. It is my new happy place.

Many have asked us to share the updates we have made. Some handcrafted projects (with a little help from power tools, thank God) are pictured below.

Thanks for reading -

Chris