Fourth of July 2023 Issue

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Club Has Carved Out a 40-Year Following Story by ELLEN WILKOWE Photos by Karen Fucito It was a Thursday night, and the halls of Jefferson Township High School were in full swing with after-hours activities. There was the unmistakable sound of music and the unmistakable scent of … wood? Yes, wood. A smell that intensified as passersby followed it seamlessly to its source: the school’s wood shop. Except there were no students to be found, unless you count the small group of adults trying their hands at wood carving. The mood was, well, chipper, among the men and women who were trading tools and tips across two tables that could very well be defined as literal carving stations. There were no chips on any shoulders but plenty in the hands of members of the Jersey Hills Wood Carvers club. Founded by former Jefferson Township High School biology teacher Earl Post, the club is celebrating 40 years of bringing the art and craft of recreational wood carving to the public. “It started out as an evening class for adults to teach recreation wood carving,” said longtime member Bill Brunner of Hopatcong. “The course was very popular and many of the students returned semester after semester.” Despite its popularity, the course folded in 1983 but the demand of the public prevailed, laying the groundwork for today’s club. “Eventually the club name was voted on, and we officially became the Jersey Hills Wood Carvers,” said Brunner. Forty years later, the club sticks to its original objective as per its website: “To promote interest in and appreciation of the art of wood carving to all.” The club further markets itself as a “small, diverse group of people sharing their passion, time, knowledge and joy of wood carving.” There are no membership fees, just a simple interest in wood carving will do. As the club gained traction, members took it on the road, providing interactive wood carving demonstrations at the New Jersey State Fair in Augusta, at schools and for area Boy and Girl Scout troops. The club will once again be featuring demos for all 10 days of the state fair this year, which begins August 4. Club members range in skill sets from the carving curious to the carving connoisseur, such as Brunner who let his curiosity get and then make the best of him in 1988. “It was just something I wanted to try, so I purchased a how-to book, a knife and a block of wood and went to town,” he said. “I dabbled with it for a few years until we started having children, then carving got put aside for some time.” Having never lost interest, he stumbled upon the club at a carving show in Wayne and slowly made his way back to the carving board, this time with his 11-year-old son, Christian, in tow. “He took to carving pretty quickly, and it was obvious that he had the eye for it,” Brunner said. Besides, what better way to carve out some quality father-son time? And like father, like son—Christian is now 25—the duo work the craft show circuit and sell their wares online and at shows. Meanwhile, longtime member and former club president Henry Hanzo discovered his inner carver earlier in life when he was a Boy Scout. He took carving to the next level while serving as a dental tech in the United States Air Force, where he had to carve teeth out of blue wax and cast them on metal. After more than three decades as a telephone draftsman and repairman, plus a stint as a telecommunications instructor at Passaic County Vocational Technical School, Hanzo has since returned to his first love of woodworking, specifically carving and woodburning. Over the years, he has attended his fair share of carving shows, placing first in one of them. “I like the challenge,” he said. “It’s good because you get feedback from professionals. You learn different techniques.” With a focus on woodburning, Hanzo remains open-minded to the creative process. “I like to do anything,” he said. “I like carving and then woodburning because it highlights the pieces.” Hanzo takes particular pride in having carved a skull out of ash wood and then applying the woodburning technique to it. “Everyone has their specialty,” he said. “We’re not a teaching club, but if you want to learn how to carve, you saddle up to someone—we’ll put you alongside a mentor,” he said. That mentor just happens to be the club’s current president and carving connoisseur Al Santucci of Rockaway. As a Jefferson Township High School graduate, he is more than familiar with the wood shop as well as the late founder Earl Post. “Earl was a teacher when I was a student,” he said. Artistically inclined since childhood, Santucci signed up for wood shop in eighth grade and has come back to the classroom as a club member. Top to bottom, left to right: Newcomer Michelle Egan gets instructions from Al Santucci. Santucci, Bilquis Ansari and Agatha Sheerin discuss a group project during a May meeting. Mike Muldoon uses a band saw to cut the shape of a duck. A carving by Agatha Sheerin of a dog in motion. 26 LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Fourth of July 2023
“I could always draw and make things,” he said. “I loved working with wood and took wood shop and drafting until I graduated high school.” He applied his hands-on nature in the workforce, first via drafting and then designing PC boards before winding down his career as a production engineer. Santucci learned of the club about five years ago through another member and is pleased with the result. “Many members have helped me improve my carving skills,” he said. His latest project is a wooden chain link. Now Santucci pays it forward by mentoring others such as Mike Muldoon of Sparta. Muldoon is so new to the club that the sawdust is still settling. “The first night here I was like, ‘Wow.’ There’s no messing around here, we just get right to carving,” said Muldoon, tipping his knife to Santucci for showing him the ropes. “Al said, ‘Sit down here and let me show you the five-minute wizard.’ He drew it on a paper and then a piece of wood and said, ‘Make a line here and there ….’” As a first-timer, Muldoon joked that the fiveminute wizard was more like a two-hour-andfive-minute wizard. “You go to town with a knife, but you can’t get too crazy too fast,” he said. A self-proclaimed wood-carving hobbyist, Muldoon worked in two hands-on careers: one in construction and the other as a mechanic. “I’ve done woodworking frequently on and off and was always intrigued by carving,” he said. His intrigue, as well as word of mouth, led him to the club earlier this year. Since joining and completing his two-hourand-five-minute wizard, Muldoon has also gotten his ducks in a row—wooden ducks, that is, of which he has carved a few. “Everybody here is fantastic and very helpful,” he said. Michelle Egan, a graphic designer from Oak Ridge, could attest to that. Like Muldoon, she found out about the club through the grapevine and attended her first meeting in May, the same night Muldoon joined. “I needed to get away from computers,” she said. So, she subbed out a keyboard for a wood board and found Zen in the process. “This is like meditation,” she said, while detailing a small wizard. In terms of materials, club members tote the tools of the trade, always with the intent of sharing. While members bring their own tools and source their own wood, the school provides a place to meet and a supply of wood scraps for the group’s yearly holiday project. Despite the Jefferson venue, the club has also attracted members from outside of town. A member for more than a decade, Agatha Sheerin of Stillwater took up wood carving “just for fun.” To date, she still marvels at the creations of her fellow crafters. “People make great stuff,” she said. “I am just amazed at the products.” On this recent Thursday, Sheerin was putting the finishing touches on a wooden Santa, part of a collection of ornaments that she and other members have been working on. Since joining the club, she is appreciative of the tool tutorials provided to her by the more experienced members she’s met along the way. Fostering the member-member relationship is exactly what Santucci hopes for while envisioning the club’s future. That, and growing Call Jim to buy or list today! House Values James J. Leffler Realtor RE/MAX House Values 131 Landing Road Landing, NJ 07850 201-919-5414 Cell 973-770-7777 Office jimleff.rmx@gmail.com ...because as soon as you look away, I’ll be making my daring escape. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10 - 6 Wednesday 10-7 Saturday 10-5 Sunday 12-4 orange-carpet.com succasunna@abbeycarpet.com One of the few predictable things in life is that real life is ® unpredictable. That’s why we created our patented COREtec waterproof flooring. It’s the perfect fit for real life. the membership in the name of what carves around goes around. Friendship is just an added perk. “We are a friendly group of people that create all kinds of carvings and help and support our members. I would love the club to continue to gain members and the current members mentor and teach this craft to them.” The Jersey Hills Wood Carvers meets at Jefferson Township High School’s wood shop from 7-9 p.m. on the first, third and fifth Thursday of each month during the school year. For more information go to jerseyhillswoodcarver.com or visit the club on Facebook. James J. Leffler Realtor ••• • 100% Waterproof • • •• •••••• Kidproof Petproof lakehopatcongnews.com 27
Page 1 and 2: INFORMING, SERVING AND CELEBRATING
Page 3 and 4: 2023 Wade Martin 2023 Wade Martin 2
Page 5 and 6: RE/MAX Town and Valley II SOLD SOLD
Page 7 and 8: The Milton Rescue Squad also benefi
Page 9 and 10: Majestic Lakefront Estates Exclusiv
Page 11 and 12: that spirit of community activism i
Page 13 and 14: A Hands-On Adventure on New Jersey
Page 15 and 16: in CAD and architecture and was thr
Page 17 and 18: KATELYNN PETERSON LOCAL VOICES An a
Page 19 and 20: helped correct previous shortfalls,
Page 21 and 22: important to protect the lake.” T
Page 23 and 24: f Local Kids vacationed. Others sta
Page 25: SEPTIC SYSTEMS INSTALLED AND REPAIR
Page 29 and 30: SUMMER CLEANING • MULTI SERVICE D
Page 31 and 32: A four-generation family run busine
Page 33 and 34: We are now THURSDAY 4pm - 12am + FR
Page 35 and 36: tried to pay back for the rest of h
Page 37 and 38: Korean Short Rib Tacos Serves 4-6 T
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Page 43 and 44: ORTHWEST EXPLOSIVES BLASTING CONTRA

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