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Stringing together a pastime has helped keep life interesting
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman For more than a decade, William Wood, 86, has busied himself with the construction of homemade violins. |
William Wood started making violins to keep busy after retiring
By Jill Aho
H&N Staff Writer
The first instrument William Wood played was the harmonica. Wood, 86, went to a small country school six miles outside of Wright City, Mo., with about 30 other children in all grades. Here, a teacher on his first assignment, was bold enough to bring music with him.
“He got the whole bunch playing harmonicas,” Wood recalled at his Klamath Falls home Thursday morning.
In need of a hobby
After he retired, Wood needed something to do with his spare time. He and his wife, Pearl, had lived in a 31-foot recreational vehicle for 4½ years before settling in Klamath Falls in 1985.
“I can’t sit still,” Wood said. “If I’m able to, I’ve got to be doing something.”
And for Wood, that something was making violins.
Back in Missouri, Wood was the youngest boy in a family of nine children. The oldest boy played violin and the next oldest played banjo.
“I wound up with (my oldest brother’s) violin,” Wood said. “I just always wanted to make one. Finally (Pearl) said, ‘If you’re going to make one, you better get started.’ ”
That encouragement was enough for Wood to finish his first violin in 1995, when he was 74.
Wood’s enthusiasm for making violins carried him through 10 years, making one violin each year. He’s never had lessons on how to play, but he happily played a rendition of “Faded Love” from memory Thursday on one of the four violins he still possesses.
Most go to family
The glossy, light brown myrtlewood violins that Wood has crafted mostly went to family members once they were finished.
“When I wanted to make one, I didn’t know how to go about it,” Wood said. Then, with the help of employees at Denham Music in downtown Klamath Falls, Wood was introduced to Bob Coleman, who made violins and leased them to the school.
Wood held up a time-darkened copy of “The Technique of Violin Making,” by Harry Wake, a book Coleman said would tell Wood everything he needed to know about making a violin.
With few electric tools, Wood made most of the pieces by hand.
“They say to string it up and play as long as you can before you put the finish on it to get the stress out you built into it,” Wood said. “Of course, I’d get anxious to get it done.”
Enjoying retirement
Wood, a World War II Coast Guard veteran, former sheet metal worker, gas station owner and truck driver, has enjoyed his retirement so far.
His latest creation, a mountain dulcimer, was a challenge he gave himself.
“I don’t know how to play it,” Wood said. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. It turned out pretty good I guess.”
“He got the whole bunch playing harmonicas,” Wood recalled at his Klamath Falls home Thursday morning.
In need of a hobby
After he retired, Wood needed something to do with his spare time. He and his wife, Pearl, had lived in a 31-foot recreational vehicle for 4½ years before settling in Klamath Falls in 1985.
“I can’t sit still,” Wood said. “If I’m able to, I’ve got to be doing something.”
And for Wood, that something was making violins.
Back in Missouri, Wood was the youngest boy in a family of nine children. The oldest boy played violin and the next oldest played banjo.
“I wound up with (my oldest brother’s) violin,” Wood said. “I just always wanted to make one. Finally (Pearl) said, ‘If you’re going to make one, you better get started.’ ”
That encouragement was enough for Wood to finish his first violin in 1995, when he was 74.
Wood’s enthusiasm for making violins carried him through 10 years, making one violin each year. He’s never had lessons on how to play, but he happily played a rendition of “Faded Love” from memory Thursday on one of the four violins he still possesses.
Most go to family
The glossy, light brown myrtlewood violins that Wood has crafted mostly went to family members once they were finished.
“When I wanted to make one, I didn’t know how to go about it,” Wood said. Then, with the help of employees at Denham Music in downtown Klamath Falls, Wood was introduced to Bob Coleman, who made violins and leased them to the school.
Wood held up a time-darkened copy of “The Technique of Violin Making,” by Harry Wake, a book Coleman said would tell Wood everything he needed to know about making a violin.
With few electric tools, Wood made most of the pieces by hand.
“They say to string it up and play as long as you can before you put the finish on it to get the stress out you built into it,” Wood said. “Of course, I’d get anxious to get it done.”
Enjoying retirement
Wood, a World War II Coast Guard veteran, former sheet metal worker, gas station owner and truck driver, has enjoyed his retirement so far.
His latest creation, a mountain dulcimer, was a challenge he gave himself.
“I don’t know how to play it,” Wood said. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. It turned out pretty good I guess.”
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fc wrote on Nov 3, 2008 8:54 AM:
I hope this article teaches anyone reading it that you are Never "too old" to learn something new! "