[Lightningbolt]

Lately it's been hard even to just lurk here on the message board with other parts of my life way too busy with other details, but after receiving an email this evening I thought that I'd pass on a few smoke signals.

Just a couple of hours ago a friend and former co-worker sent me the attached pictures of a very old totem pole that I carved with the kids in my group when I was a wilderness counselor back in the mid 1980's. The friend who sent them to me just transfered to this camp on the coast of North Carolina as a program director and thought that I'd like to see them. He says that the totem pole continues to stand proudly in their main dining hall still greeting hundreds of new kids each year.

To be honest I had totally forgotten about this pole and can't believe that it has survived all those years. I transfered from this particular camp back in 1991 to another facility with the same organization and haven't been back since then.

Back in the mid 1980's I really didn't have any of the expensive carving tools that I now have and did most of this big log carving with hatchets, axes, machettes's, and those straight Stanley hardware store chisels... that's about all we had back then except for a few X-Acto blades. I think that I'd have done it with just a stone tomahawk if that were all I had!

Anyhow, I thought that I'd pass on this forgotten carving of long ago when I was just a "puppy" woodcarver. Sure glad that he took the time to send me these pictures because I didn't have any of this one.

[gene messer]

Great looking totem pole .. Love the color combination ...

It might be 20 years old .. but it's still held it's own ..

great job Dave..

Gene

[Mottles]

Dave, that is so cool, your carving talent was already set. Wonderful totem and thank you for sharing. I think we get spoiled with our expensive carving tools and forget there are everyday tools that can do the job too!
Kathy

[Merle Rice]

Dave it looks like you made your mark in life. Excellant carving has a lot of warmth. Merle