Next Meeting Wednesday, January 4, 2012, Banquet at Wagon Wheel
Restaurant in Howards Grove, 5 p.m. Cash Bar, 6 p.m. Dinner


PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
by Philip Schils

Happy Holidays! As my term as president draws to an end, I must take this opportunity to
thank the membership for their support. I couldn’t have picked a better year to accept the
presidency. The support of the Vice President Richard Young, Secretary Alice Prahl, and
Treasurer Dianna Witt all made this job easy and enjoyable.

The Board of Directors always came forward when needed. They were a wonderful sounding
board for my (out of the box) ideas. The Sunshine lady Mary Nowacki, Librarian Lori Jarosh,
and Newsletter Editor Judy Larson round out the remainder of our wonderful staff.
Membership contribution doesn’t stop there. I want to thank the members that volunteered
for special occasions such as the summer picnic, potluck dinner, meeting night raffle, various
community displays, and donations to various projects.  

Just in case I missed anyone, I want to give a heartfelt thank you to all members! You have
made me feel welcome, and I’m very thankful for your support. I’m sure that you will continue
to give your support to Don Lorier when he accepts the presidency.

Now back to business. First of all, don’t forget the January 4 banquet at the Wagon Wheel
Restaurant in Howards Grove. Cocktails are at 5:00 and the meal is at 6:00. If you haven’t
signed up, you still can by calling me. It would be nice if I could call in the head count a few
days before the banquet. Also remember the club member will only be charged a maximum
of $10 per person. That’s better than fast food!

I had the opportunity to talk with Martha Laning (Executive Director, Generations). I told her
about the glass shelving being added to the display cabinets in the dinning room. Thank you
to Willie Van Sluys for researching and obtaining the glass. We still need to work out a
locking system that doesn’t take away from the beauty of the cabinet. Then anyone will be
able to display their “show and tell” carvings for the community to enjoy (or other carvings).

I asked about the lack of sales of ornaments on the donation tree. She mentioned that
Generations is having an Old Time Christmas Gathering on December 20. Volunteers
manned a booth during that event and showed off their carving skills in an effort to attract
buyers.

She asked if we could call her as a reminder on our meeting nights and Saturday carve days
so they remember to unlock the east door.

I was also reminded that anyone can purchase food at lunch time. It isn’t necessary to call
ahead. The calling ahead only pertains to the seniors on the special lunch program.


NEW MEMBER

Helen Williamson
Random Lake, WI 53075


MEETING MINUTES
by Alice Prahl

The meeting was called to order by President Philip Schils at 7 pm at Generations on
December 7, 2011.  Phil welcomed the members and guests and told us all to get into the
line for the potluck. Delicious food was enjoyed by all. Thanks you organizers.

Shelves for Display Cabinet. Willard VanSluys obtained the shelves and installed them.
Now we just need to check into locks.

Saturday Carve.  Darrell Abston and Pam Moir will lead the Saturday carve at 9 am, and the
program will be carving small Christmas trees.

January Banquet. Sign up sheet available for banquet to be held at Wagon Wheel.

New Officers. The nominating committee did an outstanding job of recruiting a new
President and Board Members. Don Lorier was nominated as President and Larry Lienau
and Jim Roeder were nominated as Board Members. Bob Lawrence made a motion to accept
the full slate of candidates and Frank Lohr seconded. The membership passed the motion.
The new officers will be installed in January.

Carving at Generations. Martha Laning would like to start a regular day or evening carving
session. She also is requesting a teacher for a class of middle school students.

Most Improved Carver.
Only two members, Al
Herwig and Dean Pingel
were involved in the
contest this year. Both
displayed their carvings
and in the closest vote
ever, Al was declared
the winner. He will
receive the plaque from Phil Huenink
at the January banquet.

50/50 Raffle. The club netted $70
and the winners were Joanne
Drinkwine and Dan Casey.

Artistry in Wood. Neil Lorenz reported that Willard VanSluys will be featured carver. Don
Lorier is cutting the blocks and will distribute them. Judy Larson volunteered to assemble the
blocks into canes.

Show & Tell. Carvings from the Chilton class were shown by Phil Schils, Willie VanSluys, Bill
Buelter, Bea Pingel, Judy Larson, Larry Lienau, and Bernice Ninedorf. Other members
showing their “works of art” were Sharry Schielke, Dick Jelovnik, Don Lohr, Bob Lawrence,
Phil Huenink, Gene Ninedorf, and Mike Ketz.



























































Carving Project. Wally Hanna attended the meeting because he was looking for a carver to
repair one of his collectible carvings.

The meeting was adjourned by President Philip Schils at 9:00 pm.


BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

Happy Birthday, Lori Jarosh, January 18


GETTING TO KNOW YOU-DON LORIER

This month, we will get to know our new president, Don
Lorier. Don has been a very active member of the Kettle
Karvers Klub, and he is again taking on the role of
President. Don has been carving for 18 years, but had
his first introduction to carving as a nine or ten-year-old
when he whittled branches into bows, arrows, and
swords, mostly out of willow trees. He has been a
member of Kettle Karvers for 16 or 17 years. He enjoys
being a member because of the fellowship with other
members who are so willing to share their carving
experiences and knowledge. He also enjoys
volunteering at club events.

Positions within the club held by Don are current
president, five years as board member, two years as
secretary, two years as vice president, two years as president, four years as annual
club wood show co-chairman, eight years as Festival of Trees co-chairman (four events),
two years as friendship cane leader, and nine years as Uncle Al wood provider.

Don was influenced to start carving by Roy Hayner. Roy frequently played cribbage with
Don’s neighbor and that is how they met. Roy talked about woodcarving and eventually
brought some of his carvings along. Roy gave him one of his extra carving knives and two
rounded chisels to get him to try carving. Through some encouragement on his part, Don
started simple carvings, even though time was limited due to his family, garden, yard work,
and 1½ jobs.

Chainsaw carving is Don’s favorite, but he also enjoys chip carving in
the round and relief carving. He has never entered any competitions,
mainly because he has been busy at our shows as president, show
co-chairman, or as a volunteer in different areas. Other types of wood-
working that Don has done are kitchen and bathroom remodeling work,
cabinetry, lathe work, wooden stepstools, and boxes and knickknacks
for his children and grandchildren for Christmas and birthday gifts.

Don took classes with Cliff Drinkwine (show birds) Floyd Rhadigan when
he came to Lakeland College (caricatures), Bob Lawrence (chip carving),
and Richard Young (large Santa). He considers the chainsaw carvings
for the Festival of Trees as his major accomplishment. Those include
penguins, angels, Christmas trees, moose, and snowmen.

Don’s favorite wood for chainsaw carving
is white pine because of its straight grain
and minor cracking. For other carvings,
he likes basswood because of its good
grain and ease of carving and butternut
because of its interesting decorative grain
and ease of carving.

Don has been married for 36 years, has
two sons and one daughter, and four
grandchildren. His two grandsons have
done basic woodcarving with grandpa’s
assistance and are well on their way to
follow in his footsteps. Don worked at
Kohler Co. Generator Division in the Engineering Department. He started as a draftsman
and graduated to engineering analyst responsible for packaging printed circuit boards used
on the entire line of generator sets. He was laid off in 2003 due to an economic downturn. He
then helped his oldest son establish a painting and decorating business for two years. Don
is now retired and stays busy helping his family and friends.

Other hobbies Don enjoys include gardening, yard upkeep, fishing for pan fish, pike, and
salmon, hiking, motorcycling, watching grandchildren in sports and activities, and some
hunting. He loves to be outdoors doing anything. In the past 20 years, he has enjoyed trips
to Mexico, Wisconsin Northwoods, and car trips throughout the United States. In addition to
his volunteering with our club, he also volunteers at church events and has served as elder
and usher. He also shares his carvings as fundraiser items for various organizations.

Don is our new president and welcomes member suggestions on how to make our club
better. Talk to him about ideas to make monthly meetings more interesting or ideas to
promote the club and extend its longevity.


UPCOMING EVENTS

February 4-5, 2012: The Cedar Valley Woodcarvers Show, Longbranch Convention Center,
90 Twixt Town Road NE, Cedar Rapids, IA; Saturday 9 am-5 pm and Sunday 10 am- 4 pm.

March 17-18, 2012: Wisconsin River Woodcarvers 12th Annual Show, Competition & Sale,
The Patriot Center, 10101 Market Street, Rothschild, WI; Saturday 9 am-5 pm and Sunday
9 am- 4 pm (located adjacent to Cedar Creek Mall, Exit 185).

March 31-April 1, 2012: Northeastern Wisconsin Woodworkers Guild 30th Annual Show, Sale
& Raffle, Southwest High School, 1331 Packerland Drive, Green Bay, WI; 9:30 am-3 pm.

April 21, 2012: Kettle Karvers Klub, Artistry in Wood, Municipal Building, 375 Buffalo Street,
Sheboygan Falls, WI; 10 am-4 pm.

June 9-17, 2012: 46th International Woodcarvers Congress, Jackson County
Fairgrounds, Maquoketa, IA; competition exhibit open June 14-17; enter carvings in
competition June 9-10; seminars June 11-15; www.awcltd.org.
January 2012 Newsletter
Volume 21  Issue 1
Dean Pingel
Al Herwig (3)