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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Center at Medfield has become a second home to many of the town’s seniors.
For the woodcarving group that meets weekly from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Center’s craft room, the Council on Aging has become their personal workshop.
Six dedicated members of the woodcarving class spend their Thursday mornings at the Center chatting, sipping coffee, and littering the floor with wood chips.
“It happened 12 – maybe 15 – years ago,” said the class leader, Lou Fellini. “It’s just a group of fellas that were doing carving and wanted to get together. Then we became a group of people just getting together – and I say ‘people’ because there were number of women in the class – and we started out with novices and experienced carvers. Now here we are.”
The group is fairly dynamic, as each craftsman has a different specialty from the others. One member, Morgan Sly, has carved dozens of ducks to gift to family members and friends, while another member, Jim Cardell, almost exclusively carves Santa Clauses to sell in New Hampshire. Some members also dabble in wood burning, and create scenes with their carvings.
To someone with no history of woodcarving, the seniors’ creations may look flawless, but it’s important to remember that each one was a novice at one point. The woodcarving class is always looking for men and women to join and is happy to teach the basics, too.
“If you come in with no experience at all, there is a requirement to carve what is called a ‘Pencil Santa,’” Lou said. “The idea is that I can step somebody through that in a relatively short time, and they’ve accomplished something. It covers the basic cutting skills.”
Although Lou only spoke of one requirement, the craftsmen demonstrated that any new members must be open to some silliness, too. Between bursts of hearty laughter, the craftsmen playfully pester one another with jokes and witty remarks.
“This kind of banter goes on for two hours,” said Morgan. “That’s the most important part of the group is that we get along well and laugh a lot.”
The seniors also expressed that it isn’t necessary to have a fancy array of tools; a meat-cutting glove, a couple of sharp knives, and a chunk of wood is all one really needs to become a wood carver.
For any of Medfield’s seniors that are interested in picking up a new hobby and making new friends, the woodcarving club might be the perfect answer.
