Mineola Monitor (Mineola, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 20, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 18, 2016 Page: 7 of 14
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Mineola Monitor • Wednesday, May 18,2016 7A
Champion
Car v er
This parrot carved
by Raymond North
is one of his favorite
carvings and it's on
display at his home in
Mineola.
Retired attorney ’s artistic skills begin with block of wood
| etirement often allows people
to put their heart and passion
JL Vinto a hobby that they were
forced to put down due to work obliga-
tions or raising children - or a combina-
tion of both. This includes 80-year-old
Raymond North of Mineola who now
spends more of his time honing his craft
in the art of woodworking.
If you make your way out to North's
home on County Road 2310 in Mine-
ola, there is a good chance you will see
him fine-tuning his
STORY & PHOTOS hobby.
BY JOSH LAND When asked how
long he had been
carving wood he said, "About 40 years
or so. Actually probably longer than
that; I started as a Boy Scout but later
found football and girls so my interest
changed."
Now that he has retired, he is learn-
ing to perfect his craft, after already
conquering another - law. North prac-
ticed law in the Dallas area after grad-
uating from Southern Methodist Uni-
versity, Dedman School of Law 1963
until his retirement in 2014.
North said he picked up carving
through fascination of his great-great-
grandfather John's work, who was a
master woodworker in New York until
the Industrial Revolution around 1760.
Machinery was put in place to mass
produce things which put people like
John out of a job. "My great-great-
grandfather would make these fantas-
tic claw-toed chairs, by hand. After all
the machinery came in with the Indus-
trial Revolution, it became more cost
efficient for individuals to get one that
was mass produced."
It has been a long process for North,
who said he began working in Ward
Foundation events in 2011 where he
started as a novice. Since that time he
has been at the intermediate level but
his most recent competition will allow
him to fill out the application to be in
the advanced level.
North spent hours on two carvings to
enter in the Ward World Competition
Wildfowl Carving Competition, April
22 - 24 in Ocean City, Maryland.
Battling more than 750 competitors
that entered more than 1,300 carv-
ings - North had his work cut out for
him. "I am far from a master or world
champion, which are the two levels I
look to obtain in the future. Through
hard work and dedication, 111 get there
in time."
Now that Raymond North is retired, he can spend more time on his woodcarving hobby. Here he is working
on a duckling with a chisel outside of his workshop.
The 46th Annual Ward World Cham-
pionships attracted competitors from
across the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, Japan and Argentina
who flock to Ocean City to compete for
top honors.
North earned first place in the inter-
mediate division in the seabird cat-
egory as well as Best in Category third
place, species for his heron. North said
he spent about 50 hours on the carving.
In the Miniature Category -Seabirds,
North placed second with his empo-
rer penguin, which he diligently spent
about 30-40 hours working on over the
course of months.
The wood carving process starts with
a simple block of wood in various sizes
depending on the project. North then
begins to sketch out a rough drawing
of the object he intends to create, then
gets started with the wood.
The chisels, knives, sandpaper,
grinders, clamps, carver screws and
other various tools help the wood take
shape. After sanding is complete -
painting helps the projects come to life.
A sealant finishes projects off to help
preserve the carving for future genera-
tions to enjoy.
North shared a story of a particular
work of art that he gave as a gift. Sev-
eral years ago he racked up a $3,000
debt at a dentist office due to having
several procedures over the course of
a short time. The receptionists in the
office knew that North had artistic abil-
ity due to their chats in the office, and
asked if he could make something for
their boss for Christmas which was
quickly approaching.
North knew that his dentist spent
time swimming with Florida manatees
and decided to carve the animal as the
gift. Dozens of hours later, North fin-
ished the work of art, gift-wrapped it
and dropped it off at the dentists' of-
fice. "I think I asked the receptionist
for $25 each, which was a total of $75
for the carving," North said.
Time passed and North's phone rang
and it's his dentist on the other end,
who proceeded to thank him and let
him know how accurate of a represen-
tation the carving of the manatee was.
"He placed my carving into a glass
case to display in his office and I think
he enjoyed it. It wasn't my intent, but I
never received a bill after that," North
said with a big smile.
North has already started working
on one of his projects for the 2017 Ward
Carving Competition. His entry will
be a life-size stickup of a short-billed
dowitcher which he hopes will take
him to the Master Level. A stickup is a
decorative way to display a decoy, ac-
cording to North.
"Some guys are all about winning,
and that's great. My goal is to improve
my skills in design, presentation and
the overall work itself. Winning is a
nice feeling, but that's not what it's
about for me," North concluded.
They say winning cures all, but that's
not always the truth. Sometimes it's
the journey along the way that's the
best part of the ride.
Mineolan among University of Texas
at Tyler honor society inductees
Jessica Glasscock of Mineola,
a nursing student at The Uni-
versity of Texas at Tyler, was
among the recent inductees to
the Iota Nu Chapter of Sigma
Theta Tau International Honor
Society for nursing.
Nursing students who main-
tain a GPA of greater than or
equal to 3.0 and are included
in the top 35 percent of their
graduating class are invited to
join STTI.
The UT Tyler Sigma Theta Tau
Chapter has joined with East
Texas Baptist University and
Texas A&M Commerce Univer-
sity to form an at-large chapter.
A re-chartering ceremony and
induction dinner was held at
The Cascades Country Club in
Tyler. Eighty-nine nursing stu-
dents and nurses were induct-
ed, with their current and fu-
ture contributions recognized.
Principal
From page 1A
Her strengths are her ability
to communicate well with
parents, staff, and students
and her incredible work eth-
ic to ensure that our children
have what they need to suc-
ceed. Jole embodies Mineola
ISD's core values of respect,
integrity, empathy, resil-
ience, and ambition and we
are blessed to have her."
Ray was one of over 87
applicants for the position.
The primary school staff and
parents completed a survey
to develop the profile for
their next leader. Applica-
tions that fit the profile were
reviewed and the top candi-
dates were selected for inter-
views. "We had some very
qualified applicants for this
position. The campus com-
mittee, comprised of parents
and staff, believe that Mrs.
Ray is the best candidate to
lead their school," said Tun-
nell.
"I plan to lead and teach as
we grow in our craft as edu-
cators challenging the next
generation and continuing
to build the legacy of Mine-
ola ISD. Mineola is a com-
munity I have called home
for five years. My husband
and I enjoy serving, volun-
teering, and supporting this
community. I look forward
to this opportunity and what
the future holds for Mineola
ISD," Ray said.
An executive session last-
ed 13 minutes and nothing
but general personnel items
were discussed according to
Tunnell.
A reception for the hiring
of Ray followed the meeting.
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Newman, Doris. Mineola Monitor (Mineola, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 20, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 18, 2016, newspaper, May 18, 2016; Mineola, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth899747/m1/7/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Mineola Memorial Library.