Joe Barry sent me the following note in reference to our concerns about passing along the knowledge, interest and tools to new generations.

Doug:

The lack of young craftspeople has been on both our minds for a couple of years. With no children between either of us, Dee and I wrestled with this issue when we did our wills a couple of years ago. We both have as our largest assests our craft libraries and equipment - weaving in her case, woodworking in mine. We both belong to organizations in which most of the members are "of a certain age', ie: white haired. Our nieces and nephews aren't interested and at least one sister-in-law fears I will leave my tools to her son and warp his path away from white collar success.

I got most of my equipment when a friend's father passed away and none of her family members had any interest in his tools. Fortunately, his widow was willing to let me pay her over time for the tools because I valued them and would use them. I have hoped to encounter a young woodworker just starting out that wanted a mentoring relationship to whom I could pass on my collection intact. I'm only 54 (this week) so I expect to get 20+ more years of use out of this equipment so I'm in no hurry. I just see guys coming out of North Bennet Street School and needing $20,000 worth of equipment to get started and I would like to at least share the wealth.

There is a guy near here that has made a very good living buying up old school shops. When he has learned of a shuttered shop he approaches the Superintendent and offers to buy all the shop equipment and "take it off their hands". Administrators have a vague idea it is worth something and are only too glad to accept his offer of "$4,000 and I'll haul it all away myself" He used to make that back after reconditioning the 24" Rockwell/Delta planer most shops had. The rest was gravy. Interestingly, these days he has trouble moving the equipment out of his barn. I guess we old fart woodworkers aren't buying much and the young woodworkers aren't out there.

I don't have any great ideas for this problem. I hope that maybe at some point there can be a network to connect the young craftsmen with the the older ones so that there is some continuity of the tradition and knowledge.

Joe

Here in Arkansas, we have an Artists in Schools program sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council that pays artists $125.00 per day for short term teaching engagements in schools. It is a wonderful program, but the pay should be much higher to enable more artists to participate. If school administrators in the US realized the great wealth they had in their local artists, they would be bent over backwards to make use of artists like Joe and Dee, offering significant financial benefit to artists willing to teach and share their understanding of tools, processes and materials with young people.

Recently, a friend of mine, Doug Powell, volunteered to teach glass bead making at Clear Spring School and then in our local high school. He was named citizen of the week in our local paper last week in recognition of his contribution. My daughter Lucy came home thrilled with the beads she had made. But we are paddling against a strong current.

On the other hand, your sister-in-law has great cause for worry. Exposure to the crafts can have earth shaking consequences for some. A friend of mine, Cecil Persons, walked by a potter demonstrating at a mall. He was captivated and decided on the spot to become a professional potter. That led him to a fascination with glazes which led to his master's degree in ceramic engineering. He is just now getting back to pottery, but with his retirement plan in place.

Another acquaintance, Bill Strickland walked by a classroom where a teacher was throwing a pot. Bill stopped and watched. The teacher invited him to try. Bill attributes that moment to the beginning of his transformation from a juvenile delinquent to a professional craftsman to a major player in turning thousands of children's lives around. Bill was given a MacArthur Foundation award for his work with inner-city youth.

What I've seen in the woodshop is that work with the hands has the power to engage the heart in learning. Take the hands away, and you open the door to boredom and disengagement. Boredom and disengagement lead to drop-outs and failure, but the hands of artists, Joe, yours, Dee's, and mine do have the power to transform education.

The photo above is a quick snap-shot of the Shopsmith my father gave me for my 14th birthday. It is still in use as you can see.