a small world story ...

so !  another small world book story, very similar to the one

 with my w.c. heinz book below ... this new version was sent to me

(again) by gayle heinz, savior of 'once they heard the cheers' ...

almost as good a book story as mine ... 

click the pictures for easier reading ...

   

 

 

 

 below from September 23, 2025 

 

 so, it was 1980 when i first met the  

sportswriter WC Heinz, who lived in Dorset, VT,

a 20 minute drive from where we lived in Arlington at the time. 

he asked if i would build a hutch for their daughter Gayl

and i willingly agreed, as i was just in the process of

becoming a full time furniture maker. 

below is a note on the history of the hutch that i received,

i believe, on the 20th anniversary of the delivery of the piece!

you can click the picture to enlarge it ...  

 

W.C. was a gracious gentleman 

and we hit it off pretty much immediately ... 

 

this photo is from 2022.  it took a while for the project to play out:

saw the logs, dry the lumber, for me to figure out what i was doing,

but in the end it turned out to be a real piece of furniture! 

i remember being very proud of it, and i was thrilled

when i delivered it to Gayl who welcomed 

it into her home outside of Boston.  on the completion of

the project, Bill gave me a copy of his book

'Once They Heard the Cheers', with what i remembered

as a wonderful inscription on the title page ... 

 time passed, and though i occasionally stopped to visit with

Betty and Bill before they passed, i don't think i saw Gayl again until 2023 

when she was in town for a high school reunion. it was

the year that Will was inducted into the Burr and Burton

hall of fame for the arts.  she recognized the name and touched

base with me afterwards. 

after she left, i looked high and low for the book, 

but i came up empty handed ... 

time passed again, and she had a gift for me when she arrived today!

 a copy of the book i couldn't find ... 

how she came by it and what it actually is, 

is the small world story ...  

 

her daughter got married this past summer in new hampshire.

before the wedding one of the bride's friends was in a used

bookstore, knew the relationship of the book to the

bride's grandfather, bought it, and passed it on to her. 

because of what was inside, the daughter passed it to

her mom, who passed it to me today.  you can't make this up!

the book her daughter's friend bought was 

 ACTUALLY MY LONG LOST BOOK!!!

how this happened, i have no idea 

Kit says it was 'karma' ...and i'll buy that. 

 i may have loaned it to someone who didn't return it, 

or we may have accidentally de accessioned

it when we moved from Arlington to dorset in 1996

but, who knows?

below is some more info on mr. heinz, the sportswriter ...

click the photos to enlarge them ...  

the front and back inside flaps

 

the back of the book .. 

here's to Karma! 

 

one (almost) final note ... 

W.C. Heinz is justly famous for two other things:

 #1. his collaboration with former military surgeon

Richard Hornberger to get the 1968 book 'Mash'

published.  the rest of that is history:

book, movie, television show! what a legacy!

 

and #2. a short article from 1949 in the New York Sun

titled 'death of a racehorse' .. an essay justly compared to 

Hemingway and others as one of the 'finest short stories'  of all time ...

the link to it above goes to a discussion of the story, 

but this link will take you to the actual story.

 

and still, on it goes ... 

when i got an email from gayl in september telling me that 

she would be in town for her reunion, i looked one more time

and then ordered a copy of it from thrift books.

that one didn't arrive until two days after she left so

i then asked her if i could send it to her daughter ... 

her reply is below ...

 

 

 on we go! 

 

 

 

3,000,000 Page Views

well, ok ... i mentioned my blog was getting close to 3,000,000 page 

views a couple of weeks ago, and when i checked recently, we

are now over the line 

 we hit 2,000,000 back in 2017

that post mentions that we have a lot of photos

on the internet too, like 10,000 plus in 2017! 

while i am now officially 'retired' i am still kicking around

the shop, taking car of some long ignored loose ends. 

it ain't too bad ...

 

 

Veteran's Day 2009 ... Memorial Day 2026

Although this post from 2009 is titled 'Veterans Day', i think it also works for Memorial Day 2026 ...

I hope you all have a nice holiday to start the summer off on the right foot ... 

My father, in his army uniform, circa 2002, with his college picture in the background over his right shoulder, and service medals over his left ... I flashed on this photo, which was totally unposed, when I was talking with Horst today ... Click it to enlarge it. It is one of my most favorite images ...

Horst, with his painting, 'The Garden', at a show opening a couple of years ago ...

This one is for my family, my friends Horst and Tom, my brother Maurice, and all the many others who have served our country over the years.
Horst came by today to pick up my scrap wood to burn in his studio fireplace, a job he's been doing for, I don't know, 15 years? 20 years? Who knows? A long time. He is friend and our former neighbor at our old house on Red Mountain Road. You can often see prints of his paintings in the background of the photos of my shop. He stopped to chat, telling me he was on his way to visit our friend Tom, another ex neighbor of ours who often would tell us his war stories of being shot down as a bomber pilot in WW II, about being captured behind enemy lines, and about subsisting on mangelwurzels in a German prisoner of war camp for a year or so until he was liberated by Allied forces. They were great and amazing stories. Horst didn't speak much of his service time today, but shared with me that his brother was killed in World War II when the troop ship he was on was torpedoed in the North Atlantic. I didn't know that. He asked about my father's World War II experience, which he knew vaguely about, and we talked briefly about that. My father was in the China Burma India theater, in charge of operating one of the first radar installations anywhere ever, in Chickiang, China, monitoring air traffic, friendly and enemy, flying supplies 'over the hump', (the Himalayas) from India. He never spoke much about his war experiences there except to tell amazing stories of the industriousness of the Chinese people. Two of my favorites were one about runway construction (as I recall now it was 1500 feet long, a 3o' fill at one end, and a 20' cut at the other, many people, many picks and shovels and carts, one month) and the other was about the time a B29 went off the end of that runway and the Chinese people carried the entire plane (in what I recall was a very short time) a piece at a time up the 30' fill at the end of that runway where it had come to rest ... We know our father did a good job there because he was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts. He was a quiet and peaceful man, like many others who serve their country. We thank them all today for their efforts ....

My father's Bronze Star certificate

Our friend Tom and his wife Ruth, circa 1984

My mother and father and my brother Marce and his wife Edie, spring 2005 ... I've got my brother's picture in a uniform somewhere, but it's not in a handy place ...

what kind of steel base can i have on my slab top table?

ok .. blast from the past, 2013 ... this was about the time we 

got rolling on the claro slab tables ... this post is originally

from 2013 and has been viewed about 35,000 times ...

so here it is again today ... enjoy! 

there is a slide show of these tables at this link ... 

invariably, after the question 'how much does a slab top table cost?', the next question is, 'are there other kinds of table bases i should consider?'  there are.  the legs shown above are our most popular style.  based on a shaker design, below, they are cut (wastefully, i admit), from a slab of 1.5" thick steel on a waterjet, at a local steel fabricators shop.  the process is extremely accurate, but slow going through the thick, solid steel, so the individual cut pieces are expensive even before we grind, polish, drill, tap and assemble them.  they are beautiful though, and extremely rigid, and give the heavy slabs a lighter, sort of 'floating', familiar, yet contemporary look.  click the photos to enlarge them. 

each section consists of the main vertical, a 10" 'wing' for stability and a 2.375 x .375 bar  to tie the whole thing together.  we offer 'natural', top and below, rainbow, a dark browny, bronzy, patina, and black.  these finishes are then top coated to stabilize them.

we can also easily alter their shape as our cnc uses the same programming as the waterjet.  if you can draw it, they can probably cut it.

a flattened version for a smaller table

we also offer fabricated metal bases in a variety of styles.  above and below are our 'trapezoid' bases.  also offered in various finishes, they can be fabricated in any size and can accommodate a design change to allow for a drawer.

more information on this piece at this link.

with the square or rectangular tubing, we can offer a variety of shapes, including squares and xs, shown below.  these bases can be polished and patinated, or left more or less 'as is', like above, for a sort of industrial look.

the restaurant tables below we re fun.  randomly space 5/8ths rebar was welded between two steel plates, randomly painted and randomly rusted.  given that these were 42" high, tghey were bolted to the wood floor, but shortened to traditional dining table height, i'm sure they would make for an interesting look.

wood and rebar combination

we also use plasma cut tapered legs on some of our dining and console tables.

or, our 'bridges' base could also be adapted somehow to a larger, taller scale table.

then we have the 'wood and steel' combinations ...

the 'nakashima inspired' welded steel bases ...

coffee tables ...

and your imagination .. we're open and happy to discuss your designs, either for a slab top you already own, or for a whole table we can design and build for you.  in general, prices for custom steel bases start around $1500. for the welded tubing designs and go up to $5500. to $6000. for the waterjet cut, thick, 'shaker style' patinated steel bases.

 

to see a slide show of  our live edge work over the last 30 years

try this link

A Record Month ...

well, ok ... i mentioned my blog was getting close to 3,000,000 page 

views a couple of weeks ago, and when i checked recently, we

are now over the line 

 we hit 2,000,000 back in 2017

that post mentions that we have a lot of photos

on the internet too, like 10,000 plus in 2017! 

while i am now officially 'retired' i am still kicking around

the shop, taking car of some long ignored loose ends. 

it ain't too bad ...

who are all these people  ? ? ?

101,504 page views last month !!! 

 it looks like we could hit 3,000,000 page views in May sometime. 

quite a surprise to me, though there is a lot to see here, and i do

enjoy sharing information on how custom furniture making

works, (or should i say worked) for me for about 45 years ....  

it has been a great ride ! 

a little history at this link ... 

 

Stewart Brand ... The Whole Earth Catalog

somewhere, (Will confirms this) i have my copy of the whole earth catalog 

that we bought when we were thinking about building a house in 1972 or 73.

hopefully it will come to light again soon as it is a fun read here in 2026 ... 

above is related to an Ezra Klein post in the New York Times on April 24th

Mr. Brand is a pretty amazing guy!

 mr. brand has a new book out now called 

'Maintenance: of Everything, Part 1'

'the constant and almost spiritually important work of fixing our cars, 

of doing home repairs, of caring for one another.'

 we have been on that page ourselves for a long time and 

i have written several blog posts on the subject in the past ...

 

food for thought!  Enjoy! 

 

those dam beavers!

 i had forgotten about this blog post until i stumbled across it while 

looking for some fishing pictures this morning ...

You’ll probably enjoy this, especially if you are from  Pennsylvania.

This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property. It was sent by the PennsylvaniaDepartment of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania . This guy's response is hilarious, but read the State's letter before you get to the response letter, you won't stop once you start.  This guy is good! SUBJECT: DEQ ... File No.97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec 20; Lycoming County Dear Mr. DeVries: It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity: Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated. The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations.. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2010. Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action.. We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions. Sincerely,  David L. Price District Representative and Water Management Division.  Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:  Re: DEQ File No.. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County Dear Mr. Price, Your certified letter dated 11/17/09has been handed to me. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run, Pennsylvania . A couple of beavers are in the process of constructing and maintaining two wood 'debris' dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials 'debris.' I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic. These are the beavers/contractors you are seeking. As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity. My first dam question to you is: (1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or (2) Do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request? If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. (Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.) I have several dam concerns. My first dam concern is, aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names. If you want the damed stream 'restored' to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English. In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams). So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2010? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice by then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them. In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your dam step! The bears are not careful where they dump! Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office. THANK YOU, RYAN DEVRIES & THE DAM BEAVERS