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Show Iff" "Battle Creek '- - -- Just completed a job which has been hanging fire for at least ten years. Almost a decade ago, the Little Woman assigned me the task of refinishing a little chair that has been in the possession of the family fam-ily far at least 100 years. I got around to It last week not because I really wanted to perform per-form the renovation; but more to maintain household peace and quiet. The chair has quite a history. Soon after the settlement of Pleasant Pleas-ant Grove, my grandmother raised a patch cf sorghum in her garden located across the street from what is now the Pleasant Grove Seminary. The orop was harvested and the juice therefrom was boiled down into molasses. Grandmother traded a portion of the sweet, amber-colored liquid to Shadrack Driggs for four kitchen chairs he had made in his "Wheelwright Shop." This was sometime during the 1850's. One of these is the chair of which I write. When, at the expense of paint remover, sandpaper, and considerable consider-able elbow grease, the bare wood was exposed, an interesting revelation revel-ation became manifest. The chair seat and legs were made of quaking quak-ing aspen and the rungs and spindles spin-dles of mountain maple. Shadrack Driggs must have been a master craftsman, when one considers con-siders the tools and materials available avail-able at the time. The seat was hand-carved out of two aspen slabs, fastened together with "cowhide "cow-hide glue." The joint is strong and sound today, after a century of constant use. The legs and spindles were evidently evi-dently turned on a "rope laythe," which required two men or boys to pull the rope and the master to do the shaping. Driggs was a craftsman worthy of his hire. A professional mechanic, mechan-ic, devoted to the honest plying of his trade and service to his fellow men. He took the raw, crude materials ma-terials available, and with his two hands, fashioned them into articles of artistic beauty and lasting utility. util-ity. He must have been a man dedicated dedi-cated to his work. Of course, time has changed the equipment we use and the things we work with, whether wood, steel, plastics and atoms or the minds, souls and bodies of men. However, the modem world is still in tragic need of the dedicated worker, whether in the mechanical trades or the teaching, engineering, or medical professions. As just one instance of this need a recent news story told of the plig'ht of the people of Duchesne. The citizens of this Eastern Utah city have built and equipped a small community hospital; but are without the services of a medical doctor. Have been for more than a year, in fact. Only two doctors, located at Roosevelt, attempt to care for the 8.000 Duchesne County residents and many more living in neighboring neighbor-ing Uintah County. The needs of these people medically, med-ically, is serious and urgent: but no practicing physician is willing to make the sacrifice in money, living comforts and prestige that general practice in Duchesne entails. en-tails. The role of the specialist in the practice of medicine is an important impor-tant one; but too much cannot be said in appreciation of the family doctors and general practitioners. Theirs is a dedicate profession of humanitarian benefit. It is hoped that some young doctor, who places service and dedication ded-ication above material gain.- will answer the call of the good people of Duchesne. There is no nobler calling; and the thankful appreciation apprec-iation of the people served will more than compensate for the less favorable considerations involved. So long 'til Thursday. |
