We went to Baldwin this morning to a place called the Shrine of the Pines, which guess what, is a shrine to the pine, and it was amazing. It was a log cabin built by a man called R.W Overholzer, and inside he had crafted all the furniture from the white pine, which is the Michigan State tree. The guy was a genius, the pieces he had made were absolutely awesome. He made everything from the trees or the tree roots, he made his own glue and even his own sand paper from sand and glass. The pieces included a card table and chairs with a secret compartment for him to keep his ace in the whole, a gun rack, and beds with the bedsprings made from deer hide. There was also a 100-pound love seat that could be swiveled to face toward or away from the fire with one hand as he made it on a pivot. He also made a rocking chair that took him three years to finish as he had to find two roots that balanced exactly the same for the struts; the chair will rock 55 times without stopping from each push. The most amazing piece was a dining table made from a 700-pound tree stump. He cut it with a cross saw and when he discovered it was rotten he inlaid the top with more than 60 pieces; he made the chairs to go with it from roots. Henry Ford apparently offered him $50,000.00 for the table (in 1940) but he refused to sell it. The man had some serious vision to take old tree stumps and roots and make them into things that are truly beautiful and unique. He unfortunately passed away at the age of 61 from a heart attack. It’s a very cool place to see.
This afternoon we defrosted the fridge and freezer in the trailer as we were running out of space in the fridge cos of the big lump of ice on the metal element thingies. We had to buy ice to pack in the cooler though as our ice machine has stopped working. I’m not sure what’s wrong with it but everything works except the cooling part – can’t have ice if the machine doesn’t get the water cold!

Mike: I’m always amazed at the lifetime commitment and labor of love some artists show. He was truly gifted. He was actually a hunting guide and taxidermist 9 mo of the year and did the wood working 3 mo. I’d have taken the money!