“ I never did like being away from home . There ’ s no swimming hole or neighbor to go visit .”
Lonnie Withrow makes cutting boards , rolling pins and many other items in his workshop in Lewisburg .
what was left over was scraps and a sellable product that the public might want .”
His first items were coffee tables and tile-topped coffee tables , kitchen cabinets , tables and chairs and then trivets and trays .
“ I have a really good reproduction of a 1925 Hoosier Beauty cabinet several years ago that I was so proud of – people would line up to see it .”
These days his focus is more on smaller items such as rolling pins , jewelry boxes , trivets , charcuterie boards , containers with lids , cutting boards , and dough boards .
They are for sale at Primitive Goods in Ronceverte and Quintessential Quirks in White Sulphur Springs . Last November he was invited to display his work at the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau for the month , where he enjoyed interacting with the public .
“ I am so proud that I was allowed to display in the visitor ’ s center ,” he said , smiling . “ The public was nice to me . I sold items and made a good income that month .”
Throughout the year he can be found chatting with potential customers at his booth at festivals and craft shows with his daughter Mary Vigueras .
“ If someone comes by your display and you engage them , that person might just be encouraged to buy . Even if that potential customer doesn ’ t buy anything I ’ ve made , often they stand and visit for a while . It ’ s part of the experience .”
The rolling pins are his best sellers and he makes three styles – French ,
Italian and American . He recently discovered a new wood for the rolling pins – Osage orange wood . “ The Osage made their bows from it – it ’ s dense , heavy and strong . You have the weight of the item to help with rolling your dough .”
Although he has been creating wood products for the past 25 years and estimates to have sold hundreds of pieces , he doesn ’ t consider himself a
Withrow is passionate about taking an idea to his shop and creating a little sawdust with his table saw .
professional – just someone who keeps trying . He keeps trying despite constant pain and fatigue brought on by fibromyalgia and a herniated disc .
“ If it were not for my daughter and my woodworking craft , I wouldn ’ t be living today – I would have lain in this recliner and died ,” he said . “ Some days I feel so badly I just sleep .”
But he is happy to be passing on his passion to his daughter . He recently paid for her to take a wood-turning class , and she has made several of her own bowls already . “ I ’ m glad that she ’ s taking to it . I think she might have sawdust in her blood too .” �
SOUTH � SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER ’ 24 � 41