Woodworker makes art from old scraps

When you can’t decide what to do with those leftover scraps of wood, do what Keith Stover does. Make a tiny town.
When you walk into Stover’s wood shop west of Tecumseh, your nose is filled with the sweet smell of cedar. Your eyes, however, are filled with the sight of tiny people riding tiny horses past tiny buildings.
Stover, a lifelong Pottawatomie County resident, started carving wooden scenes about 10 years ago. His first was a little farm that now lives at the Santa Fe Depot Museum. He said he hopes to one day give them his recent accomplishment, which depicts a turn-of-the-century town full of buildings, businesses, people and horses.
“I spent a couple of winters on this thing,” said Stover, 75. “It’s all made out of scrap.”
Stover’s son-in-law works as a house framer and brings Stover all of the leftover wood. It’s not long before the wood is cut, carved and shaped into something incredibly lifelike. The people in Stover’s tiny town stand about an inch tall and are engaged in activities ranging from riding horses to waving at passersby.
There is even a blacksmith shoeing a horse.
Buildings along the street include a dry goods store, a saloon, a hotel, a barber shop, a bank and a livery stable. Shingles and stove pipes adorn each roof.
“I really don’t know how many hours I put in on it,” Stover said. He warmed his wood shop with a wood burning stove during the winter months while he carved.
Stover uses power saws to render the wood into small pieces and scores those that will be used as shingles for roofs. Using hand-held carving tools, including his pocket knife, he cuts and shapes to create people, horses or wagons.
“I don’t use any patterns,” he said. “I built these wagons from memory. When I was a kid, this was our mode of travel. We used it for everything you use a truck for nowadays.”
Stover pointed to a small boy sitting on the back of one of the wagons, and said, “I’ve rode to town a lot of times that way.”
The town is based chiefly on Stover’s childhood memories, especially those of growing up in the Wanette area. The scene in the tiny town depicts trading day, which took place on Saturdays.
“I can remember when there were four cotton gins there,” Stover said.
In some of the wagons are feed sacks, and in others are cream cans the size of pencil erasers. Taking cream to town was a common chore for Stover in his youth. His family would milk their cows and sell the cream.
“That was our cash income — our cream and eggs,” he said.
After he finished school, Stover helped with wheat harvests and served in the U.S. Army for six years. He is retired and was given disability status.
“I’ve always carved a little bit,” he said. “I got to where I couldn’t do anything else. I had to do something.”
Stover built his wood shop about 15 years ago and started carving. He said he has gotten better over time.
A horse, from start to finish, takes about 30 minutes, Stover said. The town has 100 people, 79 horses and about nine wagons. The wagon wheels, no bigger than a half-dollar coin, are the most time-consuming work, he said. Each wheel has 16 spokes arranged around a hub and surrounded by a rim.
The horses are carved from one piece of wood, Stover said. The people are several pieces, including the body, limbs and hat. Each horse is painted, and the people have painted-on clothes.
Bridles and reigns on the horses and wagons are made from hammering soldering wire flat, which is twisted into shape.
The scene is made complete with trees, which are made from cedar branches that have been painted and lacquered. Straw hay in the livery stable and in a straw cart is made from dried grass that has been lacquered.
There is even dirt on the street, made by spreading glue on the plywood base and shaking potting soil from a sifter.
“The fun of making something like this is determining how to do it,” Stover said.
Stover said he has talked with representatives from the Santa Fe Depot Museum about giving them his tiny town.
“A lot of people enjoy this type of stuff,” he said. “Someone will come look, and a little later they’ll bring someone else to look.”
Stover said he carves and creates the scenes for fun.
“It’s just a pastime — a hobby,” he said. “I think I’ll build a wagon train next.”
To anyone wanting to try this hobby for themselves, Stover offers this advice. “Just start whittling. I believe you can do or build anything that you think you can build.
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Jason Smith may be reached at 214-3932.