Wood pecker carves history
Longmonter makes ‘troll homes’ from fairgrounds’ cottonwoods
By Susan Glairon
The Daily Times-Call
Publish Date: 9/1/2006
LONGMONT — When Bill Wright read that two historic trees would be chopped down at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, he raced down there to save a piece of history.
He knew he couldn’t save the trees, which had been weakened over the years and had become unsafe; what he wanted was the bark, which was still in good shape.
Wright, a Longmont resident who watched the two cottonwoods grow over the decades, took the bark pieces home and carved some of them into plaques and free-standing pieces that look like whimsical houses he calls “troll homes.”
He plans to sell the pieces for $50 and up. But mostly he feels he saved a piece of Longmont’s history. He gave one of the pieces to fairgrounds supervisor Pete Reynolds, so the facility would always have a memento from the historic trees.
“It’s a part of Longmont and the fairgrounds,” said Wright, 75. “Those trees are going to live on.”
Rebecca Harp, scheduling coordinator for the fairgrounds, said the piece is to be displayed in Reynolds’ office.
“It’s just a beautiful piece of folk art,” Harp said. “We were real appreciative.”
The two trees, which grew along a small irrigation ditch at Nelson Road and Hover Street, were removed in July after officials determined they were unsafe and could blow over during a windstorm. One had been hit by lightning nearly 10 years ago and was in danger of splitting apart, while the base of the other one was determined to be hollow and unstable.
Wright, a self-taught carver who has been whittling since he was a child, said each piece takes between eight and 12 hours to create, using woodcarving chisels and high-speed dental drills. He collected about a bushel and a half of the bark; so far, he’s finished 10 pieces.
Wright, a designer for Longmont Signs for 35 years, has been involved in art most of his life. He has dabbled in Navajo-style jewelry, oil paintings, hand-painted neckties, and carved the wooden buttstocks on rifles and shotguns.
“It’s fun,” Wright said. “If I live to be 100 years old, I’ll never get all the projects done that I’d like to do.”
Susan Glairon can be contacted at 303-684-5224 or sglairon@times-call.com.
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