Pocahontas Woods is a non-profit woodworking education and business incubator program in Marlinton, West Virginia offering a program in Fine Woodworking in partnership with the New River Community and Technical College. According to Pocahontas Woods Executive Director, Richard Horton, students can take individual day or evening woodworking classes for college credit, enroll to study for a “skill set” certificate, apply in a 6 month apprenticeship program, sign up for a one-year collegiate certificate (with credits transferable to a degree program), or opt for a two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program in Fine Woodworking. Private classes and a Journeymans Program are offered as well. Richard comes to Pocahontas as a Vista volunteer in service to Americorps.
Left to right are: Mike (instructor), Richard (director), Jerill, (student) and John, (instructor)
The 3300 square foot woodshop inventories 25 large equipment woodworking machines and is also available for on-site rental use.
Pocahontas County is the 3rd largest county east of the Mississippi, containing natural resources from the West Virginia mountain area forests, hills and hollows with a rich abundance of cherry, oak and walnut trees from which Pocahontas Woods School uses to grow woodworking capabilities from the surrounding areas and current population of 8000 people. This small, yet beautiful area is filled with woodworkers and two local saw mills, ready to teach and help their community thrive and prosper.
What began as a dream for Gibbs Kinderman, local chairman of WVMR radio, and Pocahontas Woods board member, has become a reality for many people to rebuild their careers in a new venue. Creating opportunities for veterans, disabled individuals, the unemployed, or those just starting out in life to develop their futures, is what The Pocahontas Woods School is all about. Managing this school with Kinderman are 8 additional board members and several volunteer instructors. Funding is provided by the USDA Rural Development, the Pocahontas County Commission, the Veterans Administration, and the New River Technical College. A chair lift for the physically challenged students was funded and provided by the Christopher Reeves Foundation.
One of the class instructors at the Pocahontas School is designer and craftsman of fine furniture, John Wesley Williams. Some of John’s craftsmanship is shown below. John’s woodworks are also on display at The Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia. Click on the first picture to access John’s website.
Recently, we had the opportunity to meet one of the school’s students, Jerill Vance, at the Parkersburg, West Virginia Woodcraft Store’s annual event, and from whence this story originated. Jerill was a displaced worker from the Dow Chemical Company, working in research and development for 32 years in South Charleston, West Virginia. A hobbyist woodworker, learning from his grandfather and father since the age of 14, now attends his final year in the Pocahontas AAS program. Jerill built his first woodshop in 1981 and has built 2 additional shops since then, doing fine woodworking for family and friends. Some of Jerrill’s works include a candlestand, made of cherry, maple and cury cherry. The inlay is walnut and cherry.
The hutch is made from cherry, curly cherry and walnut:
This spalted cabinet is created with maple, spalted maple, and walnut as an accent:
The journeyman’s tool chest was a required college project, made of poplar and stained to look like old walnut. It has all handcut dovetails with 3 interior trays made from ash.
The jewelry box is made from walnut and cherry material removed from a house demolition site and has mitered corners reinforced with walnut splines.
Now living in Cabell County West Virginia, and traveling 3-1/2 hours, once per week for the past two years to the Pocahontas School in Marlinton to attain his woodworking degree, Jerill will graduate in early December 2010. Jerill commented, “Although this program was not offered anywhere else in the State of West Virginia, I was fortunate it was in traveling distance from my home”. Vance continues, “I am anxious to return home to my family, and have a productive life in professional woodworking”. Taking his long time hobby into a professional career in woodworking has been a lifetime dream. Going forward, Jerill hopes to give back by receiving funding from Workforce West Virginia to teach woodworking to others who have lost their previous careers and help rebuild their lives.
The college requires this program to be heavy in design applications. Jerill’s senior project was to design and build a historical “period piece” of furniture. He chose the 18th century, Queen Ann period using 3 prominent combinations of the low boy bottom, drop front secretary, and high boy top. During his investigation of the furniture in this time period, Jerill built in a few extra ideas from his research.
Jerill added 2 hidden compartment features. One is behind the false back center drawer area, accessible by removing the left or right pigeon holes and reaching behind the center drawer of the drop front secretary…
…the other is behind the center carved fan on the low boy:
The hidden compartment can be accessed by removal of either the left or right drawers, and reaching behind the center front face.
Jerill discovered, “the reason for the hidden compartments in the furniture was to hide valuable documents, money, and jewelry, since there were no safety deposit boxes or banking establishments in the 18th century”.
Jerill will finish his project with a Danish oil and shellac applications:
John and Jerill discuss the school and projects…
Thanks Jerill for your inspirational story and best wishes for your new career.
Another teacher at the Pocahontas school is Mike Hefner, a 3 year woodworking volunteer, who informally went through the AAS program, and mostly teaches woodturning. Mike shows off his maple and cherry grandfather clock, that he built for his sister’s wedding present below.
The Pocahontas Woods School is a very helpful, team oriented organization. Relationships between students, instructors and management are more like family that leads to successful graduates based on encouragement with technical and hands-on education.
In addition, Pocahontas Woods advertises in the Woodcraft Magazine, and Woodcraft provides discounts to the school, which according to Richard and John occurs on a weekly basis.
Pocahontas Woods information can be found at www.pocahontaswoods.com and www.pocahontaswoods.org
Email: info@pocahontaswoods.com or contact Richard Horton at 304-799-6985.
Jerill will be happy to build your special wood project, contact him at: jerillv@aol.com.
Jerill is scheduled for a wood show at the Red Caboose Artisan Center (located in the visitors center at Heritage Village) in Huntington, WV, on March 18th and 19th.�
Click HERE for contact information.
Auf wiedersehen…Frank
