Man's intricate walking sticks benefit Underground Railroad

by PAUL MORTON

Associate editor

After the company where he worked closed, Wayne Yarber might have felt like a stick in the mud. But he began carving walking sticks that will be the subject of an art exhibit next month.

"Progressive Processing in Elyria -- I'd been working there 19 1/2 years when they closed down," Yarber said. "For the past four years I've been working seasonal with the city. But in the winter, when I've been laid off, that's when I started carving, to give me something to do."

He finds the sticks to carve while walking along the bike path and in a few other wooded places he knows. He will use branches that were recently blown down by storms, but he prefers to use saplings he cuts fresh himself.

"I can't just pick up a dry stick and carve that," Yarber said. "The dry wood is just too brittle. It won't carve up without breaking out the details."

He said he prefers to use heavier woods, like maple or elm. He would like to try oak, too, but he can never seem to find an oak branch straight enough to serve as a walking stick.

He uses a hand-held rotary tool to carve the sticks.

"I tried it with hand tools; Craftsman has got a set of chisels," Yarber said. "But since I don't have all the tools -- the clamps and the vice clamps -- that's just too hard."

He said it takes about a month for him to finish a walking stick from start to finish. The carving doesn't take that long, but the finishing process is very time-consuming.

"Once I put one coat of stain on, then I have to let it set, put another coat on, let it set, until I get the darkness I want," he said. "After I get it stained the way I want I polyurethane it. So it probably takes a good month. But what I've been doing to speed it up a little, I'll etch out two or three, then I'll start carving one, try to get two or three going at one time."

He said he does not intentionally carve the sticks with African motifs. But each stick includes a face, reminiscent of an African mask.

He gives sticks away to friends and has sold some. Yarber's wife, Yong Suk, said people use his sticks all around the country.

"Texas, Florida, Cleveland, New Mexico, California," she said. "He's got sticks everywhere."

From May 2 to May 8, Yarber's sticks will be on display at the Oberlin Underground Railroad Society gallery at 167 S. Pleasant St. The exhibit is part of a series of community art shows and events offered this spring by OURS.

The exhibit, titled "Walk with Me," begins with an opening reception on Sunday, May 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information on this and other events in the series, call the OURS office at 774-6968.