HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-02-18, Page 15,n
u name it - Jack MRerbeek can make it
BY JOANNE BUCHANAN
Jack Moerbeek of Goderich is a
magician with wood. He can make
something out of practically nothing.
"You name it, give me the blueprint and
I can make it," he says.
Laying truth to this claim is a basement
workshop full of wooden bowls, lamps,
tables, ash tray stands, candle holders and
crib boards. He even has a wooden scale
model of the CN tower which lights up. One
gets. the feeling that there isn't anything
Jack couldn't build if he put his mind to it.
Since his retirement from Champion in
October of last year, Jack has had even
more time to devote to his craft. During his
years of working at Champion and before
that, 21 years of farming at She pardton,
Jack and his wife Rose built four houses in
their spare time.
"I did the laying; out and Rose , did the
nailing," says Jack. "It took us three
months, maybe four to completely finish
one house."
Jack and Rose built the house they live
in now as well as the one next door to them.
The other two they have to their credit are
located in the country.
You might say Jack and Rose are real
partners. After Jack sands down whatever
he has built, Rose polishes and refinishes
it. She also glues the various pieces of
wood together when required and even
does some wiring.
Rose says. that gluing is the worst•work
and that refinishing is the most time-
consuming. One thing she has discovered
however, is that themore rotten looking
the wood, the more beautiful' the grain
comes out when it is polished.
Jack gets most of his wood from friends
andsplitsit himself..
"I must have lots Of friends because they
keep me well supplied," he says.
He mostly receives pieces and ends of
Jack Moerbeekhas built three CN towers to scale out of wood and his son has wired them so
that they Tight up. One gets the feeling that there isn't anything Jack can't build (Photo by
Joanne Buchanan)
wainut, maple, cherry, ash and
mahogany. Some of the items he con-
structs are made of two or even three
different types, of wood This results in
very distinctive patterns and grains. n
Despite the number of items Jack ca
churn oeof his workshop at any one time,
he is almost never overstocked. Hose
donates some of the items to church
bazaars and the rest is given away to
friends and relatives as Christmas, bir-
tMa"r end wedding Gifts. Sometimes the
Moerbeeks just feel generous and they
calculate that they have given at least 300
different items away.
"We have so many nice friends and
relatives," explains Jack.
Jack's handiwork really gets around It"
now adorns homes in Toronto, Ottawa,
British Columbia and even California
where his brother lives.
The more challenging something is to
make, the more fun Jack has making it.
Woodworking is just something he picked
up as a boy, he says. It helped being poor,
he explains. Hiring someone to build
something for you was just too expensive
so you learned to build it yourself.
Jack and Rose Moerbeek display a few of the many items they have
produced out of wood recently. They range from ashtray stands
the.
SIGNAL
133 YEAR -7
andbowls to lamps and crib boards. Over the years, the Moerbeeks
have also built four houses. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18,1981
STA
SECOND SECTION
o says barnyards aren't beautiful?
r -
Even a broken old barn window can create an Interesting
image. ( Photo by Cath WoodeM
A walk around the barnyard of the Joe O'Brien farm outside of Goderich producesome
rather interesting photographs and the discovery of a curious horse named Balliby. hoto
by Cath Wooden)
"Watcha got there?" Balliby seems to ask as he peers in-
quisitively into the camera. (Photo by Cath Wooden)
Barnyards are beautiful creations when seen through the
eye of a camera. (Photo by Cath Wooden)