SPLINTERS

Tennessee Valley Woodworkers

Vol. 15/ Issue 8 August 2000 Editor: Tom Gillard

Meeting Notice:

The next meeting of the TN Valley Woodworkers

Will be held, August 15, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the

Duck River Electric Building, Decherd, TN

All interested woodworkers are invited!

The following people have agreed to serve as contacts for their particular skills. If you have questions, suggestions for activities, or other comments relating to these skills, please call these folks. Their interest is to help the club better serve their area of expertise. Your participation with them will help them achieve that goal.

Alice Berry 454-3815 Design Phil Bishop 967-4626 Finishing

Tom Church 967-4460 Turning Harry May 962-0215 Carving

Bob Reese 728-7974 Sharpening Jim VanCleave 455-8150 Joinery

Maurice Ryan 962-1555 Health and Safety

Coffee County Fair entries will be accepted on September 16 and 17 in the Exhibit building at the Fair ground. Make an entry and let's have alot of fun. The exhibit location will be determined later and the days and time for the demonstrations at the "Morton Youth Village" will be determined at a later date.

Welcomed guest was : John Geary, John Harton , Petr and David Jiricek from the Czech Republic.

Tom Cowan acknowledged Maurice Ryan and thanked him for having a good planned picnic. Also, acknowledged Doyle McConnell as having a good woodturning workshop with the help of Loyd Ackerman.

Doyle McConnell announced that the Coffee County fair board has given the club more space than before. Exhibits will be accepted and judged. A continuation of past events will be continued and will include: woodturning, basket weaving and carving. The fair will be in Coffee County September 18 through the 23, 2000.

Tom Cowan announced that the Fall seminar will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2000. Time 8:30 to 4:30. Bob Leonard will be the chairman of the event. Bob stated that Alan Noel from Atlanta will be the presenter and will cover finishing of wood.

Tom Cowan recognized John Green and wife Louise as being outstanding members. John and Louise have made coffee and furnished pastry for the club for over three years. In addition, John has been secretary for three years, assisted Henry Davis in a workshop and numerous other projects. Tom presented John with a box containing a plane. John was very appreciative of the gift.

Henry Davis announced that copies of “Splinters” were available. Also, he has a 10-inch radial arm saw for sale.

Tom Cowan announced that the Tennessee Association of wood turners symposium will be at the Arrowmont school in Gatlinburg August 25th, 26th. and the 27^th. 2000

Bob Reese-chisel blades and box holder. The wood was unique because it was over 150 years old and came from the house that his wife was raised in.

Dick Westiwick-drawer that was 150 years old. He demonstrated that alterations could be made such that the drawer can be moved in and out easily.

Bob Reese, program chairman introduced Phil Bishop and wife Shirley which presented the program on wood finishing.

Famous Trees and Seeds

Towering over 65 feet high, the Angel Oak has shaded John’s Island, South Carolina, for over 1400 years, and would have sprouted 1000 years before Columbus' arrival in the New World. Recorded history traces the ownership of the live oak and surrounding land, back to the year 1717 when Abraham Waight received it as part of a small land grant. The tree stayed in the Waight family for four generations, and was part of a Marriage Settlement to Justus Angel and Martha Waight Tucker Angel. In modern times, the Angel Oak has become the focal point of a public park. Today the live oak has a diameter of spread reaching 160 feet, a circumference of nearly 25 feet, and covers 17,100 square feet of ground. The Angel Oak is thought to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi River

Apollo XIV was launched on January 31, 1971, from Kennedy Space Center and was the third lunar landing. The entire mission lasted for 9 hours, 1 minute and 57 seconds, carrying three Americans: Captain Alan Shepard, USN; Major Stuart Roosa, USAF; and Cdr. Edgar Mitchell, USN. Once reaching the Moon, Shepard and Mitchell went to the surface where they walked 1.7 miles while Roosa kept the craft in orbit. Stuart "Smoky" Roosa, a former smoke jumper for the U.S. Forest Service, had always felt a special fondness for the agency tasked with protecting and preserving the nation’s forests. So when he learned he would fly to the Moon, he determined to "fly something in honor of the Forest Service." The service suggested seeds collected from across the country. The seeds included those from an American sycamore. Roosa's efforts were an unprecedented mix of forestry and astronautics. The Moon Sycamore still stands today as a living tribute to that effort.

Situated on 1.5 acres directly inside the Main Gate, the Lied Jungle® Building has 60,000 square feet of viewing space. In comparison, a typical 3-bedroom house has 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. The building's height of 80 ft. is about the same as an 8-story building. Construction costs of $15 million were donated by the Lied Foundation Trust.

The natural rain forest setting is maintained throughout by displaying animals behind water and rock barriers rather than traditional enclosures. Also contributing to authenticity is the lush vegetation, native to the area it represents. Most of the rock work, as well as the larger trees, are manmade to enhance durability and aesthetics. Materials include fiberglass, cement and metal frameworks. The roof, constructed of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, allows natural light to penetrate the rain forest.

An entry orientation center and numerous graphics aid in understanding the role of the jungle in the world's ecological balance, as do the interpretive areas in each of the three jungle divisions. Each division canbe viewed from an elevated walkway or from a narrow trail winding through the jungle floor. Each features animal and plant species native to that area. The plant life is diverse ranging from towering bamboo and large fig trees to delicate under story plants and orchids. Approximately 90 animal species can be found at all levels, from forest floor to highest canopy. The Asian forest features a suspension bridge leading to a nocturnal cave withsmall animal exhibits. Some of the inhabitants of Asia include the Malayan Tapir, Clouded Leopard, Gibbons, Small-clawed Otters, Giant Hornbill, Francois Langur, and Giant Indian Fruit Bat. Upon entering the African rain forest, the visitor encounters a variety of monkeys and birds as well as Goliath Heron and Pygmy Hippo exhibits. The third area, the jungles of South America, is highlighted by a 50-foot waterfall. Visitors walk behind this waterfall before ascending to Danger Point to view it from above. Spider Monkeys share an island with a family of Brazilian Tapirs and Squirrel

Monkeys. The Black Howler Monkey Moat provides a home for huge South American Red-tailed Catfish, Pacu and Arapima.

The sense of actually experiencing life in a rainforest is enhanced in a variety of ways. A network of streams, pools and waterfalls circulates 40,000 gallons of water. To simulate the humidity of this ecosystem, mist falls periodically; this phenomenon is not experienced on the walkways, however. Mechanical devices not native to a jungle, such as air ducts, filters and light fixtures, are hidden in the walls and rocks.

The major purpose of this project is not recreation, but education and awareness. Rain forests play a vital role in the quality of life on earth, and they are disappearing at the alarming rate of 50 – 100 acres a minute. That's an area the size of Massachusetts each year. To stop this destruction, the public must be made aware of what this ecosystem, so foreign to Nebraska, actually involves.

One night a wife found her husband standing over their newborn's crib. Silently she watched him.

As he stood looking down at the sleeping infant, she saw on his face a mixture of emotions: disbelief, doubt, delight, amazement, enchantment, skepticism.

Touched by this unusual display and the deep emotion it aroused, with eyes glistening she slipped her arms around her husband.

"It's amazing!" he replied. "I just can't see how anybody can make a crib like that for only $79.95!"