In the early 2000’s, when the woods behind the Bill Monroe Homeplace were cleared enough for a stage and seating, much brush and many trees of all sizes, mostly cedar, had to be hauled away.
I didn’t like the idea of perfectly fine wood going to waste, so I looked for ways to make use of it before it decomposed.
I hauled ten or twelve logs to Koetter Woodworking in Olaton, Ky, where my friend Scott Patterson sawed them into 324 board-feet of lumber. Those boards were used for various Bill Monroe Foundation projects. A few boards remain, still stored in Dad’s barn.
Another use for all those cedar limbs and trees too small to take to the sawmill was to make walking staffs and canes. And that’s just what I did.
The first I made was a staff with a horse head on top that was auctioned at a Monroe Country show at Horse Branch Elementary.
How did I make them? First, I took a small cedar tree and sawed it to length and shaved it down to a workable size with a table saw.
Then I used a belt sander to work it down to the diameter of a cane or staff. This stage usually took more time than any, except when the carving of the top with a dremel tool was especially intricate.
After more sanding, I finally coated it with polyurethane.
I made more staffs and canes to auction for the foundation before I decided to make some for family and friends.
The first I made was a staff with a Copperhead snake on top for Dad. I put the snake there because he’s been bitten twice by Copperheads.
The first bite actually happened at Jerusalem Ridge, not far from the Monroe Homeplace, when we lived in Charlie Monroe’s house in the 70’s. The snake’s fangs didn’t make it through his boot.
The second time, around the year 2000, the fangs did get through because he was wearing flip flops in the garden at night. He and my oldest daughter Lauren had gone there with a flashlight to pick a watermelon.
The snake’s eyes are actually copper BB’s! He’s looking right at you!
My next staff was for Mom. She’s a collector of glass chickens (hundreds!), so I had no trouble coming up with the idea of a chicken on a nest to adorn the top of her staff.
This would prove to be a time-consuming project. Carving chicken feathers takes a while.
The next staff I made was for my Uncle James Casteel. First, let me say Dad, Mom, and Uncle James we’re working their tails off on Jerusalem Ridge throughout the 2000’s trying to build the festival up.
If you know Uncle James, you know he likes to compete in Cowboy Fast Draw and he likes stuff from the Civil War. I knew it would be a challenge, but I decided to put a cannon on top of his staff.
It’s been so long since I made some of these staffs and canes, that I can’t remember the order in which I made them. What I do remember is that I started using some cedar from my parents’ farm. Didn’t want it to go to waste either.
For my Aunt Fay Autry I made a cane. Sadly, she’s passed away now. Fay was involved in the Red Hat Society. RHS is about women having fun. If you knew her, you knew she was all about that. So, of course, I put a big, floppy hat on top of her cane.
I’ve been lucky to have Rusty Albin as my father-in-law. My wife Stephanie’s dad is truly one-of-a-kind. Marrying into the Albin clan, I discovered Stephanie’s uncles, Eddie and Gary, are pretty special, too.
I made staffs for the Albin boys with limbs from a downed cedar tree in Gary’s yard. You can’t tell in the pic, but I carved the letters A-L-B-I-N at the top.
L to R: Eddie, Charles(Rusty), and Gary
Around ‘04-‘05, I started making staffs to be presented on stage as gifts for Bluegrass icons and important people at the Jerusalem Ridge Festival. I could kick myself for not taking pictures of my work.
I made one for Ralph Stanley. On top of his staff, I shaped a big ball, then I hollowed it out. The only wood I left inside was in the shape of a banjo.
I made one more of these “globes” I call them. It was for Campbell Mercer, and I left a mandolin shaped inside.
I bet you can guess what I put on top of Dwight “Frog” Westerfield’s staff. That’s right! A big ‘ol bullfrog! He loved it!
If you remember those Jerusalem Ridge festivals from the 2000’s, you remember Ms. Lizzy Lewis, in her 80’s, wearing a red dress, sitting in a chair on the back of the stage. From Florida, I seem to remember she was a former Bill Monroe fan club president.
I made her a staff with a cross on top of it because she was very religious.
I made staffs for Bluegrass Boys Frank Buchanaan and Wayne Lewis. And one for CR Wilson, a prominent promoter who ran a Bluegrass venue in Shepherdsville. And one for Campbell’s wife Julie Mercer. Hers had a horse head on top because of her love for horses.
I do think it’s time I revived the tradition and presented a cedar staff to someone at this year’s Jerusalem Ridge festival. To whom, though? Let me know who you think it should be in the comments.
I mentioned the Monroe Country shows earlier. The impetus for doing those shows came from the books I wrote: Monroe Country, Volumes One and Two.
For these shows we would play bluegrass music, of course, but so much more. We’d have clogging. I would read a few of my poems from the books. We’d do a reading of Act One from The Old Homeplace, my play that’s in the books. We’d auction off a cane or staff.
In all we did seven of those shows. One was in Louisville at the Rudyard Kipling, a renowned restaurant-bar-performance venue (now closed) where Ralph Stanley, Wynton Marsalis, and My Morning Jacket, among others, had appeared. My good friend Ron Whitehead was able to get us booked there.
When I say “us”, I’m referring to me, my brother Kevin, and Mountain Rhythm, which consisted of Kenneth Newell on guitar, Kevin Pace (Rest in peace, brother) on mandolin, Robert Montgomery on banjo, and whoever they could find to fill in on bass for Eric Spencer, who couldn’t make it all the way from Virginia.
For the Rudyard Kipling show, Jackie Tarrance played bass, and, if I recall correctly, she sang some, too. And did a fine job!
At the show at Horse Branch Elementary Blue Grass Boy Tom Ewing played bass. He put together and edited The Bill Monroe Reader. Tom also wrote the masterful 2018 biography Bill Monroe: the Life and Music of the Blue Grass Man. He was also gracious enough to write a blurb for my Monroe Country books.
In Bowling Green, the late Ramey Hensman played bass. In Shepherdsville, Paul Priest. Both were fine and dandy!
A few years later, Paul, who played bass for Bobby Osborne and others, teamed up with his cousin Josh Mitcham to form their powerful Americana band Jericho Woods.
Others who participated in the Monroe Country shows on different dates were cloggers like the late Durl Johnson and Mom, of course.
We also had people who were part of the dramatic readings of Act One of the play. The Whitely brothers, Lukas and Logan, read parts. Mom read the part of Bill Monroe’s mother. I believe at the Hartford shows Campbell Mercer read the part of Uncle Pen, and Ramsey Carpenter read the part of Bill’s sister Bertha ( I know she played that gorgeous, green fiddle).
In Louisville, Ron read some of his poetry during the show. Ron Whitehead, an Ohio County native nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, has been a great influence on my writing. I learned the stream of consciousness writing style from reading his books. Three of my poems in Monroe Country: Volume One were written in that style.
I also learned about the power of performance from Ron. His poetry readings are like sitting ringside at a heavyweight match. He’s all energy!
One of my favorite books is Ron’s Beaver Dam Rocking Chair Marathon. During the Monroe Country show at the Rudyard Kipling, I presented a staff to Ron adorned with, you guessed it, a rocking chair.
Ron sent me this photo just recently. I love the way it has aged, particularly the patina
and spalting.
I mentioned Kenneth Newell played guitar. He’s a hell of a mandolin player, too. He and I have been great friends since ‘03 when we met at Jerusalem Ridge. I made a cane with a mandolin on top for Kenneth just to let him know how much I appreciate him.
Last, but definitely not least of, I made UK staffs for my brother Kevin and sister Bobbi Jo. They cheer for the Wildcats as much as me. I love them both and couldn’t ask for better siblings.
Over the years I’ve made 50+ staffs and canes. One year I made enough to sell at the JR festival, so I asked Durl Johnson to sell them at his booth. He made staffs, too!
I took the money I made and paid off a custom England guitar made by Bryan England and Larry Shepherd. It was the very first 000 England guitar.
If you are interested in a custom cedar walking staff or cane, contact me by email at [email protected] or text me (don’t call)at 270-313-9175. For $100, I’ll put just about anything on it you can think up (except UK, I don’t want to be sued!).
Perhaps you have a specific piece of wood you would like turned into a staff or cane? It can be mailed or hand delivered to me. Or I can provide the wood. And I don’t have to use cedar; I just happen to enjoy working with it. You can choose the tree species.
Just let me know. Thanks for reading. ‘Til next time…arrivederci!
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