again no news paper today?

know gnus is good gnus!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Nathen:

again no news paper today?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

We don't publish a newspaper, we publish gnus electrons. Silly hick!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Larry:

We don't publish a newspaper, we publish gnus electrons. Silly hick!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


at last the silly city slicker confessed that he is not publishing a news paper, that is most refreshing, what's next, Bush admits he lost the election?

Now this is good reporting, as was printed in the Elizabethton Star yesterday, of course the pictures added to the story....








From hobo to stick man, Nathan Sinclaire finds adventure in whatever he does

By Rozella Hardin
STAR STAFF
rhardin@starhq.com

Nathan Sinclaire is not your average person. He's not someone you would meet on the streets everyday, but, oddly enough, he has been lots of places and done lots of things
Nathan has a rather unique craft, in that he makes and sells walking sticks. At least once a week, he is on the road in his older-model car, the trunk loaded down with walking sticks, and his brown lab -- Buddy -- in the back seat. Together they go to places like Jonesborough, Foscoe, Blowing Rock and Tweetsie where Nathan sells his sticks. "They're big with tourists," he said.
He picked up his knack for cutting and carving walking sticks just like everything else he has done -- from being a hobo, to a bus driver in British Columbia, to a photographer at Grand canyon National Park. "I sort of fell into it," he said, as he ran a calloused hand though his disheveled sandy brown hair.
The son of a carpenter, Nathan and his family usually lived in Tennessee during the summer months, and when the cold of winter blew in, the family would go to Indiana, where his father could pick up a job and make a living. "We lived by the railroad in Hammond, and I learned to count by counting the railroad cars lined up on the track. I was absolutely fascinated by trains, and at about the age of nine, I met my first hobo. That became my desire and ambition, but I had to wait until I was 16 before I could hop my first car. I was planning to go to California, but I ended up in Detroit," he said in an accent which has a smattering of other places other than East Tennessee.
Nathan spent about two years as a hobo, during which time he got to know the railroad detectives and engineers really well. "They were very nice to me, and taught me the hobo lingo. Often times, the engineer would stop the train long enough for me to hop off and get something to eat and drink," he exclaimed.
Hoboing was an adventure which led to Nathan hitchhiking across the country for about three years. He has been in every state of the union, and traveled "almost every road." He spent 14 years in British Columbia, driving a city bus, and later went to Grand Canyon Park -- one of his favorite places -- where he ended up working with Emory C. Kolb, well-known photographer at Yellowstone. "He taught me to use an old hand-cranked camera. I was washing dishes at a hotel, when he offered me a job. He would put on a moving picture show several times each day for tourists. Few people were attending, so I began going from hotel to hotel each day announcing his show. The attendance grew, and when he found out I had been advertising it, he offered me a job and a place to live at the park. It was a neat experience," Nathan shared.
He came back to Hampton to help care for his ailing father, and happened out in the woods one day, where he cut a stick and began carving it. "The first thing I know, I'm making sticks for a living. I'm doing what comes naturally," said Nathan, as he showed off a bundle of sticks, some of which had hobo markings; others which had carved heads such as an eagle, a rabbit, etc. Some have a Tweetsie engine carved on them.
"I usually spend a day or two each week in the woods, looking for suitable wood for the sticks -- poplar is best. I then cut them to length, remove the bark and lay them out to cure, which takes about two to three weeks. Some take longer," he explained.
Generally, it takes Nathan six to eight hours to carve a stick. He averages two sticks a day, 14 a week. The average stick sells for about $36, but he has some that sell for less and others much higher.
"Every stick I cut is used. If it's a stick I can't use, I take it to the head of the trail and leave it there, where it can be picked up by hikers," he said.
Oddly, it is people from New York, Florida, and the big cities who buy Nathan's walking sticks. "Several hikers on the trail have purchased them because they are light and durable. Most people buy them because they are a novelty and a joy to have," he explained. "Most will never be used. Instead, they end up in doctors' offices, law offices, etc. and become a conversation piece," he said.
"The stick business pays my expenses, but it won't make a living for you," Nathan said, adding that he lives in his grandfather's house on Swimming Pool Road in Hampton. "My brother, Gene, owns the house and lets me live there rent-free," he said.
Nathan admits to being a free-spirited person. "Whatever I fall into, that's usually what I do. It's pretty much that way with my sticks. A walking stick is a personal thing, and it needs to have a spirit. I give it personality with my carvings," he said.
Just as Nathan has found adventure in the many things he has done, he has found beauty everywhere he has traveled. "I'm really an Arizona person. It's a state of contrasts. It's cold in the northern mountains; hot in the south. But, every place has its beauty. East Tennessee is as beautiful as any place in the world. I love the mountains here," he exclaimed.
For now, Nathan's home is in Hampton and his job is making sticks. "My sticks are the best. No one trained me, no one showed me. They all are different, and they all have personality," he declared.
"Someday, I no doubt will move on and take up something else," Nathan said, as he loaded up his car with a bunch of sticks, motioned for Buddy to get in, and headed out to make a sell.




Copyright © 1996 - 2002 Elizabethton Newspapers, Inc.
Direct questions or comments to webmaster@starhq.com
Elizabethton Newspapers, Inc., 300 Sycamore Street
Elizabethton, Tennessee 37643 - 423.542.4151

Wow... way cool, Nathen... talk about good gnus!

Too bad the pix weren't in the online edition! So now you'll have all the walking-stick collectors beating down your door! I'd love to see your work one of these days... maybe commission a stick for myself... <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15> You gonna be at the Church in October?

If your 15 minutes happens in Tennesee, does it really happen?? <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15> ( just funnin' ya nate, enjoyed the story!)

Nathan, what a wonderful article. What an interesting life you've led--maybe you could be the first regular gnuspaper columnist. I, for one, would like to hear more. (Like Wyld, wish the pix were available on line--would love to see your walking sticks.) I won't be at the church this fall, but I'm planning on being there in 2003. If not, maybe I'll swing through Tennessee and buy myself a birthday present.

thank you for your kind words, I really enjoy making my sticks, they just seem to turn out great and they sell faster then I can make them, currently I am charging $60 each for them but some I sell for less if I don't like them.

I am not modest but when I say my sticks are some of the best ever made, it's because I have searched the world via the net and hundreds of stores looking for better work and I have yet to find it. I will find a way to get pictures made if only I can hold on to a few sticks long enough to take a picture.

Listen to this, I did not know anything about walking sticks or working with them until I just started making them, I have had no training at all, but the weird thing is that I can just do this, so maybe there are others with hidden talents which they just need to discover, I am 50 years old, why did't I discover this much sooner? So even if you have seen a few summers, look for new things and discover the hidden talents that you to have.


Larry, Larry, Larry, poor boy, I wish to remind you that making walking sticks is also known as folk art, and as I make walking sticks I am known as a folk artist, now Arlo is also a folk artist, {remember Arlo? there is a song written by Arlo, something to do about Alice} well it would seem reasonable that two folk artist such as Arlo and myself may get together and perform someday........hmmmmmmm just think I bet Arlo could swing a mean saw out in the woods gathering sticks.

okay enough said, you folks have a wonderful day and don't take my words to seriously, heaven knows that those who know me never do.

Neato article. I've been to Blowing Rock & Tweetsie back in the 60's. Rode the Tweetsie Railroad there. You would've loved seeing Arlo at Clifftop, WV in '91. There was an old man with a walking stick he had made there that he had made in the old timey days & was very old. He said he had met Woody before. We told him he oughta look up Arlo there & show him the stick & tell him abotu knowing Woody...

Nathen,
What a great article, and what a great talent! I agree, we all have gifts and talents if we can only figure out a way to use them!! Thanks for sharing. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/smile.gif" width=15 height=15>

Nathen, that's very cool. Are there any pictures of any of your sticks anywhere? I'd really like to see one.

Nathen, thanks for sharing that article. I'm chiming in on "where/when can we see your sticks/any chance you will you be bringing them to the church in October?"

--Edited to say that I just e-mailed the Elizabethton Star and asked if there was a way we could see those pix. I'll be surprised if they respond positively, but I'll keep you posted.--

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Ceashel on Aug 06, 2002 ---</FONT></center>

Nate my brother. Did you know that if you say "folk art" 10 times really fast, it starts to sound like "fart"? try it.

Newsflash:

Larry the editor of Confused Gnus and Views,just called Arlo an old fart, flim at eleven.

I will try to get some pictures, and then figure out how to get them to you folks who would like to see them.

oh boy is Larry in deep do do now....heehee