Wednesday, January 21, 2026
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Vol. 55, No. 30
HELPING — Dave Benzel, right, assists Larry Dubose with the feet for a cabinet. Dubose, a professional woodworker who specializes in custom furniture and built-ins, is working on dragon feet for a cabinet he’s building.
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
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Woodcarvers club
Text and Photos By LAUREN ZEUGNER Staff Writer As darkness settles on a cold January evening, seven members of the Kosciusko County Woodcarvers Club make their way into the Senior Activity Center. Quickly, they set up where they want to work, pay their dues and then settle down to work on their latest project. Member Steve Sudoff worked on a cross that will be a present for a family member who will be baptized soon. LuAnn Goering’s current project is a dog figurine for a friend. Larry Dubose, a professional woodworker, was busy creating dragon feet for a custom cabinet he’s working on. In a corner close to the electrical outlets Eric Graves was busy with a woodburning pen adding details to his current project. His dad, Ed, patiently carved small bits of wood from a small handheld cross. Brent Julian starts a relief piece while Dave Benzel works on a wooden sculpture of his hand.
welcomes everyone
The Kosciusko County Woodcarvers Club has been active since 2005. Prior to that, there were two smaller woodcarving groups, one that met at Pleasant Grove Church and another at Walnut Creek Church. Eventually the two groups combined into what is now the current woodcarvers club. Julian said membership has been as low as three people and as large as 23. “Some stay longer than others,” he said. The club is open to anyone age 16 to “too old. “We haven’t hit too old yet,” Julian said. Younger members are allowed, but must be accompanied by an adult. Julian said several youngsters came with their grandfathers until they got busy with school activities. “We don’t hold anyone to anything,” Julian said. “You come when you can.” For first time carvers, the club offers a few beginner projects to try as well as loaning their tools for the first 30 days. If the newcomer enjoys the club, they’ll be asked to pay dues, $1 each time they come to a meeting, and purchase their own tools.
WORKING ON A CHRISTMAS PRESENT — LuAnn Goering, a new member of the Kosciusko County Woodcarvers Club, works on a dog figurine that will be a belated Christmas present for a friend. Here, Goering sands a portion of the dog to get the effect she wants.
Dues go towards advertising and paying for any show expenses that may crop up. The club holds a show of members’ work at the senior activity center in October. “The first year we had 30 people show up and we thought that was wonderful,” Julian said. Public attendance to the show has grown steadily over the years. “There’s a nice thing about woodcarving,” Julian said. “There’s no right way and no wrong way.” There are four main methods of woodcarving: carving in the round; relief carving; chip carving and wood burning. There are also three levels of carver, beginner, carver and master carver. Julian explained most master carvers have carved in all four methods at one point. Eric Graves was tucked into a corner where he could access electrical power for his soldering iron. He said one of the rules of the club is no talking politics, but they have solved the world’s problems several times over. Graves usually paints with acrylic or watercolor and then he saw someone do
DETAILED WORK — Shown is a close-up of Ed Graves hands as he carves small chips of wood away from the cross he’s working on. Graves has made several handheld crosses from a variety of woods.
ANOTHER TYPE OF CARVING — Eric Graves works with a wood-burning pen on a piece featuring a chipmunk and a bird. Graves has taken his skills as a painter and applied them to wood burning.
woodburning and saw what it sold for. He credits his artistic talent to his dad, Ed, but said he hasn’t carved since Cub Scouts. He explained how the amount of pressure and the angle of the soldering tool determines how thick or thin the line will be when he woodburns. Wood grain burns differently, so Eric has to spin the piece constantly to get the design he wants. At another table Dubose gets some help from Benzel in carving in the round. Dubose was carving feet for a cabinet that will look like a dragon’s claw grasping a ball. Goering, who just started with the club a few months ago, is working on a dog figurine for a friend. Next to her, Ed Graves, was patiently carving small chips of wood out of a handheld cross he was working on. Most of the carvers wore a glove on the hand holding the piece and tape over one or two fingers as protection in case the knives they are using slip. The club meets from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Tuesdays at the Senior Activity Center, 800 N. Park Ave., Warsaw. Park and enter the building on the north side.
PATIENCE — There are several types of wood carving. Here Ed Graves, a member of the Kosciusko County Woodcravers Club, uses a chip carving method on a handheld cross he’s working on. Chip carving is very incremental and time-consuming.