I found something the other day. A letter my kids received quite a few years ago from a child in China. As I read the words of this delightful young person, the past three decades marched before my eyes like the jerky frames of an old time movie.
Suddenly it was 1976 again. My family and I were just moving to our new home, a remote homestead in the hills north of Uvalde, Texas. The world seemed like a complicated place to us back then. People were unhappy with the way things appeared to be going. They were concerned about the economy and about the balance of global power.
Most people thought times were hard.
Prior to moving we nervously resided amidst the widely scattered, military based metropolis of San Antonio, Texas. I co-owned a professional firm dealing in securities, annuities, estate planning and insurance. Many of our clients were extremely wealthy. Working with them taught me that having a great deal of money in no way guarantees happiness or peace nor even contentment.
I learned that anyone can make a lot of money, if that's what they want to do. But few indeed ever seem to attain the really important things in life.
Emerson once said, "These times, like all times, are good times, if we but know what to do with them." I read these words all those years ago, and knew he was talking about more than just material things. Times are always good if we are doing what we love to do.
As for me, I was growing weary of chasing the almighty dollar. What I really wanted to do was pursue an alternative life style and start a new and different kind of creative wood working adventure. I would call this new enterprise simply “The Hummers”.
I wanted to fashion objects out of wood yet never be responsible for the cutting down of even a single living tree.
Even back then I was concerned about the wanton removal of timber and just how it would affect our planet. Though I had never heard of the "Green House Theory," I knew humankind would once again pay heavily for his total disregard of the balance of nature. History is ripe with lessons unlearned.
For example, we read of the once great and plentiful Cedars of Lebanon. We know historically that ancient Greece had great forests. Europe and the Mediterranean countries had trees in abundance.
The navies of the ancient world consumed much of this timber. A great deal of it was also used as fuel and for constructing buildings and other such things.
Today, we find no significant forests in all of Greece. Lebanon's great cedars are no more. The North African area where the Roman Empire grew its grain is now the Sahel desert, which is growing larger every year. Ethiopia is also desert land.
Arizona was a forest wonderland and there was a tropical paradise where the Sahara Desert is now found. The native peoples of both regions paid little or no attention to sustainability. They took what they needed without regard for future generations.
Have we learned our lesson? Well yes and no, but mostly no.
Though the global timber industry still consumes vast numbers of trees, many nations, various organizations and more than a few companies have begun serious reforestation programs. However a great deal of work still needs doing.
We are told that 39,000 acres of rain forest is being destroyed daily in some areas of the world. One scientist recently said we may have to learn how breathe something other than air since we are running out of the known natural sources of oxygen!
For almost thirty years now my clan has seriously tried to do our small part by writing and talking about how very important trees are in the production of oxygen and how they also give off a good deal of moisture.
Though everyone agrees that trees provide habitats for a myriad of life forms, they are usually surprised to learn how important living timber stands are to the ecological balance of our planet.
For example, they help replace soil nutrients. According to American Forest, "Ordinary trees are major actors in keeping the carbon cycle balanced. On the average, a forest tree absorbs about 13 pounds of carbon dioxide a year; 2.6 tons per acre of trees – enough to offset the carbon dioxide produced by driving a car 26,000 miles, from San Francisco to Atlanta and back five times."
People in many areas of America have a hard time accepting deforestation as a problem. Here in Texas ranchers have been trying to control the "invasion" of the “pesky, water thieving” mesquite tree for over a hundred years. Yet this wonderful timber a miracle tree!
Mesquite is exceptional because it has successfully carried out its own intensive reforestation regime . . . albeit to the chagrin of farmers and ranchers alike. So much so, mesquite has all but won the war of eradication (would you believe they even tried bombing it?).
For over two decades my family and I published a newsletter and other literature; and we helped found Los Amigos Del Mesquite, a non-profit organization devoted to the appreciation and utilization of mesquite and other native timber. We knew that with patience and education, native Texas trees like mesquite and juniper would be recognized as a self-replenishing resources rather than pests.
We have become well known is some circles as the strange woodworkers who just don't believe in cutting down living trees! What's more, we go one step further by actually planting new trees each year.
The American Forestry Association believes that 100,000,000 new trees would bring an end the current ozone layer problem. However, it takes many years for trees to grow to maturity. Though every little bit helps more folks need to get involved.
For example, why not buy living Christmas trees? Then, when the holiday season is over, the family can go out and add a tree to the yard, the community or the forest. Another idea is to plant trees as memorials or gifts for loved ones.
Many people ask us how we can be wood workers without cutting trees, especially since we don't use boards? The answer is simple: only dead wood, which can be found lying about the hill country in abundance, is used as the raw material in our shops. This includes timber left over from past industries, or trees that have fallen due to natural causes such as age, disease or intense weather conditions.
This rich bounty of deadfall and recycled wood includes oak, black walnut, pine, black cherry, pecan, mesquite (we call this one the king of woods), ebony, juniper (cedar) and many, many more. We even have our very own Texas mahogany, or China Berry, as most folks call it!
It's true that deadfall is harder to work than kiln dried lumber, and almost no one makes machines for tooling rough timber, but we feel the overall effort is more than worth it.
We cut and haul almost all of our raw material ourselves. People also bring us wood from all over the nation and other lands as well. Here at The Hummertage you will find it piled all over the place; each and every piece lays sleeping, dreaming of the things it may soon become.
Our work is divided into three main areas. This is because we want to utilize every part of the tree (95% utilization is our goal). So we do something called shaped objects. This way we can make the small branches into back scratchers, candle snuffers or letter knives, etc. The larger ones can become all kinds of walking sticks and staffs…..or desk things, like pencil holders, bins and organizers.
Special long branches become our famous "Wolf Staff". Each one proudly boasts a hand carved wolf paw print. The profit from the sale of these wonderful hiking staffs goes to support various wolf related causes.
The second kind of work we do is called "turning". This is sort of like potters and their wheels, but instead on using clay we use wood. And in place of a wheel, we have the lathe. This tool allows us to make symmetrical objects like rolling pins, table legs, vases, bowls, even honey dippers and toothpick holders!
The third type of work we offer is band sawn objects. Here we cut a log into many pieces and then glue the parts back together again. The end result is a box or chest with drawers with all manner of secret compartments. Hence each and every part looks like it literally grew right there in the tree, naturally. This is also the way we make many other things like napkin holders, desk trays, and all kinds of kitchen and/or office accessories.
Our ultimate goal is really very simple. We work with a material that is no longer living, yet we strive to give it life once again. Such is the essence of recycling! In fact, we labor with our hands, our eyes and our hearts to fashion objects that will continue to serve for generations to come. We will settle for nothing less than the highest level of excellence. And that means doing the very best we can each and every day.
When people ask why I moved my family to such a remote place to have a business, my answer is very simple. I thought it was the best thing I could do to help make things better.
How you ask? Well once again it goes back to my basic philosophy of life.
The kind of work one does is not nearly as important as the fact that one does indeed do meaningful, soul satisfying labor. How many things one has or doesn't have is also not important . . . only how happy one is with living. If we don't really want or need very much, then we are instantly wealthy because we already have everything we require!
I figured that if I moved to a small homestead, and if I made that tiny little place as perfect as I could, and if I tried to be as good, inside and out, as I could . . . well just imagine what the world would be like if everyone did this simple thing! If everyone forgot about being jealous or greedy and stopped worrying about what the other person has and just concentrated on making their own selves as perfect as they could . . . all of a sudden the world would become a better place!
At least that's what I thought.
I live a simple life in these hills. Very close to nature. But it's a magical mystical voyage into unknown places, with adventure enough to last lifetimes.
If you doubt this just think . . . every time I gently carve away a layer of wood, a new vista is exposed to light for the very first time; I experience what no person has ever seen before! Further, since each object I fashion is one-of-a-kind, my work becomes a never ending chance to learn and to grow!
By working in harmony with nature and wisely utilizing her gifts I am able to earn my daily bread. I are able to fashion examples of beauty and peace that speak of a better way of life for us all.
Today many folks portend to think they are "stuck in a rut" with little chance of ever experiencing anything other than the most mundane kind of life-style. Dreaming of someday "retiring in the quiet country-side" is the only calling that seems to keep some folks going.
Not true! In fact, one of the few freedoms we really have is the right to fulfill our dreams and be whoever we are called to be.
Your life will be over before you know it. So if you aren't in love with what you are doing and if you are pretending to be someone other than who you really are . . . it's never to late to begin anew!
All the money, or fame or power in the world means nothing if you are not happy and content. And there is no one on this Earth or elsewhere who can make you happy other than you!
I know this to be true. And I know that if you look inside yourself, you will find a crazy longing to do a certain crazy thing for the rest of your life. And the deeper you look, the deeper the need and the longing will be!
Once you have the vision in hand, then do it!
Look at me! I put in a tiny wood working shop and taught myself how to fashion one of the best and most widely known series of wood craft designs Texas has ever known. I also taught myself and my family how to publish books and to create wonderful aromatic products from the juniper cedar found throughout this wonderland canyon paradise.
The secret of success is so simple. Just be to stubborn to give up, no matter what. Like the first settlers to this land, put everything you have into making your dream come true. Make it a live or die situation.
I am living proof that you can survive against all odds. Certainly I have had a good measure of help over the years from my partner Beverly, son Joel, and daughter Wendy. But the energy, the endurance and will to continue had to come from within myself.
So, have we made a difference? I won't be the judge of that. But I will offer some evidence for your consideration . . .
Thus far we have fashioned almost 200,000 pieces by hand. All of them have been purchased other than the handful we have just completed.
Over the years we have kept records. We know that hundreds of thousands of people have come to our remote homestead to view our workshops and visit our tiny showroom. They still come.
For some strange reason The Hummers have also appeared on three television shows, numerous evening and night time news casts, and many radio programs. We've been featured in hundreds of newspaper stories, magazine articles, books and other publications. We've given hundreds of public talks and demonstrations throughout Texas and as far away as Japan!
This wondrous exposure brings us not only thousands of visitors annually, but hundreds of letters each year too. They come from every state in the union and from many other countries as well. I cherish this correspondence; it teaches me a great deal. Most of all it helps me realize how very fortunate we are to live in this great United States of America.
Because of the basic precepts upon which our nation rests, we are given the freedom to pursue the kind of lifestyle we wish and labor according to our individual desires. The American Dream is still very much alive and well.
Today many people hunger for the wonder and for the system, the majesty and the order that is found in the natural laws governing all life on this planet. More than a few feel that things are growing out of control. And because of this they fear the future.
The Hummers are only simple workers of wood. But through our lives and our work, we try and help folks see that they can make a difference; that life really is an adventure transcending fantasy. There's no need to sit on the sidelines or watch macho mush on TV (we don't even have one!) or in the movies. The real thing is right there waiting for us all.
No one is forcing us to run the treadmill path set by our torn socio-economic system. Wonder, beauty and meaning can be had by everyone. It waits for us all right in our own backyards. All we need do is reach out and take it.
Therein begins the greatest adventure of them all . . . one that unfolds anew each and every glorious day.
I was thinking about all this as I was reading the letter I found from China. Such letters reinforce a very important lesson I've learned about people. Though people from different races and different regions look a little different and often times appear to be speaking different languages, we are all very much the same deep down inside. We are all God's children; we share the same hopes, dreams, visions and the same inner needs.
If you read this letter send to my children in 1988 from one Liu Yu, you will certainly see what I mean. We also heard from the "loving teacher" of Liu Yu, Mr. Han Yuan Sheng earlier in 1988 and again in February of the following year. Here are Miss Yu's words to children she had never met and only read about in a magazine that found it's way to China.
Hello Joel and Wendy,
From the picture which teacher Han showed to me, I know you and your family. Never did I see such a pretty girl and such a lively boy. I'm very glad that I can write to you. I enjoy so much making friends with you two. I believe that you are also interested in it, aren't you?
It is not easy for me to write letters in English. My English ability isn't good enough. But I'll try my best to make you understand me. I'd like to make myself understood by the children in the same age of mine. English is your mother tongue, therefore, I'd like to get advise from you if I make mistakes.
Then I'll tell you about myself and the things around me.
As you know, I'm a high school girl. My name is Liu Yu. And I also have an English one is Yuaray (pronounced jueri). You can call me like it. I'm seventeen years old. My birthday is on 18th , May.
How old are you Joel? Wendy? And what dates are your birthdays? I'll be very glad if you let me know them. I'd like to give you the birthday cards.
I've been a student for about eleven years. I'll graduate this year. I want to go to college if I can. Now, I still study in the high school and I lead a happy life.
I have many good classmates and teachers. I like them very much. I always feel jolly when I stay with them.
Joel, Wendy, you must all at school now, I guess. If it is true, I believe that you also love your teachers and classmates. Really?
Teacher Han is my English teacher. It is he who make me know your family. I'm afraid that you don't know how kind he is. Not only I but also my classmates love him. I regard him as an elder brother. I like to tell him all about my happiness and sadness.
I have a warm family which is very much like yours. My father is an electrical machinery engineer. My mother is an accountant.
My father has been to California to work for half a year. When he came back, he told me a lot of things about USA, about those men who kindly to him. Then I came to know a little about the person, the living in your America. I want to know them.
Now I'd like to say my hobby. Go swimming, play basketball, and so on. I am a lover of music. Music diverts me after a day's busy study. I can play accordion, and electronic piano. When I play them, I feel life is so beautiful and lovely.
Joel, Wendy, do you have the same feeling in living? I think, as a young man, the most important thing is we should keep a love heart. To love all the things. Parents, sister, brother, teacher, the sunlight, the river, the forest, the mountain, so and so . . . If we do like this, then we'll find that all the people are kind, all the things are beautiful and all this can make us have enough strength to live a happy life. Do you think so?
Joel, Wendy, I want very much to know your life. Family, school and so on. Please give me the answer as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to it!
Best wishes for a happy living! Say hello to your parents!
Your sincerely,
Yuaray (Liu Yu)
What more can I add? Only that I pray each and every one of us the world over learns to "keep a love heart". Yes!
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