Walking into the Madison County home of Ronnie McWhorter you are surrounded by examples of his woodworking craft. More than a dozen handmade walking sticks with a variety of handles stand in a container. One is topped off with a carved man’s face, another has a wood acorn, others feature wood handles.
“My dad used to go out and collect those things in the woods, and the handles is just something, just whimsical. You know, you just make something to hang on to. And I've made all kinds and shapes.”
On a nearby wall hang handmade guitars and dulcimers. The instruments are made of spruce, rosewood, snake wood, ambrosia maple, and black walnut.
McWhorter grew up in Jackson County where he gets much of his wood. As a boy he had a pocketknife for whittling. His grandmother lived nearby. McWhorter says in those days decades ago she made her biscuits in a wood dough bowl.
“She made biscuits, 365, days a year, and she had a bowl, big oval bowl, and she had it flour in it, and she would make a hole in the flour, put some buttermilk, some lard, baking powder, and with her hand, mixed that up and laid on the countertop and rolled it out. And she called them choke biscuits. You pinch them off, pick them up, put in the pan.”
In 1978, McWhorter joined a wood carving club in Lexington. His woodworking hobby began to expand. He made his first dough bowl in 1990.
“It wasn't very good, but I said, you know, that's something I can do. And I looked around and nobody was doing it anymore, so I just decided I'd give it a try, and here I am.”
To date, McWhorter has made 536 dough bowls in his basement workshop. He keeps a journal of every bowl, the kind of wood he used, its size, and date finished. “I make them all sizes. I make them foot long to 25 inches long, depending on the size of wood I got.”
He draws a pattern on a chunk of log and then uses a hammer with a gouge to chip away small pieces of wood until a bowl begins to form. The 85-year-old former IBM engineer discovered a market for his dough bowls. The Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea began buying his dough bowls. The center features homemade crafts by Kentuckians. Executive Director Todd Finley says McWhorter’s woodwork met the high-quality standards of the center.
“Ronnie is one of our artists. I think he's been with us a little over 15 years. I've been here 10 years now. When I first met Ronnie, he brought in some dough bowls for us to pick from. And you know, I just could not stop talking to the guy. He is a phenomenal conversationalist. He is multi-talented. He can make an assortment of things.”
McWhorter’s talent includes playing some of the instruments he makes. He joined a dulcimer club.
“It's just relaxing to go once a week and play for a couple hours, you know, with fellowship, with people, and it's just, I just love to do it.”
McWhorter is humble about his love affair with wood and the beautiful crafts he creates.
“You cannot have a bad thought while hacking on a piece of wood. It's just a total release, and it's just exciting to see what what's inside of a piece of wood.”
Look for McWhorter’s wood dough bowls at the Kentucky Artisan Center which is open daily just off I-75’s exit 77 in Berea.
