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st tribune september20199sp21 leisure ancient art reborn by stonffvllle inan by bruce stapley correspondent william menzies is a purist an artisan with an uncompromis ing approach to a craft which has become lost in the past equipped with a collection of authentic period wood carving tools made by himself or retrieved from basements throughout canada and the united kingdom menzies makes pioneer woodenware the 52yearold stouffville i area father of five grown children creates spoons ladles and bowls along with miniature starting a small business guidelines and good advice on making a success of it from the start stnistxftsf t sfv u esssiims ministry of economic development trade andtourism small business seminar date esdxy september 26 1995 time 700 pmj to 1000 pm place markham civic centre canada room 101 towncentre blvd cdsponsbred by the town of markham business selfhelp office to register please call 905 4754890 preregistration is required fee is s2000 per person tnrtrr ontario september 17 23 the public is invitedtoa steak social at stouffville legion satisept23rd steak and 79 pm dance from 9 pm 1am dinner dance dinner only dance only 1200 700 500 dj dave payne s mixed fun league 3i open to the public registration sept 28 730 930 pjrt starts- oct 12 1995 dories and dinghies that take him back to his days growing up by the sea in scotland an english- trained profes sional gardener by trade men zies passion for wood r carving began almost a decade ago when he set out to find someone who was still practise iiig the historic craft i couldnt find anyone who was doing it so t took it up out of interest said j- menzies from his small workshop located next to his residence at the pride of ara- bia horse farm on warden larie menzies is in r charge of garr dening and estate mainte nance on the exquisitely man icured 25 acre equestrian oper ation he suggested his interest in pioneer wooden- ware ties in with years spent cre ating custom landscape effects from- stone- ive always appreciated fine tools arid fine wood working i guess its a continua tion of the gardening work cutting stones for walkways x arid walls i suppose ive adapted the woodworking to the stone work menzies who was born in canada raised in scot land then returned to this country in 1971 made his first woodenware pieces out of off cuts of bass wood he had lying around the house people saw them and asked me if i could make pieces for therii i was then asked to put on a craft demonstration at a bicentennial on an island on the rideau river i took my equip ment and mine was the most popular display there using draw knives gouges spoke shaves and other early wood carving tools menzies begins with blocks of raw bass wood as well as walnut and poplar he painstakingly william menzies turns out a tool in his woodworking shop at pride of ara bia farm on warden lane menzies looks after gardening and estate main tenance on the farm but carves wooden tools as a hobby pholasjoerd witteveen carves and sands the forms into polished cre ations then applies a coat of oil for a finish he has seen demand for his work increase over the past few years as people are drawn by his authen tic handson approach he appearsat town fairs and recently put on a demon stration at black creek pioneer village menzies said his demon strations never fail to attract attention from peo ple of all ages it amazes a lot of people that it can still be done children have a fascinat ing interest in it and they ask interesting questions noting the lack of people practicing the rare trade menzies said the day is fast approaching when he may have to give consider ation to doing wood carv ing full time between demonstra tions arid the demand for what im doing i can see how it could become a full tixne thing i certainly wouldnt be up against a lot of compe tition if he decides to make a profession of it he said he would eventually set up a stouffville area studio where he could display his wares and equipment menzies insisted that while his wares area product of an era that has long since passed they are quite adaptable to the needs of the modern kitchen people buy them to use primarily although some people just hang them on the wall they put a coat of veg etable oil on them and use them as things like ladles for chili mpp julia munro hosts barbecue durhamyork mpp julia munro is hosting an apprecia- i tion barbecue on sept 24 from 2 to 5 pm the event featuring special guest minister of communi ty and social services markham mpp david tsubouchi will be held at 19 milne court uxbridge admission is 5 for an adult or 12 for a family everyone is invited