Forrest and Janice Austin, 1984 Creston Advertiser profile

Published in
The Creston News Advertiser
Creston, Iowa
December 18, 1984
　

"Always was kind of a hillbilly," Forrest Austin jokes when asked about his lifestyle that has made him a nearly self-sufficient woodworker.

"You see, when I was growing up everything was done with wood and everyone was kind of self-sufficient, growing their own vegetables and such."

Austin, with his wife, Janice, and one of their nine children, Marion, lives about five miles northwest of Afton at Austin's Shagbark Chalet. The "chalet" is in the middle of several acres of timber, which provides most of the trees that the woodworker uses for his creations.

The Austins moved into the acreage in 1969 and since then he's "done a little" woodworking ever since. He and his wife -- who Austin says is a good carpenter in her own right -- travel to fairs and festivals with a trailer to sell wood signs from. "Janice cuts and sands 'em and I just dowel out the lettering" on the signs.

Besides the woodworking, Austin farms "a little," cuts wood and, with neighbor Wilbur Ricks, saws and treats lumber and wood for Austin's creations. Ricks has a saw mill.

While most people know Austin's work from the signs they peddle at fairs, he'll also take on a cabinet or other specialized piece. His fanciest, and seemingly most popular works, however, are his musical instruments.

He claims to not be musical, right before sitting down to strum a tune on one of his dulcimers or before telling about the violin -- "fiddle" he calls it -- he made for himself "to saw on a little."

But, he also claims to not know much about wood, right before telling about the native walnut, wild cherry or red cedar he uses. Or telling about some mahogany one of his sons found in some discarded forms at Wellman Dynamics in Creston. "Those must've been old forms. You can't buy mahogany like that in a lumber yard anymore," the woodworker mused.

About three years ago, he saw a pattern for dulcimers in the Fox Fire books, a compilation of folk tales and crafts. He has made 44 since then and all but two have been sold or given to family members.

He's also made a fiddle for himself and some banjos. He thinks the one fiddle was his last because of all the work involved.

He got interested in woodworking from his earlier career as a carpenter. He, Mrs. Austin, and some of the kids used to build houses in the Afton area. He is a native of the area and picked up most of his saws and equipment while working.

He hasn't always worked in construction. He farmed off an on and was a printer in Winterset for a time, among other pursuits.

His main love now isn't just wood, either. "I like to work with about anything you can make something with. Steel's nice. I like to weld too."

The Austins like to spread the crafts and lore they've gathered. Each fall, usually in late September, they sponsor Sorghum Days at their place. It's when the cane is ripe and they invite the public out to see sorghum made and feature other folk crafts.

When asked if he thought he'd take on a new career after "retiring" to their acreage, Austin laughed. "Retired? I guess I am, but mostly just tired. Seems like there's always something that I keep hacking at."