"Spittin', whittlin', tellin' lies ... Drinkin' an R.C. and eatin' MoonPies ... Singin' 'Mabel on the Hill' ..."

-- Author unknown

I first met Sidney Spoor at Buckley Homestead in Lowell or at the Lake County Fair three or four years ago. He and two or three other members of the Duneland Woodcarvers had a display promoting their woodcarving club. Spoor, 66, lives in Griffith and has been married to Mary for 40 years; they've raised two sons. He is retired from LTV Steel and graduated from Knox High School. Before chemotherapy and radiation treatments for skin cancer, Spoor had one of the grandest handlebar moustaches you ever saw. He tried to regrow it, but it came back too thin and won't curl anymore. . .

 Did you play sports at Knox High?

"No, I was a farm boy; I had to do chores after school," Spoor began.

You became a steel worker rather than a sod buster.

"I like eight-hour days. In 1964, I moved into the Marktown Hotel right after hiring in the mill. The European-type housing in (the) Marktown (neighborhood of East Chicago) was unique, but the hotel was nasty -- filled with coke dust."

Sid, I remember reading about historic Marktown in a book put out by "Ripley's Believe it or Not!" -- "... The neighborhood where cars are parked on the sidewalks and people walk on the street."

"That's right. I eventually rented an apartment in (Indiana) Harbor. After I got married, we moved to Lake Station. We've been in Griffith for about 15 years."

The mill?

"Toward the end of my career, I worked on the production line of No. 3 Sheet Mill -- the pickle line. But I ran an overhead crane for years."

It gets pretty hot in those cranes in summer.

"At the open hearth, I ran the stripper crane; we took the molds off the ingots. It was so hot, you had to wear gloves to keep from burning your hands on the controllers."

Sid, I'd only met you once or twice, yet you drove all the way to the Washington Stage Theatre in LaPorte to take in my one-man show where I read steel mill-related short stories and poetry. That was nice of you. Do you miss the mill?

"No, I retired at 56 to spend more time fishing and woodcarving. I've been retired 10 years now and I've been fishing one time. Woodcarving takes up my time."

Did you fish the Kankakee and Yellow rivers when you wore a younger man's clothes?

"Yes, Bass Lake, too. Actually, I'd find myself drinking beer more than fishing. Fishing and beer go together."

How long have you been woodcarving?

"About 25 years."

How did you get into it?

"I was collecting model covered wagons. My wife bought me a wooden team of mules to go with one of the wagons. It was mostly carved, but you had to finish it up. So, my first carving was a mule. It's terrible. Luckily, at the time, I didn't realize how bad it was. I thought it was good."

I can relate to that. I try not to read any of my early writing, when I thought I was John Steinbeck. And some of that schlock was published. How many members in the Duneland Woodcarvers?

"About 75; we meet once a week on Tuesday mornings from 9 to 11 at Woodland Park in Portage."

Mostly retired guys?

"Mostly."

Any women?

"Oh, yeah, six or eight, at least. I also give lessons. One of my students, a young lady, uses knives and gouges only. She wants to be a traditional woodcarver. The lessons are one-on-one. I have done classes, but then I have to divide my time among six or eight people."

Tools of the trade?

"Gouges, chisels, knives, assorted bits for rotary tools, chain saws ... . Like I mentioned, some traditional woodcarvers stay strictly with the hand tools and knives. Most of us do whatever it takes to get the wood off the quickest."

Sounds logical.

"We have a saying in woodcarving: 'The difference between a woodcarver and a whittler is about $3,000.' I'm a woodcarver now, not a whittler."

I see you have a photograph of former Chicago Bears star Walter Payton and a chunk of wood that's beginning to look a lot like "Sweetness."

"Yeah, that's a commission job. It was supposed to be done before Christmas. I ran into some problems because I'm working from that photograph."

I never thought of that; it would be easier to have a 3-D model to go by. Some of your carvings are painted and some not.

"Most woodcarvers work with basswood because it's softer. But basswood doesn't have any grain to it. So, you basically have to paint it to make it look good. If you want a natural finish, you'd go with hardwood like walnut, cherry or mahogany, then stain and varnish it."

Look at this, interlocked wooden chain links.

"You're not a woodcarver until you carve a chain; that was carved from one piece of wood."

How long did it take you to carve those eagles displayed in your front yard?

"Everybody asks how long something takes; I don't keep track of time. Since I retired, I've never worn a watch; I don't care what time it is. Once I've started a project, it's over when I'm done."

Did you use a chain saw to make the eagles?

"Oh, yeah. I use about everything. This tiny tool is a detail knife."

Any personal favorites?

"No, every carving is a challenge in itself. No two are alike. To mass-produce something is boring and becomes a job."

Your health?

"Since I've retired, I've had a lot of problems. My dad's side of the family has heart conditions; it's a genetic thing. In 2003, I had open-heart surgery. The artery going down to my legs was 100 percent blocked; I had to have that bypassed. It's blocked again, so I have to have another surgery in a couple of weeks. "Last year about this time, I got skin cancer. It got rather aggressive; normally you just have to have the operation. It was on the front side of my neck. I had to have chemotherapy and radiation, which is actually worse than the cancer. It knocked me down. I didn't do any chain-saw carving this past year. "The doctor told me I was the first patient to go through that particular chemo and radiation without pain pills. But they run me right up to the brink. If I would've had to do one more week, I'd have been on the pain pills."

Sid, I'm glad you got out of the mill at 56.

"I've seen too many guys work until they're 65, then drop dead within the first year of retirement. I didn't want to be one of them. I've been out of the mill for 10 years and enjoyed every minute of it -- even the bad times."

Back to woodcarving. Do you have a favorite subject area?

"Jeff, I carve mostly wildlife. I love nature stuff. I've become a bird watcher. God spent a lot of time making birds."

He's is a woodcarver and cancer survivor who doesn't wear a wristwatch. Sid Spoor can take a lickin', but keeps on tickin'.

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