Lyre Tree Timber in the US!

20 Sep Lyre Tree Timber in the US!

When Katie Jo Walter asked her soon-to-be short-term alumni host in the U.S. if she could bring him anything from the hillside, Marlin Schoonmaker ’67 replied, “There is one goodie from the hillside that would please me more than anything from the hillside.  I hope it exists.  Actually, it is a long shot.”

(Pictured above: Front and Center is the piece of the lyre tree that recently traveled to the U.S. Woodstock alumni pictures left to right are Gordon Van Rooy ’67, Lloyd Claassen ’67, Marlin Schoonmaker ’67, Ken Waldock ’67 and Max Marble ’67 with a piece of Lyre Tree timber)

Marlin wanted a piece of lyre tree wood in a specific size, cut, dried, and cured. Its purpose? Tim Larson ’67, who holds a PhD in forestry and wood products, was ready to carve the lyre tree wood into a work of art to be auctioned off at the 2023 Friends of Woodstock School reunion!

Katie Jo told Marlin she would try and she left it at that. After Woodstock graduation. she travelled with her husband Bob (who is about to assume a role as a consultant in the Woodstock School Archives) to Sharanpur, where the wood from Woodstock’s beloved lyre tree is being stored. The wood is currently being lovingly stored in the woodcraft workshop of Sabir Ali Khan, parent of former Woodstock School staff member Meenu Khan. Mr. Khan says that over 20,000 people in Sharanpur earn their livelihoods through woodcraft.

(Pic: Photos from Katie Jo Walter and Bob Shoemaker’s visit to Sabir Ali Khan’s woodworking shop on Saharanpur, where items are crafted for sale in India and around the world)

Sabir graciously prepared the wood in the size requested and showed Katie Jo and Bob some ideas he had for items to be made from the lyre tree wood: from cup racks to small folding tables, wall hangings, pen holders, small boxes, and more.

When Katie Jo arrived in Seattle and presented Marlin with the lyre tree wood, she got the pleasant surprise factor she was hoping for!  That precious piece of the lyre tree even got to be a guest of sorts at a small Woodstock gathering Marlin held at his home with guests including Gordon Van Rooy, Lloyd Classen, Ken Waldock and Max Marble (all from the Class of 1967, see photo above).

If you are in or will be in the U.S., plan to attend the Friends of Woodstock IN PERSON reunion in Tempe Arizona October 27-20, 2023, and get ready to bid on Tom Larson’s lyre tree wood art!

NOTE: Woodstock’s Advancement Office is currently working with Mr. Khan’s workshop to prepare more lyre tree items to sell with proceeds to benefit the school. Do you have ideas on the types of items you would like to see? If so, write to us at alumni@woodstock.ac.in with the subject line Lyre Tree Wood.

Written by Katie Jo Walter, Advancement and Alumni Relations Director