Forgotten Craft Endures
'Schoolhouse Cooper' Teaches Lessons of the Past
By Jill Teunis
I have always had an interest in history, and I read everything I can get hold of," Ken says. "Cooper's tools have always interested me. They're different. They're unique. They're just for making buckets and barrels. Barrel making is one of the earliest crafts. Before that, there were earthen crocks. There was a necessity to transport everything, and what better material to use than wood?"
The construction of a staved vessel is deceptively basic. It consists of shaping equal lengths of wood, or staves, standing them on end and securing them with hoops of wood or iron. The addition of a wooden top and bottom creates a container for almost anything, from whiskey to butter. Sounds simple enough, but as with so many traditional crafts, it is the skill of the craftsman with his tools that is the key to success.
"Coopers made containers of all kinds," Ken says. "The maker of staved vessels made barrels and casks. They made farmers' canteens and wagon casks for when they were out plowing all day. On a hot day, they got thirsty and so did the horses. They had to have water."
Ken's interest in tools of all kinds goes back to his early childhood.
"I bought my first tool at a public sale when I was about 8," he says. "I had a dollar, and I got a small hatchet. I was always picking up tools to see what they did, and finding others to match them. I started making barrels and related items about 10 years ago."
Many of Ken's tools are from Europe, made in the 18th and 19th centuries. In some cases, the imprint of the hands of earlier users can clearly be seen on the wooden handles.
"Most of the European cooper's tools were brought here by the coopers when they came to America," he says. "Once the earliest immigrants were here, they would send back to other immigrants coming over a list of tools and supplies they would need, items that couldn't be bought here. In the early 19th century, tools were becoming available from suppliers such as D.R. Barton and L. White, who were New York toolmakers."
The schoolhouse sets the tone for Ken's tools and their continued use. The school was built in 1838, and remained in use for almost 120 years. Its wooden floor still bears the marks of students' desks and chairs. The original blackboards are now covered with chalk diagrams of barrel-making techniques. There's even an old potbellied stove in the center of the room.
The floor and the walls are display and storage areas for a variety of tools, from planes to bung borers, from adzes to compasses. Compasses? Staved vessels are round and the measurement of the top and bottom must be exact, to ensure the essential perfect fit.