THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512280150
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Ellen Riddle
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
When a stroke left Roy Smith with impaired speech and writing abilities back in 1991, the Columbia, N.C., native turned his sights toward creating with wood.
It wasn't the first time Smith had to deal with physical adversity. More than 20 years ago, while working at the local sawmill, he got his hand caught in a conveyor belt. His left arm and hand were crushed.
There was a long recovery period marked by surgeries, but Smith came back, bent hand and all, to help raise his two children with his wife, Barbara.
In his 73 years, Smith has lived in various dwellings on Smith Lane in Columbia, just a stone's throw from where he was born and raised. Smith has done farm work and mill work. He even put in time at the local slaughterhouse.
``Some people would consider it a very gross job,'' he said. ``To me it meant raising my children and putting food on the table.''
Now, several grandchildren past the slaughterhouse days, Smith works at what he likes.
Roy and Barbara - married 38 years - create crafts together.
Roy carves things out of wood; Barbara paints his creations. He carves trinkets to delight his wife, children, grandchildren and community.
Wooden creations rest throughout the Smiths' home, from the solitary drake in the ``sea motif room'' to the collection of birds and ducks nesting in a dining room alcove. A doll cradle sits in the corner of a child's old room. A carousel with four painted ponies lies on the closet floor, waiting to be re-strung.
This year's Christmas tree was covered with Roy and Barbara's creations: heart-shaped Santas, cello-shaped Santas and hand-painted stars and bulbs.
Their nearby work room is filled with finished and unfinished crafts. A handmade wooden cart sits loaded with number blocks. A wooden train inspired by Roy's daddy's work as a railroad section master lies in a corner.
Wooden stepping stools dot the home, and even the wind has a toy to fool with. Out in the yard, surrounded by the fields his family uses to farm, is a bright red airplane with wings spinning furiously.
In the nearby shed are Smith's hand tools; he rarely uses anything else.
Lying under a tarp by the shed are stacks of water-cured juniper logs he salvaged from a creek about 20 years ago. He also works in pine and cedar.
The trail of Smith's creativity continues with a short ride to town, where you'll find a model of the Ocracoke Methodist Church he built, sitting in the front window of a downtown shop.
Inside is a mailbox truck he constructed, and just across the main street is a cinderblock building he helped build and a brick walk he laid - despite never having done either before.
``If I make up my mind I want to do something, I don't hesitate,'' he said. ``Right now I'm toying with the idea of writing a book.''
The self-taught wood worker with no formal education has already begun the illustrations.
His rendition of the ``Dillon place'' is one of his first paintings. ``It's one of the older houses in the county. Dates back 200 years,'' he said. ``I lived there from 1922 to 1971.''
Visible from Smith's house, the old homestead is an inspiration to the future author/illustrator.
``I would write about growing up on Ryder's Creek during the 1930s and '40s,'' he said. ``Mainly the '30s, 'cause after the '40s I was in the service. I hadn't spent a night away from home until the service.''
There is little mystery in the memoirs that Smith has already begun about his life in Tyrrell County. His words illustrate his straightforward life, punctuated by a deep love of nature.
A pragmatic sort, Smith doesn't respond with complicated messages.
``I don't know one morning where I'm gonna be the next day,'' he said. ``I might decide to be, or I might not decide to be.
``I get a sense of accomplishment out of creating things. I never had any classes in carpentry or anything. Whatever I decide to build, I don't back up, I build it.''
Much like the land that cradles his home, his life, the bones of his ancestors, Smith revels in being. Meanwhile, the lives of those close to him are rich in copper puddle ducks, smiling Santas, prancing ponies, tooting trains and whirling gliders. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY ELLEN RIDDLE
Roy Smith, 73, carves trinkets, like this carousel, to delight his
wife, Barbara.
by CNB