As you know, Hurricane Ike came calling on us down in the Houston area causing a significant amount of destruction. This has been one of the worst storms I can remember and I have lived in the Houston area all my life. We were without power, land phone, Internet and cell phone service for several days. Food and petrol were not available in stores. Since there was no electricity, very few businesses were open or working.

We waited in line for four hours for ice and water, up to a day in line for a few litres of petrol. Six hours in line to buy a generator, six more to get a flat fixed. Then the ice and water ran out at the FEMA POD location we used… Although FEMA helped some, at times they ran out of disaster supplies after waiting in line for hours. Those folks did a heroic job with what they had and we really appreciated everything they did to help us.

Although we purchased a generator, there were only a couple of petrol stations in the area working where we could buy fuel. Lines stretched for blocks to get what little fuel was available. We ran our generator on petrol we siphoned from our own cars and what we had on hand for lawnmowers. We have since had our power restored and food and petrol are much easier to get now, but we’re not totally back to normal.

Many areas and businesses are still without power. When you go the the stores, dairy and fresh produce, as well as bread are in short supply. I spent several days cutting trees that had blown over into neighbours homes and across their driveways. It’s been difficult, but we’re slowly getting back to normal.

Through it all, we were very lucky though… Our home suffered no significant damage (only fencing was blown over), but neighbours around me were not so lucky. Several had trees blown into their homes or garages, causing extensive damage to the structure and water damage inside their homes. Everywhere you look trees are down, or piled up for collection. We had about 14 hours of constant wind and rain, totalling more than 20 inches in a 36 hour period at our home. I’ve spent several days trying to clean up the branches and debris the storm left, so time has been short to non-existent for anything not related to storm cleanup.

Folks nearer to the coast lost everything… All that’s left in many coastal areas is flattened slabs and debris. According to the news, 26 people have died as a result of the storm in Texas, although it is feared that many, many more were swept out to sea and may never be found. Please keep victims of the storm in your prayers, as we all try to rebuild and get back to normal. Take care and best wishes to you and yours!

Steve Russell

We will have a club “Open House” meeting on March 29th in The Woodlands, quickly followed by three days of demonstrations at The Woodworking Shows (April 4 – 6th) in the Reliant Centre. If you live in the North Houston/Woodlands Texas area, or any of the surrounding areas in Montgomery, Liberty, Walker, North Waller or San Jacinto counties and would like more information about our club, please email me at: steverussell2436@comcast.net

Our website is still being developed, but there is a short information page up with a link to our first newsletter and a membership application here:

Happy Birthday to the LSWA!

Steve Russell
President
Lone Star Woodturners Association
The Woodlands, Texas

I’m spearheading an effort to start a new American Association of Woodturners club in the North Houston/Woodlands, Texas area. The “Lone Star Woodturners Association” will have a formation meeting later this month, on January 26th at 10:00 a.m. in the North Houston, Texas/Spring area. If you live anywhere near the North Houston/The Woodlands, Texas areas, or any of the other cities and towns in this geographic area and would like more information on our new club, please contact me at:

steverussell2436@comcast.net

I will be happy to give you more information on our meeting on the 26th of January and keep you informed of the club’s activities. Take care and all the best to you and yours!

Steve Russell
The Woodlands, Texas

This is a shallow 14” bowl in Silver Maple with a delicate raised bead on the rim and a back-cut relief on the interior sweep. The piece was chosen to represent this event because of the degradation of the heartwood caused by the Xylaria hypoxylon fungus. The fine black zone lines in the lower heartwood area mimic pools of oil on the water as it is being washed ashore.

My “Aftermath” series projects have been some of the most popular pieces I have turned over the years, each piece marking a significant event in human history (without regard to the politics of the event) that in many ways, changed the way we all look at the world around us. As a result of this spill, the oil industry began a massive effort to replace the global fleet of oil tankers to double-hulled versions to increase the safety of transporting crude oil in the world’s waters.

News reports indicated that as a result of the eruption, 57 people were killed; and 250 homes were totally destroyed. In addition, 47 bridges, 15 miles railways and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. The eruption of Mount St. Helens caused a massive debris avalanche, which reduced the elevation of the mountain’s summit from 9,677 feet to 8,364 feet and reformed it into a mile-wide horseshoe-shaped crater.

This shallow platter is turned from a highly figured piece of Box Elder. In the lower center portion of the platter, you can see the summit of Mount St. Helens and just above to the right and left, the plume of ash and debris are represented by the streaked curl on the right and burled areas to the left of the summit.

The platter features a delicate blind back-cut rim and is 1/8” thick. All pieces in my “Aftermath” series mark significant events in human history which significantly changed the world, or our perception of it.