Roy Underhill is coming to Highland. Really.
Many years ago before DVR and tape players for TV, my wife used to get so mad because we had to schedule our Saturday afternoons around The Woodwright’s Shop. It used to come on in Atlanta about 2:30 on Saturday and even if we had gone to lunch somewhere, we still had to hurry and get home so I could watch it.
Last week when I told my thirty year old son I was going to a class with Roy Underhill, he said immediately without any prompt from me, “Oh, I wonder if his half brother is still around.” His remembrance was a proud moment for me, because that stupid joke must go back 25 years. Roy was demonstrating the use of a drawknife with a shaving horse, and as he pulled the knife towards his belly, he explained that you need to be careful to not pull it too far. That’s what happened to his half brother.
My other favorite thing is how he always cut himself on the show, Many times he would get in a hurry and slice his finger and then spend the rest of the show wiping blood off his work. I suppose to keep down expense, they tape the show straight through with no cuts or edits so they would never stop for him to put on a bandage. One time he even had his wife, Jane, on the show as a guest, and she cut her hand. Such devotion you hardly ever see these days.
You can see his 20 year retrospective on the show here. I recommend it to you.
Roy
On top of that, Roy’s daughter, Eleanor, is the banjo player (claw hammer style) in the Bluegrass Band called Underhill Rose. See what you think. I like them a lot.
All this to say Roy Underhill is coming to Highland on Sunday October 18th for a full-day class. The class size is limited to 25 and the cost is $95 for a full day. Be sure and sign up quickly, because you know this thing will sell out. I’m going to be there and I can barely wait. I am going to write down all the stupid jokes and pass them along to my son. It is time he got a new one.