VGCC Cabinet Making Class Has Definite Feminine Touch
Who says women can’t operate power tools?
If you have doubts, you should check out Wadie Ryan of Warren County’s Largo community drilling holes in the bookcase she was making in the Vance-Granville Community College Cabinet Making class during the spring.
There was Juanita Williamson of the Cokesbury community of Vance County ripping boards on a table saw for the entertainment center she was creating.
These are just two of the 10 women out of 13 students in the evening Continuing Education class, presided over by Keith Tunstall, VGCC’s program head and instructor for the Carpentry curriculum program.
“We’ve seen women outnumber men in the class in recent years,” Tunstall said. “They don’t want to be dependent on men, and after they get past the intimidation and noise of power tools, they do very well.”
For Ryan, a librarian at Eaton-Johnson Middle School in Henderson, the spring class was her second in cabinet making. Her husband participated the first time, but she says he didn’t like it as much as she did.
“I like making things with my hands, and I like taking a concept and seeing it develop to fruition,” Ryan said. “I also like knowing I’m not a helpless woman.”
The bookcase Ryan made was for her grandson, Caesar, 10, for his toys and clothes. In the next class this fall, she plans to make a computer cabinet for Caesar.
Spring was Juanita Williamson’s first cabinet making class, but she has done remodeling in her home. “I love hammers, nails and saws, and I wanted to learn to make furniture,” she said. Williamson’s next project: she plans to build her own coffin!
Also in her first woodworking class was Phyllis “Button” Brady, a biology instructor at Vance-Granville. She, too, said she likes doing things for herself, and she had so much fun in the spring class, she didn’t want to stop for summer. But she will be back in the fall, Brady declared as she operated a power sander to finish off the cedar blanket chest she made in the class.
Julia Smith of Butner, who is retired from Murdoch Center, graduated from VGCC’s carpentry class in 1993 and has participated in several cabinet making classes. She constructed an outdoor storage cabinet in the class and towel holders for sale at her church bazaar.
Patricia Ellis of Kittrell, a school teacher, wanted to make things for her patio, and she constructed a barbecue cart, a serving tray, a flower planter on wheels and a lazy Susan. “I like working with my hands and seeing the finished product,
 |
| BAZAAR ITEM – Julia Smith of Butner positions a dowel rod into one of the towel holders she made for sale at her church bazaar in the cabinet making class at Vance- Granville Community College. Smith is one of several women who have participated in more than one of the Continuing Education classes. |
|
|
|
|
DRILLING LADY – Wadie Ryan of the Largo community of Warren County drills holes for the bookcase she was making in the cabinet making class at Vance-Granville Community College. The bookcase was for her 1o year-old grandson Caesar. |
Julie Hughes of Henderson accompanied her husband of 2½ years, Tony, to the spring class. This was his fifth cabinet making class, and Julie said he was so enthusiastic, she had to see what the excitement was all about. She was helping Tony put a cedar chest together.
Brady praised Tunstall as a “great instructor, with the patience of Job.” Tunstall said he likes having women in the class. “They come in with design ideas and work hard at making their ideas completed works,” he said.
The next 10-week cabinet making class will be held in fall semester in the carpentry shop at the main campus in Vance County. Persons interested in participating should check the fall edition of Arches, which will be available in early July, or the college website at www.vgcc.edu for class dates.
