woodworking feature

Aug. 31--WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- With a saw blade no thicker than a hair, John Hatfield can create masterpieces of intricate woodwork one cut at a time, some taking as long as three months.

And on Sept. 9, he'll be 90 years old.

Hatfield (who said he is indeed a decedent of the Hatfield side of the famous Hatfields and McCoys feud) credits his long life to always keeping busy.

Born in 1924, Hatfield grew up in Stony Gap, West Virginia, in a family of "mountaineers," learning to live off the land and never waste anything.

He never saw a trained physician until he was 16 years old, crediting his health to his grandmother, who he lovingly refers to as a witch.

The grandmother, who was half Cherokee Native American, was the go-to person for any ailments and she seemed to have unexplainable healing powers.

"She could do things that horn-swaggled me," he said.

Anytime he had a cut that needed stitches, grandmother would fix him up with plain old needle and thread, he says.

Hatfield recalls a time an uncle accidently almost cut off his own foot with an ax. Hatfield ran to tell the grandmother, with his mother staying with the uncle.

After telling the grandmother about the accident, she said, "Oh he's alright now."

At the same time, Hatfield's mother said the blood from the near-fatal wound magically stopped and the uncle was fine.

Hatfield said he eats what he wants and his blood pressure and cholesterol are "perfect."

After leaving home, Hatfield served 30 years in the Air Force and another 26 years as a civilian contractor with the ENJJPT program at Sheppard Air Force Base.

Several years after his first wife died in 1992, Hatfield met Joan, whose husband had also died at Faith Baptist Church in Iowa Park. The couple will be married 20 years on Christmas Eve.

While Joan enjoys the quiet life after raising four children and retiring from the insurance business, John can't help but stay busy.

Between the two of them, they have six children, 12 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

For the past 11 years, Hatfield has worked in the garden center at the Walmart on I-44.

He works four days a week and all his co-workers and regular customers call him Poppa John.

Hatfield calls himself the Walmart's special baby inspector because he loves children and stops to admire each baby that comes through the store.

"I've watched a lot of babies grow up. They're all cute, they're all so precious," he said.

About eight years ago, Hatfield became interested in woodworking.

He said he watched a woodcarving DVD just one time through and he was on his way.

His first project was a wooden toy car.

"That first piece ruined me," he said.

Hatfield started making chairs, rocking horses, toy barns, shelves and hundreds of intricately carved decorative creations.

He even created a few model-size outhouses with a moon carved in the doors, like the one he grew up using in his childhood.

The Hatfields' home is almost entirely decorated with John's creations. He has also given away dozens of pieces to friends and family. He said he would not want to actually sell a piece because no amount of money could match the time and effort he puts into his work.

One of his favorites is nearly three-foot long oak steamboat with a clock and several moving parts.

The painstaking process first requires holes to be drilled through the dozens of different sections to be carved.

Then a millimeters-thick saw blade is inserted through the hole, connected to the machine and he makes the cut.

The blade is then unscrewed, removed and rethreaded through the next hold.

Working in the evenings after work and on weekends, he said a small piece may take him a week and a larger one several months.

Hatfield said he continually chooses more and more difficult pieces because he loves a challenge.

Joan said she John's voracious hobby doesn't bother her, and she's glad he enjoys it so much.

Her favorite piece is a nearly five-foot high oak wash stand with a porcelain bowl and pitcher.

Hatfield gets many of his ideas from Cherry Tree, a woodworking catalog based in Wisconsin.

He always has a few ideas for future projects and said he has no intention of quitting work or his hobby any time soon.

Hatfield said most people that he knows who are his age sit around all day watching television.

"I have to stay busy. I'd go crazy sitting around like that all day. I'd be bored to death," he said.

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