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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 2005)
Page 9 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, June 29, 2005 It’s a Burl draws attention as evolving business Acacia Empey (top) works at sanding at It’s a Burl. In bottom photo (from left) Joy Shinerock, Sarah Shin- erock with ‘Tilly,’ and Harvey Shinerock. (Photos by Christina Hill) Keep children away from poison As warm weather lures families outdoors, the Oregon Poi- son Center at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU) reminds parents to protect their children from poisoning acci- dents, which increase during summer months. “With warm weather, children play outdoors more, making supervision difficult,” said Tonya Drayden, education director for the Oregon Poison Center at OSHU. “To prevent accidental poisonings and other summertime hazards, keep all medicines in their original, labeled containers and out of reach of children. “Supervise children when applying insect repellant; consider all yard mushrooms poisonous and advise children not to eat them. “Dress children in long sleeves, pants, a hat and sunscreen to avoid sun burn; and avoid going barefoot to prevent insect bites and stings.” By CHRISTINA HILL Correspondent Nestled alongside Hwy. 199 in Kerby is a home business that’s “always evolving.” The business, It’s A Burl, is hard to miss, too. With an interesting jun- gle of burl outside, three tree houses and curving rooflines of the home and galleries greeting customers, it’s no wonder that “several thou- sand” people are drawn to this burl haven every sum- mer. Harvey and Joy Shin- erock, co-owners of It’s A Burl, settled at their current 24057 Redwood Hwy. loca- tion in 1987 after moving from Georgetown in the Sierra foothills of Lake Ta- hoe in California. Together, they have eight grown children and 11 grandchildren. “Harvey has been doing this (burl wood-work) for about 27 years, and we’ve been here for 17 years,” Joy said. “We traveled and did shows and wanted to be in one place, she said, “but the place we were living sold, and we had 30 days to get out. So we started looking and I have such a kinship to the valley that I just fell in love with the place.” The place Joy fell in love with was the former Kerby Post Office, which they purchased and called their new home. “Our first home (the post office) had many rein- carnations,” said Joy. “It was a boarding house, con- fectionary, saloon, post of- fice, and mortuary.” However, in 1995, their home burned to the ground. Left standing is a wall with a doorway that used to frame their front door. “Every so often I come here to remind myself,” said Joy. “After the fire, people in the community were so supportive. I had never ex- perienced anything like that before. I was so over- whelmed by everything eve- ryone did. It was an amaz- ing experience.” Luckily for the Shine- rocks, they were able to pur- chase the lot next door that had five old cabins. “We moved into the back cabin and started work on the front cabin,” Joy ex- plained. Since then, the Shine- rocks, with the cooperation of Josephine County and the help of an engineer and ar- chitect, have built up and over the two old cabins. “It’s an evolving proc- ess,” said Joy. “We had a lot of cooperation with the county. We had to have it designed by an engineer, so it’s structurally sound and complete. “We had an architect and an engineer working together, but the detail work is all Stanley Dalegowski. He helped us remodel the first house that burnt. Noth- ing he does is simple. Eve- rything he does has flair,” Joy said. Their new house sits above the main gallery. With two beautiful bed- rooms, one for their young- est daughter, Sara, a sopho- more in college; and the other for Harvey and Joy, no detail was spared. A beautiful tongue-and- groove floor, set with mad- rone and inset with madrone burl, sweeps Joy off her feet to her own oasis, her bed- room. A curved burl stair- case leading to a glass walk- way takes Joy to one of two lofts. “It started out I just wanted to have a bedroom,” she said. “There were only two rooms before and we got so involved in the proc- ess. It just kept evolving, and then we’d get into it and say, ‘Yeah, let’s have some archways’,” Joy said. Joy attributes much of their success to their hard work. “Burl is not exactly a booming business,” she said. “You know, we have to find customers.” However, many times, shoppers find them, includ- ing celebrity customers. “Angela Lansbury stopped by, and so did other people, but I wasn’t aware they were even celebrities until after they left,” Joy said with a laugh. With fewer than 10 art- ists producing work to sell in the galleries, there’s something for everyone. “All of the wood out- side is for sale,” said Joy. “We have turning wood that’s used for support on tables and chairs. In the barn, we have maple caps that people use for carving bowls. “We have wood in the raw state. We also have in- door furniture, outdoor fur- niture, carvings and work done by local artists that we sell,” Joy explained. During the years, she said, they have even had four different children work in the gallery, carving and making furniture. “There’s no blueprint on anything we make,” she said. “We just work out how it’s going to fit together.” In addition, there is “Wiz’s World,” as Joy calls it, which is a workshop for Gary Burns, a carving artist. There’s also the Indian Summer Gallery, which was converted from an old stor- age shed; and the Burlesque Gallery, a converted fruit stand, which is now an ex- tension of the main gallery and features the work of Jeff Cunningham, a potter. For more information on It’s A Burl, log onto www.itsaburl.com or tele- phone 592-2141. Illinois Valley volunteer firefighters do it with a smile anytime It’s not for money./It’s not for fame./It’s not for any per- sonal gain. It’s not for love of fellow man./It’s not just to lend a helping hand. It’s just to give a little self,/that’s something you can’t buy with wealth./It’s not for medals worn with pride. It’s for the feeling deep inside./It’s that reward deep in your heart, It’s feeling that you’ve been a part/Of helping others far and near/That makes you a volunteer. What is a volunteer? It’s your neighbor down the street who comes when you need help. That friendly familiar face that makes it a little better. It’s that person who is there because you know they care. It’s the people who will come day or night with a smile and a helping hand. Friday, July 1 Saturday, July 2 Sunday, July 3 Annual meeting of the membership of IVHS Alumni & Friends Focus on the ‘50s, ‘60s,’70s Dance All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast Junction Inn Timber Room 8 p.m. to midnight $5 cover charge Jubilee Park Pavilion 8 a.m. to Noon including Mikey’s World Famous Not-to-be-missed Biskits-n-Gravy $4 50 (children $3 50 ) 4 p.m. - Jubilee Park Pavilion ‘Prowlers’ vs. ‘Growlers’ Softball game 5:50 p.m. - Jubilee Park Info: Jay Miller 597-2325 Saturday, July 2 Tour LBMS - 1 p.m. Tour Kerbyville Museum Special tour for alumni 2 p.m. - $2 18th Annual Alumni Golf Tournament 8:30 a.m. I.V. Golf Course - $45 Info: Bob Hurt 592-3940 or Donna Zimmerman Tellyer 592-4579 Medford DJ Brian Bishop Country and Pop Rock Info: Kathy Tycer 826-7486 Alumni Special $4 98 1/2 Chicken (baked or BBQ) Potato or Macaroni Salad (1/2 lb.) Ranch Roll & 20 oz. Drink Phone ahead or pick-up on the way 592-6898 ask for Mary Anne Mention ReunionMania or clip this coupon to get the special price (regular price $5 75 without drink) suggested donation provided by Cave Junction Cares 10% of the proceeds go to our scholarship fund Silent Auction begins during breakfast and continues ‘til Noonish Info: Donna Zimmerman Tellyer 592-4579 Meet our scholarship recipients Pavilion will be open ‘til 3 p.m. for those interested in staying around to visit KUHS Reunion Saturday, July 2 Noon at KUHS Park in Kerby Special ceremony to dedicate plaque to teachers and students of Kerby Union High School (1924-1949)
