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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)