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Hawley kids playing Santa with carousel rocking
horse
By Bill Whitaker
With the finish line almost at hand, Hawley school students
are horsing around - and teachers wouldn't have it any other way.
Tomorrow Marines coordinating this year's Toys for Tots drive
will arrive to pick up what has become something of a school-wide
project - construction of an old-fashioned, carefully-painted
carousel rocking horse, complete with brass pole.
Expectations are the carousel horse from Hawley - made from
old scrap lumber in rustic Jones County - will be a Toys for Tots
Christmas highlight. Hawley faculty and students are selling raffle
tickets at $2 each.
Why a horse?
In Hawley, where folks envision themselves of the country,
not the city, why not?
"It's a Hawley thing," explained art teacher and
Hawley native Evynne Caffey. This is not the first year the students
have done this.
"Last year we had some students who needed a project,
so we put them to work on this," Hawley industrial technology
teacher Terry Thompson, 34, said. "Then our art teacher saw
it and suggested we make it a joint project."
So the shop students continued working on what was a colonial
American rocking horse and Evynne, a high-spirited, 35-year-old
who started the current art department in Hawley schools, put
her students to work painting it.
"Actually, it's the only time he'll let me back here,"
Evynne said of Terry and his industrial tech class. "I guess
you could say this project is kind of left brain/right brain working
together."
HORSE WITH NO RIDER
Some of you may have heard about the rocking horse Hawley students
crafted last year. Students and faculty were so proud of the work
they had done, they thoughtfully arranged to have it auctioned
off to buy more toys for the Toys for Tots campaign.
Colorful radio personality Randy Jones of KEYJ Rock 108, a
former Hawley cuss himself, volunteered to help in the auction
process by plugging the rocking horse and taking bids on it.
Unfortunately, the individual who bid $750 on the rocking horse
backed out. In the last-minute scramble to make do, the Toys for
Tots campaign was only able to get $100 for the wonderfully done
rocking horse.
The result was disheartening for all involved.
Students and teachers showed more horse sense this year. That's
why they're selling raffle tickets for their latest rocking horse.
"I think we'll have better success and we'll have more
money to donate to Toys for Tots," Evynne said. "And
we like the idea of a carousel rocking horse. It's not exactly
something you can go out and buy."
Besides the craftsmanship of Hawley high school and junior
high students, the carousel rocking horse project is intriguing
because it uses old wood from the area. Much of this year's horse
came from a dilapidated barn in the Hawley area.
Other parts came from old shelves in the school itself.
Weathered bits of wood were stripped off. What was left was
pieced together and cut and sanded into the shape of a horse.
When Evynne's students took over, they began painting it white
with shades of blue and adding the mane and tail, made of nylon
rope and "brushed so it'll be full and fluffy."
CALL IN THE MARINES
At last report, the fantastic carousel horse fashioned at Hawley
schools is to be trotted out to students and faculty tomorrow.
Marines will pick it up then for promotional purposes, including
"stabling" it temporarily at the Mall of Abilene and
Arrow Ford, which even primed and lacquered the thing.
Meanwhile, Evynne and others will take to the streets, selling
raffle tickets. They'll pitch tickets during Thursday night's
Artwalk at the Center for Contemporary Arts, later at Luskey's
Western Store, 3402 Catclaw, and any other place they can think
of.
Everyone seems more optimistic about this year's project. Besides
the fact Hawley folks are being more methodical in how they're
arranging all this (Randy Jones is again set to plug it on the
radio), they feel they're offering something unique.
Like anything else in Hawley, horsing around is a learning
process.
Bill Whitaker, who can't imagine anyone not putting down $2
for a carousel rocking horse made of old lumber in Jones County,
can be reached at 676-6732.
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1997, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps. Publications
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